In deciding between a low-deductible medical insurance plan,

Question

In deciding between a low-deductible medical insurance plan,  which has higher monthly premiums but with more predictable out-of-pocket costs, or a high-deductible plan, which has lower premiums but with more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, it is important that patients consider the likelihood that they will need  medical treatment or expensive prescription medications during the term of the plan.

(A) which has higher monthly premiums but with more predictable out-of-pocket costs, or a high-deductible plan, which has lower premiums but with more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, it is important that patients consider the likelihood that they will need

(B) with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs, as compared to a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but with out-of-pocket costs that are more variable and potentially higher, patients should consider their likelihood of needing

(C) with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs, and a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, patients should consider whether they are likely to need

(D) which not only has higher monthly premiums but also has more predictable out-of-pocket costs, and a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but with more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, patients should consider whether it is likely that they will need

(E) with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs, or a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, it is important for patients to consider the likelihood of their needing

mikemcgarry · Accepted Answer

Dear Mountain14 , I'm happy to answer this. Kudos to MGMAT for another excellent SC question. :-) Let's look at the end first (A) " it is important that patients consider the likelihood that they will need " = awkward, indirect, yuck!! (B) " patients should consider their likelihood of needing " = not bad, a little awkward (C) " patients should consider whether they are likely to need " = good, quite clear and direct (D) " patients should consider whether it is likely that they will need " = a bit indirect and wordy (E) " it is important for patients to consider the likelihood of their needing " = indirect & awkward, yuck!! Now, let's look at the connectors of the two plans (A) " ...between ... or ... " = 100% wrong (B) " ...between ... as compared to ... " = 100% wrong (C) " ...between ... and... " = correct (D) " ...between ... and... " = correct (E) " ...between ... or ... " = 100% wrong Now, let's look at the first plan: (A) " which has higher monthly premiums but with more predictable out-of-pocket costs " = a failure of parallelism; 100% wrong. (B) " with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs " = good (C) " with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs "= good (D) " which not only has higher monthly premiums but also has more predictable out-of-pocket costs " = 100% wrong; the idiom not P but Q is used for sharp contrast, which is appropriate here, but the idiom not only P but also Q is for joining two elements that amplify each other; this latter idioms is complete inappropriate in this context. (E) " with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs "= good These splits are enough to isolate (C) as the only possible answer. For more on the nuances of idioms, see: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-idiom-ebook/ Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

HarveyS · Answer

As always... great explanation Mike :-D

nhattruong1302 · Answer

In deciding between a low-deductible medical insurance plan, which has higher monthly premiums but with more predictable out-of-pocket costs, or a high-deductible plan, which has lower premiums but with more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, it is important that patients consider the likelihood that they will need medical treatment or expensive prescription medications during the term of the plan.

(A) which has higher monthly premiums but with more predictable out-of-pocket costs,  or  a high-deductible plan, which has lower premiums but with more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, it is important that patients consider the likelihood that they will need
 idiom: between . . . and . . .

(B) with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs,  as compared to  a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but with out-of-pocket costs that are more variable and potentially higher, patients should consider their likelihood of needing
 idiom: between . . . and . . .
 
 (C) with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs, and a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, patients should consider whether they are likely to need

(D) which not only has higher monthly premiums but also has more predictable out-of-pocket costs, and a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but with more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, patients should consider  whether it is likely  that they will need
 Unknow what "it" prefer to

(E) with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs,  or  a high-deductible plan, with lower premiums but more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs, it is important for patients to consider the likelihood of their needing
 idiom: between . . . and . . .

Ergenekon · Answer

Chose C based on paralellism and idiom.

thangvietname · Answer

I do not think this problem is correct.
look at og problems.
sombody is likely to do something
is never correct in og books.

gmatgrl · Answer

Hello thangvietnam, I didn't completely understand you. According to your experience, what should the sentence be?

Also, does OG specifically mention anywhere that "likely to do something" is not a correct expression?

thangvietname · Answer

in og , there is no
" something/somebody is likely to do"
in og, there is
it is likely to do something

pls, check the og and gmatprep

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear  thangvietnam ,
My friend, first of all, with all due respect, I am going to disagree with you. The construction "  A is likely to do X  " and even "  It is likely that A will do X  " are both 100% correct. You see, the GMAT OG & GMATPrep can't possibly contain every single idiom, every single point of diction, every correct construction in English. The GMAT OG is to be taken as exemplary but not exhaustive.

