The nurse is explaining the American health care system to a patient from another country that has government-sponsored health care. The nurse would explain that one driving force for private insurance has been

Question

a. consumer-driven markets demanding insurance.
b. necessary rationing of scarce health care resources.
c. the lack of government involvement in health care.
d. uncertainty related to the need for medical care.

Answer 1

D
Most health care needs, other than those for preventive care, occur in an unpredictable manner and are costly enough that people cannot typically save or borrow enough money to pay for them. This led to the rise of private insurance.
Private insurance was not created out of a demand from the consumer-driven marketplace. Rather, it was created from the uncertainty related to medical need.
Private insurance and the lack of private insurance have contributed to what is essentially rationing of health care resources (not the other way around). People who are uninsured or underinsured often do not get the care they need.
The federal government has been involved in health care at least since the 1960s.