Final answer:
Measures of purchasing healthcare include the fee-for-service model and HMOs, but are impacted by adverse selection. Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA aim to mitigate these effects and improve access to healthcare. Economists use various metrics to assess health outcomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Measures of ability to purchase healthcare services vary and are essential to understanding how accessible healthcare is for individuals. In systems like the fee-for-service model, healthcare providers are reimbursed based on the specific services they provide to patients. On the other hand, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) involve payment to providers based on the number of patients, incentivizing efficient resource allocation. However, challenges such as adverse selection can disrupt insurance markets, where knowledge asymmetry leads riskier individuals to purchase insurance that seems beneficial to them, while lower-risk individuals may forgo it due to high costs. This creates an imbalance that can affect the functioning of markets and the ability to provide affordable healthcare coverage.
To tackle these issues, government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, along with policies like the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), are implemented to improve access and affordability of care. Economists measure health outcomes using specific metrics, assessing the effectiveness of healthcare systems and identifying areas for improvement.