Assignment #3: Economic Analysis of Supply and Market Structure of Healthcare Industry

Instructions

You just started working as a Health Service Manager for a health care company within an industry below.  First choose an industry below to discuss the questions that follow:

1. Pharmaceutical (generic drugs)
2. Pharmaceutical (patented drug)
3. Any physician specialty (e.g. cardiology, ophthalmology, etc.)
4. Hospital (national Network)
5. Small rural hospital

Your boss has asked you to write a memo detailing the factors impacting the supply of your product or services and how the market structure of your  impacts the quantity supplied and the pricing of your product or service.  

Answer the first four questions (and Q6) below relying primarily on the course readings and other resource material presented in this class. You can use external UMGC library resources to research Q5  below in order to research government regulations impacting your industry.  Cite and refer all resources used whether internal or external.

1. Describe the product or service you supply to your patients.
2. Identify what factors lead to a shift the in the supply curve for your product.
3. Identify the market structure of your industry and the analyze the key characteristics of your industry that lead to your identification of this market structure.
4. Given this market structure, evaluate how prices charged for your services/products are determined.
5. Evaluate how does the existence of private and public insurance influence the revenues you receive for this service/product.
6. Given the government regulations impacting the health industry that have been discussed in this class, identify and discuss a government regulation that has been implemented in this industry.
7. Identify a market failure(s) discussed in class that the government regulation in #6 above attempted to address.

In writing your memo be sure to include your name and in the subject line identify the health care entity you chose above. In order for your boss to easily review your report, please include section headers to correspond to the questions below. The memo should be at least 4 double-spaced pages (excluding the cover page).