Consumer Rights Chapter 15

Front 1

why is buying health care is difficult?

Back 1

 Many providers of similar services (consumer needs to find the cheapest)
 Prices are not standardized and difficult to obtain (not definite estimate of costs)
 Hard to determine reliability
 Redress mechanisms are inefficient

Front 2

Purchasing guidelines

Back 2

 Learn about the service (do your research, what doctors do and don’t do)
 Check for
 Registration
 Formal recoding of names
 Certification
 formal confirmation that something is true, accurate, or genuine
 Licensure
 official recording of names by state board or other govt. agency
 *provides legal permission or authorization

Front 3

US health care system

Back 3

 Run by insurance companies (have to make sure your insurance covers the costs)
 Avoids insuring those with major problems
 Focuses on minimizing cost (keeps on climbing)
 Cost shifting for uninsured

Front 4

Uninsured

Back 4

 15 percent (45 million) Americans are without health insurance
 Uninsured pay more for health services

Front 5

 Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)

Back 5

 Members select primary care physicin- need referrals to others

Front 6

 Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)

Back 6

 Organization of doctors, hospitals, etc. providing services at reduced rates to insurer’s clients

Front 7

Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010

Back 7

 Proposed, not yet passed
 FDA would be given mandatory recall authority if supplement is found to be unsafe or harmful

Front 8

 1994 Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act

Back 8

Supplement companies can market new products with out FDA approval

Cannot claim to prevent, treat, or cure a disease

Front 9

FDA

Back 9

 Pre-market review
 User fees
 Limited authority in some areas