We must question the assumption that for-profit health care institutio

Question

Project RC Butler 2020  -  Participate and win GMAT Club Tests.   
Passage # 106, Date: 23-May-2020
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We must question the assumption that for-profit health care institutions carry the obligation to provide free care for people who lack the means to pay for it themselves. There are several reasons to believe that the obligation to provide adequate health care for those without it rests with the federal government. First, the obligation to secure a just distribution of benefits and burdens across society is a general societal necessity. Second, the federal government is the institution employed by society to meet society-wide distributive requirements. It has the capacities to finance an exceptionally expensive program for guaranteed adequate health care. The government's taxing power also allows that the burden of financing health care be spread across different segments of society, not depending on the vagaries of how wealthy or poor a state or local area may be. The government additionally has the power to coordinate health care programs across local and state boundaries. This would reduce inefficiencies that allow people to fall between the cracks of the patchwork of local and state programs, and ensure that there are not great differences in the minimum of health care guaranteed to all in different locales.

If we are one society, then political and economic contingencies in different areas should not determine the level of health care that all citizens should receive. The federal government could provide guaranteed access to health care itself or by supplying vouchers to be used in the health care marketplace. How access should be secured—and to what extent market mechanisms ought to be utilized—is a separate question

If we are one society, then political and economic contingencies in different areas should not determine the level of health care that all citizens should receive. The federal government could provide guaranteed access to health care itself or by supplying vouchers to be used in the health care marketplace. How access should be secured—and to what extent market mechanisms ought to be utilized—is a separate question   1 
 D 
 1. According to the passage, the federal government possesses all the following powers in regard to health care EXCEPT the power to

(A) raise the revenue to finance health care expenditures
(B) distribute the costs of health care equitably among different demographics in the country
(C) ensure that people be able to access health care despite the presence of state and local boundaries
(D) require for-profit corporations to assume a greater role in providing health care to those without it
(E) set comparable and reasonable standards for minimum acceptable levels of health care

2 
 A 
 2. Which of the following would be most consistent with the "society-wide distributive requirements" mentioned in lines 12-13?

(A) The revenue from a federal tax increase is used in part to raise standards of health care in less affluent regions and communities
(B) The federal government consents to more stringent health care standards for less affluent communities
(C) The federal government disavows legislation designating elementary health care as a public responsibility
(D) A revenue shortfall caused by a federal tax cut is compensated for by an increase in state taxes
(E) The federal government transfers allocated funds from its food stamp program to a program which guarantees health care

3 
 C 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that the author considers the method by which health care is guaranteed to people to be

(A) an issue that may prevent agreement on the principle of securing health care for all
(B) a responsibility primarily of state and local governments
(C) an issue that is distinct from the guarantee of health care itself
(D) dependent on variations in market mechanisms among different locales
(E) a practical problem that may never be satisfactorily resolved

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

Funding Health Care.  
The author of this passage wants to let for-profit health care institutions off the hook by saddling the federal government with the responsibility to pay for health care for the needy. It is pretty clearly structured and the concepts it discusses are probably not too alienating. Still, the sentences are often cluttered (it's passages like this one that make you wonder if the writers know about the grammatical concepts covered in Sentence Correction questions). Notice, for instance, that the author describes those who can't afford health care as "people who lack the means to pay for it" rather than stating his idea more directly. If you cut past the unnecessary wordiness and focus on the structure, you should be able to grasp the content of the passage itself without too much discomfort. The questions do what they can to challenge you as much as possible by testing details and inferences. There's no rule requiring the test makers to give you global questions for every passage. Here, we get detail, inference, and application questions to ponder.
  Key Points of the Passage Purpose and Main Idea : The author's purpose is to argue that the federal government, rather than for-profit health care institutions, should pay for the health care of those who can't afford it. The main idea is that the federal government is best equipped to provide health care for those without it. 
 Paragraph Structure : Paragraph 1 states the argument and provides two reasons why the federal government should provide health care to those who don't have it. The author starts with a general principle: benefits and burdens should be distributed across society. Next, he claims that the federal government is best able to distribute fairly the benefit of health care and the burden of its cost. 
Paragraph 2 briefly considers two ways that the government might be able to provide health care for those in need: it could either directly pay for the health care of those who can't afford it, or provide vouchers. This final paragraph merely considers general ways that the government might fulfill the responsibility that the author assigns to it.