My friend, I want you to think about the implications of your words. This is a question written by the folks at MGMAT. Those folks are brilliant! True, they are not perfect: sometimes they make mistakes. On the whole, though, their questions are superb. As someone who writes practice GMAT questions myself, I am always impressed by the quality of MGMAT questions. You will notice that, in my first post of the page, I praised the high quality of this particular question. Then, you come along, and say the question is wrong. Just think about this. Think about how this appears. When someone else comes to this webpage and reads this, are they going to believe MGMAT, one of the worldwide leaders in GMAT preparation? Or, are they going to doubt this worldwide leader and believe you? Think about how that makes you look. At this point, you are not yet perfectly fluent in English, but implicitly you are saying you understand the GMAT SC better than the worldwide leader. That position certainly can allow others to draw some unsavory conclusions.

My friend, I am very concerned for you. You see, when you put your words out on the web, they are there for the whole world to see. Folks in B-school adcom could see it. Some of the current forum users might one day be your colleagues, or your bosses, or your rivals, or your potential customers. You never know how people could show up in your life again. Furthermore, you have only one chance in life to make a first impression. What if someone reading this remembers you some day as "that guy who thought he was smarter than MGMAT"? Many people do not want to hire or work with someone who is so ready to say that he is right and others are wrong. It's very difficulty to do teamwork with such a person. Such a person can have a negative impact in a company, even if he is extremely talented. I am not saying that this describes you in any way, but realize that when you send any message with these emotional implications, it can generate all kinds of roadblocks that you may not understand. In the business world, if something you say or do makes people uncomfortable, even if it's misinterpreted or not representative of your true intentions, then doors simply get closed and you never know why.

Also, as I have mentioned before in another post, saying other people are wrong is not the best way to learn. It sounds as if there is something that you don't understand about this MGMAT question, and you would grow most as a student if you could understand it more deeply. You are not likely to learn and grow if you are maintaining that MGMAT is wrong and you are right. Asking for an explanation makes you sound like a student who wants to learn and grow. Saying the worldwide leader is wrong makes you sound like someone who isn't all that interested in learning. Again, this may not be your intention, but this is the emotional takeaway what you are saying. The American poet Maya Angelou said, "  I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel  ."

My friend, I hope you understand that I have your deep interests very much in mind: I will you success in every sense. I hope you take my words in this spirit.

Mike McGarry

thangvietname · Answer

thank you Mike. 
I am sorry for my words because I type them quickly when thinking over the question. I will be more careful in the future.

come back to question.

Please, show me the place in og books, "subject is likely to do" is used

If I am wrong, I learn from you. I am here to learn from you, Mike. the matter of language , if it matters, is small. I am just a person willing to get into a middle ranking business school, not a top rank b-schol like Havard or Stanford.

yesterday, I also see a Manhattan question, which consider "consider something to be" wrong. in gmatprep. there is one question in gmatprep in which, "consider something to be" is correct. and it is Ron, who explain this problem. but I do not post my comment on the question.

all of us have to follow the rules, sc section follows but dose not declare.

thangvietname · Answer

I am checking again the phrase "likely to do" in og book. 
anyone interested in this thing, pls, check. I will "find" fuction in the pdf file of og book.

if anyone find new thing, pls post here so that we can learn.

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear thangvietnam , My friend, thank you for your response, but with all due respect, there are some things that I said that you missed. Here's the really BIG idea: The SC questions in the OG are meant to be exemplary, not exhaustive . This is extremely important to appreciate. For example, I don't know whether the " A is likely to " construction appears in the OG or anywhere in the official material. I don't know, and I don't care, because it doesn't matter !! I can guarantee that this is correct and GMAT-worthy. Whether or not something appears in the OG & in other official material is NOT the sole criterion by which something would be "fair game" for the GMAT. In fact, I think one of the many things that MGMAT did very well here in this question was to create a question with a 100%-valid construction that is NOT found in official material but which could appear on the real GMAT. They were doing you a favor by showing you a new construction that you need to know, and you are quibbling with this baselessly. You are misunderstanding and misconstruing the nature of the OG and the implicit guarantees that its content represents. The GMAT OG is not the bible. It is not the Constitution of the US. It is not the sole arbiter of what is right and wrong on the GMAT. Especially with grammar, it cannot possibly exhaust every single structure that is correct. Instead, it provides enough examples to allow us to get a sense of the "territory" in the larger field of grammar & usage that they are staking out. Because you are misconstruing the nature of the OG implicit guarantees, you are posing a challenge to which no one is interested in responding, because it is entirely irrelevant. Whether the construction " A is likely to " appears in the OG or any official material is strictly and completely irrelevant. This structure is 100% correct, it is GMAT worthy, and it could appear on the real GMAT. That is what you need to know. As for the structure with the verb " consider ," I know that the preferred idiom is " to consider A B ," not " to consider A to be B ." When the GMAT actually tests this structure, they prefer the former. I don't know the question to which you are referring. I know that sometimes, an official SC question tests some structures, and in another non-underlined section of the sentence, a structure appears that doesn't conform to SC standards. Yes, it is maddening when the GMAT makes this mistake, but it arises because the mistake doesn't impact the choice in the question. Don't be fooled by this. In each question, focus your attention on the underlined part, on the issues the questions has been designed to address. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

thangvietname · Answer

one retired question from gmatprep test the difference between "A is likely to do" and " it is likely that A do". if you want to find that question, find my recent posts in beatthegmat, in which expert Hunt also posted. 
maybe gmat thinks that this grammar point is not basic ,so, gmat retire the question. But the nature of grammar is the same. this question is the reason why I sam sure that "A is likely to do" never exist in og books.

SC is so difficult for us, non natives, that to do well on it, we have to see the errors at the first time of reading a choice, nearly alway. only 10 percent of question require the comparison of two choices. So, if the question have a problem, we can not practice.

the questions in og are of excelence but sometimes I do not understand some questions. gmat edit its questions many rounds and even must resort to real tests to determine the difficulty of the question. This process the prep companies never have.

the following from og also make me puzzled

"compensating and growing, starfish..........."

in OA of this problem, "compensating" and "growing" is considered twe separate actions. and I question this point. pls, look at the question right here in this forum , which is recently posted

thangvietname · Answer

Mike.
you live in freedom
hope you remember me, a person making you angry sometime

now, some company hires 5 or 6 persons to follow me whenever I go out of my house. they prevent me from looking for the British girl I met in Halong bay, Vietnam on Jan 27, 2014. my cell phone is recorded. my internet is accessed. over last 15 months , I look for the British girl, named TINA RINK BULMER

PLS, HELP ME

Nunuboy1994 · Answer

The hidden idiom in this sentence is "between x and Y" - it is buried in there amid all the other words.

C

sok · Answer

Mike, thanks for the explanation.
Just wanna to add little more value to your post.
I think there is no any "'and" in option A.
Or am I wrong?

Nunuboy1994 · Answer

idiomatically incorrect

The correct idiom is "between x and y"

C

sanjayparihar16 · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

This sentence describes a consideration that patients should take into account when deciding between two types of medical insurance plans. To express its message most effectively, the sentence should describe the two different plans in terms that are as parallel as possible. In addition, to be idiomatic, "between" must be paired with "and". Finally, the sentence should not use unnecessarily wordy language to express its point.
(A) With more predictable out-of-pocket costs is not parallel to higher monthly premiums; nor is with more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs parallel to which has lower premiums. The pairing of between and or is unidiomatic. Finally, the initial modifier In deciding between… should be followed directly by the subject patients, but, in this sentence, it is not.
(B) The pairing of between and as compared to is unidiomatic. The phrase out-of-pocket costs that are more variable and potentially higher is both unnecessarily wordy and not parallel to the preceding lower premiums. (Both problems would be remedied if it were written instead as more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs.) Finally, their likelihood… is awkward and inaccurate, since the likelihood itself is not something that belongs to the patients.
(C) CORRECT. The descriptions of the two plans—with higher monthly premiums but more predictable out-of-pocket costs and with lower premiums but more variable and potentially higher out-of-pocket costs—are written in parallel. Moreover, the two elements within each description are also written in parallel. Between is correctly paired with and, according to idiomatic convention. The initial modifier In deciding between… is followed directly by the subject patients, as required.
(D) The description of the first plan (which not only has… but also has…) is not only unnecessarily wordy, but also unlike the description of the second (with … and with …); the sentence would be more effective if both were written in the style of the latter. The idiom not only… but also …, while not grammatically incorrect, is nonsense in this context: that idiom should describe two ideas that reinforce each other, but, here, the two ideas that follow not only… and but also… contrast with each other.
(E) The pairing of between and or is unidiomatic. Additionally, the initial modifier In deciding between… should be followed directly by the subject patients, but, in this sentence, it is not.

VerbalBot · Answer

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