Question

A certain health maintenance organization (HMO) wishes to study why patients leave the HMO. A SRS of 477 patients was taken. Data was collected on whether a patient had filed a complaint and, if so, whether the complaint was medical or non-medical in nature. After a year, a tally from these patients was collected to count number who left the HMO voluntarily. Here are the data on the total number in each group and the number who voluntarily left the HMO:

Answer 1

The question involves a health economics study within an HMO, focusing on patient retention and factors influencing patients to leave the organization. It deals with healthcare management and the economic issues of adverse selection and moral hazard.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question pertains to a statistical analysis within a health maintenance organization (HMO). In the context of health economics, HMOs differ from fee-for-service systems as they receive a fixed reimbursement per patient instead of based on the services provided. The study of patients leaving an HMO involves understanding variables and collecting data that may influence patient retention, such as the filing of medical or non-medical complaints. This falls into the study of healthcare management and health economics.

Additionally, concepts such as adverse selection and moral hazard are fundamental in the analysis of insurance markets and HMO operational strategies. These concepts describe scenarios in which asymmetrical information between parties leads to potentially suboptimal outcomes for insurers or providers, with high-risk individuals more likely to utilize insurance services than low-risk individuals.