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS 1.D, 2A, 3.С

1 . (D) Since this question asks which power the government does not possess according to the passage, it is our job to review the passage and identify the powers that the government does possess. 
An 800 test taker answers "all...but" and "EXCEPT" questions by eliminating the four choices supported by the text and choosing the one that remains. Your roadmap should indicate that paragraph 1 is the best place to look for a list of such powers. We see that the government can finance and coordinate the distribution of health care. Review the paragraph and then move on to the answer choices. (D) might be tricky because, by arguing that the government rather than for-profit institutions should shoulder the cost of health care, the passage might perhaps imply that the government could force for-profit companies to cover the cost if it wanted to. Nevertheless, the passage never makes such a claim: nowhere does it state that the government has the power to force for-profit health care companies to foot the bill for health care. Remember, the right answer choice will contain information that the passage did not directly provide; shaky, unsupported inferences are certainly not stated in the passage.
 (A) Paragraph 1 mentions the government's taxing power, a power that clearly enables it to raise money in order to finance health care, as (A) states. (B) might seem a bit suspicious since equitably is not a word or concept we ever encounter in the passage. Still, by saying that the government spreads the burden of financing health care across society, the author does suggest that such a distribution is fair. Remember, you're looking for the power that the author does not mention at all. 
Choice (B) is too well-supported by the passage to be the right answer.
 (C) is stated toward the end of the first paragraph: the government can "coordinate health care programs across local and state boundaries." Answer choice (C) is a fair paraphrase.
 (E) is clearly stated at the end of the first paragraph. The government can establish a "minimum of health care" to be provided to everyone. A passage like this one illustrates that if you read the first question before reading the passage, you'd focus on only the question, looking for the details listed in the answer choices as you read. You'd probably get the question right, but you'd have to reread the passage in order to answer the remaining questions. That would be a huge waste of time. An 800 test taker does not read the first question before reading the passage.

2 . (A) This Application question basically asks you to make sense of the rather confusing phrase society-wide distributive requirements. Looking back at the passage, you can see that the author implicitly defines the phrase like this: The government can distribute the costs and benefits of health care. Now, you need to look for an answer choice that describes the government actually distributing such costs and/or benefits or accepting the obligation to do so. 
(A) is perfect: The government takes the money it raises and uses that money to expand the distribution of health care. (A) is entirely consistent with the discussion of "society-wide distributive requirements" in paragraph 1.
(B) is directly contradicted by the passage. The author states that the government shouldn't make standards higher or lower in different areas but should make sure that the standards are the same everywhere. (C)is also inconsistent with paragraph 1; in order for the government to distribute benefits and costs across society, the author suggests that the government needs to distribute health care, a key benefit, to all. The government should therefore embrace, not disavow, legislation that makes it responsible for providing elementary health care. 
(D) doesn't reflect what the author had in mind. The government should burden and reward state and local governments equally. To compensate for a federal deficit with increased revenues from the states wouldn't necessarily be faithful to that principle. Are the states being taxed equally? Are they receiving fairly distributed benefits as a result? Without more information, we can't know whether (D) is consistent with the author's views. (E) also lacks support from the passage. Nowhere does the author suggest that one program of benefits should be used to fund another. And, what does this have to do with the equal distribution of costs and benefits anyway? This choice doesn't answer the question that was asked. 
An 800 test taker does not get sidetracked by the answer choices. Once she knows what she's looking for, she doesn't let the answer choices confuse her.

3 . (C) Great—another inference to make. On the plus side, we do know that the inference will deal with the methods of providing health care, something that's only really discussed in paragraph 2. 
(C) is inferred by the last sentence of the passage. The way in which health care might be provided "is a separate question," so how the government should provide such care is a different issue than whether the government should provide it. In other words, the author distinguishes the general principle (health care for all) from the specific mechanisms of its distribution (vouchers, etc.). 
(A) takes us places that the passage never did. The author describes two possible methods of providing health care to the needy but never suggests that disagreement about those methods might prevent the government from providing health care to all. In fact, he never discusses disagreement on the issue at all. An 800 test taker knows that an inference on the GMAT is something that is directly supported by the Reading Comp passage or Critical Reasoning stimulus. An inference is not just possible; it's necessarily true based on the passage. 
(B) contradicts the passage's main idea. The federal government, not the state and local governments, should be responsible for providing health care. 
(D) might be tricky because the author does suggest that different areas have different health care needs. Nevertheless, he never suggests that the methods of distributing health care need to vary depending on the area. Be careful not to confuse paragraphs 1 and 2; this question pertains only to paragraph 2. 
(E) is too pessimistic to be consistent with the passage. While the author suggests that people will have different opinions on how best to provide health care, he never implies that they will not be able to reach a decision on how to do so. If anything, he takes it for granted that they will. Had enough of business and the social sciences? Good, because it's now time to switch gears and explore the wonderful world of natural science. