Chapter 01: Health: A Community View MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Which best describes the primary reason that Americans are concerned about health care? a. Politicians are discussing how to improve health care. b. The media has provided mixed messages about the health care system. c. Our national health care costs keep increasing. d. The new health care system offers free services to Americans. ANS: C The primary reason for the focus on health care is the constantly increasing costs, which cannot be sustained. The costs of caring for the sick accounted for the majority of escalating health care dollars, which increased from 5.7% of the gross domestic product in 1965 to 17.8% in 2015. Politicians and the media both influence Americans’ perceptions about health care; however, they are not the primary reason why Americans are concerned. The new health care system will change the health care access and availability, but will not necessarily be offering any free services to Americans. DIF: Cognitive Level: Understand (Comprehension) 2. A nurse has begun to lobby with politicians for changes to the health care system. Why is this involvement important? a. Nurses, as central characters in several popular TV series, are currently very visible in American mediN a. b. Nurses are primarily responsible for m the various unitsin our health care system. c. Nurses are the largest segment of health care providers. d. Nurses are the only group that is employed both inside and outside of hospitals. ANS: C As the largest segment of health care providers, nurses are informed about the current health care system and all the problems that result from people not seeking care until they are desperately ill. Nurses, as the American Nurses Association (ANA) emphasize, usually believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. Therefore, nurses, whose work is central to our current health care delivery system, can also be instrumental in working politically to create a health care delivery system that will meet health needs. While nurses are in several current TV series and are employed both inside and outside of hospitals, physicians and other health care providers are as well. Nurses are often managers, but managers often have other backgrounds, such as business administration.