Test your knowledge of Universal Health Care

I found the following quiz online, put together by John R. Battista, M.D. President, Connecticut Coalition For Universal Health Care. These items are derived from statistics from the WHO.

There are 23 questions. Some may have more than one answer, or none at all.

I will post the answers by 9 PM tonight:

1. Which of the following industrialized countries does not guarantee health insurance to its citizens?

A. Taiwan
B. Israel
C. Spain
D. The United States
E. South Africa

2. Infant mortality and life expectancy are the two internationally accepted means of evaluating the effectiveness of national health care systems. Where does the United States rank on these two measures relative to other industrialized nations?

A. First
B. In the top third
C. In the middle third
D. In the bottom third
E. Last

3. Efficiency is a second means of evaluating health care systems. Efficiency measures the performance of a health care system relative to the dollars spent. When the World Health Organization assessed all the countries in the world in terms of efficiency in the year 2000 where did the United States rank?

A. First
B. 23rd
C. 46th
D. 72nd

4. Satisfaction is a third way to assess the performance of a health care system. Where does the United States rank relative to other industrialized nations in terms of citizen satisfaction with their health care system?

A. First
B. Top Third
C. Middle Third
D. Bottom Third
E. Last

5. When the World Health Organization ranked the overall functioning of the health care system of every nation in 2000 using an aggregation of efficacy, efficiency and satisfaction where did the United States rank?

A. First
B. Thirteenth
C. Twenty-fourth
D. Thirty-seventh
E. Fifty-fifth

6. Which of the following factors explain why the United States ranks in the bottom third of industrialized nations on basic health statistics?

A. The large number of uninsured
B. The high incidence of smoking
C. The limited access to health care characteristic of Medicaid programs
D. Managed care

7. The uninsured contribute to poor health statistics because?

A. They seek less preventative health care
B. They tend to seek medical care later in the course of illness when it is less effective to treat
C. They are disproportionately people of color
D. They are disproportionately poor

8. The inefficiency of the American health care system relative to other industrialized nations is explained by which of the following factors?

A. High administrative expenses
B. High cost of prescription medications
C. The high number of uninsured
D. Increase cost for services with for-profit health insurers

9. Dissatisfaction with the American health care system relative to the national health insurance programs of other industrialized countries is related to which of the following factors?

A. High cost
B. Financial insecurity
C. Lack of insurance continuity
D. Frustration with accessing care

10. Universal Health Insurance Could be Obtained in the United States through which of the following programs?

A. Publicly funding a national health insurance program for all citizens.
B. Premium support for people who have trouble paying for health insurance leaving our current system intact.
C. Medical savings accounts to make the purchase of health insurance more affordable while leaving our current system intact.
D. Mandating the purchase of private health insurance by all Americans who are not covered by public health insurance.

11. Which type of national health insurance program is less costly?

A. Publicly funded universal health insurance
B. Mandated universal health insurance with public assistance for families with limited means

12. Are public funded universal health care systems socialized medicine?

A. Yes
B. No
C. Sometimes

13. Since Canada passed publicly funded national health insurance over 30 years ago their health care statistics relative to the United States have?

A. Gotten much worse
B. Deteriorated slightly
C. Remained the same
D. Improved slightly
E. Improved very significantly

14. When the United States health care system is compared to the Canadian health care system in terms of treatment outcomes for acute illness such as pneumonia, myocardial infarction, appendicitis, sepsis, and spinal meningitis the United States outcomes are?

A. Clearly superior
B. A little superior
C. About the same
D. A little worse
E. Clearly inferior

15. Which of the following are significant factors in accounting for why universal health insurance countries have improved health care statistics relative to the United States ?

A. Increased preventative health care
B. Increased office visits
C. Increased hospitalization days
D. The lack of uninsured
E. Lack of managed care

16. When Canada passed National Health Insurance over forty years ago it spent the same amount per capita on health care as the United States . Today, Canadian spending on health care relative to the United States is?

A. About one-third of what the United States spends.
B. About one-half of what the United States spends.
C. About two-thirds of what the United States spends.
D. About the same as what the United States spends.
E. About one-third more than what the United States spends.

17. If the United States were to enact a Canadian style national health insurance program the total cost of health care in the United States would?

A. Decline by around 50%
B. Decline by around 10%
C. Stay about the same
D. Increase by around 10%
E. Increase by about 50%

18. Short-term, decreased costs in a Canadian style health care system for the United States would result from?

A. Decreased administrative expenses
B. Decreased cost of prescription drugs as a result of negotiation
C. Decreased fees for health care providers
D. Managing medical care
E. Decreased emergency services

19. Long-term decreased costs in a Canadian style health insurance system relative to the United States result from which of the following?

A. Decreased utilization of emergency services
B. Increased preventative health care
C. Prevention of hospitalizations
D. Earlier intervention in the disease course
E. Cessation of treatment for the terminally ill.

20. The cost to the average American under a Canadian health care style system as per HR 676 would be?

A. Increased by more than 20%
B. Increased by less than 20%
C. About the same
D. Decreased by less than 20%
E. Decreased by more than 20%

21. If a Canadian style national health care insurance system were enacted in the United States through HR 676 which of the following would be true?

A. Americans would have to select their health providers from a limited government approved panel
B. Americans would have to get pre-approval of prescriptions by the government before they would be covered
C. Elective surgical procedures such as knee replacements would require pre-approval before they could be scheduled
D. There would be waiting lines for elective surgery and diagnostic procedures similar to Canada

22. If a Canadian style national health insurance program were to be enacted in the United States through HR 676 which of the following statements about its impact on business would be true?

A. International American corporations would become more competitive because of decreased health care costs for their employees
B. The private health insurance industry would be severely curtailed
C. A significant drop in medical innovation and drug development would occur
D. Profits of the pharmaceutical industry would increase due to expanded insurance coverage

23. Which of the following factors is significant in making it difficult to pass national health insurance for the United States ?

A. The strong influence of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries on elected officials
B. The lack of publicly funded elections
C. The lack of public support
D. The irrational belief that private for-profit health insurance is more effective and more efficient than not for profit and publicly administered health insurance