Health Care Financing and Insurance - Essay Example

"Health Care Financing and Insurance" is a great example of a paper on the health system. Health care insurance is the pooling of funds to guarantee the clients with the needed funds in case of medical problems (Williams & Torrens, 2008). Individuals demand health care insurance since it guarantees the protection and financial cover when they fall sick in the future. It is demanded because it protects individuals and their loved ones from high health care costs. It is also demanded since one is bound to get sick in the future. Health care insurance guarantees one the confidence that, when a medical condition befalls them and their loved ones, they will be able to cater for the medical expenses. There are certain factors, which might influence the purchase decision of a health care insurance.

The quality of the health care insurance might affect the purchase decision of healthcare insurance. The purchase decision for healthcare does not depend on the quantity of the service. When the insurance is of good quality, people will decide to buy health care insurance. Health care insurance is of good quality when it is considerably efficient and effective. When one hears from another user that the insurance is of good quality, they will make a decision to buy the product. When the insurance is of poor quality, the decision will be made, not to buy the product.

The characteristics’ of an insurance plan influence the purchase decision (Williams & Torrens, 2008). Characteristics of an insurance plan may range from being accommodative to covering a wide scope of needs. The insurance plan may be flexible and of good quality. When the characteristics are accommodated and meet the needs of the buyer, the decision will be made, to purchase the insurance plan. When the characteristics do not meet the needs of the buyer, they will make a decision not to buy the product.

The way the product is marketed will also influence the purchase decision. When the product is well advertised, through the various advertisement channels, people will be convinced to purchase the product. When the contents of the advertisement are well presented and well describe the insurance product, it will influence the buyers to purchase the product. When it is not much convincing, the buyer will make a decision not to buy the product. The description of the product should be, therefore, match with the insurance product.

People’s expectations might also influence the purchase decision. When people expect that the price of the product is likely to rise, they will make their decision to purchase the insurance (Paolucci, 2011). The decision in such a case will have been affected by speculations that the future prices of the insurance will increase. Since it is a necessity, one would prefer to buy it before the prices increase further.

Insurance is related to demand medical care in a number of ways. When the price for insurance increases, demand for health services still increases as long as the quality of the insurance plan is good. The presence of health insurance affects the demand for health services positively. With a good insurance plan, demand for health services increases. When an insurance plan is cheap, and a little fee is involved, more people will be able to afford it. That will enable them to be able to pay for future medical health care fees. The demand for both medical care and insurance is price inelastic. When the prices of the two increase, demand for the product will still be the same. What affects the demand for the two is the quality. The distinction between insurance and demand of a medical plan is that demand for health insurance is dependent upon an individual's will but demand medical care leaves one with fewer options.

In conclusion, therefore; the normal concept of demand is rather complex in the health care industry. Individuals care for the quality of the health care products and not for the quantity. The demand for insurance is related to the demand for medical care in a rather peculiar way. The quality of the health care insurance and the other named factors greatly affect the purchase decision of healthcare insurance. The way the product is marketed also influences the purchase decision. The quality of the insurance product is what matters. When the product is well advertised, and the quality is not compromised, people will be convinced to purchase the product. When an insurance plan is cheap, and a little fee is involved, more people will be able to afford it.

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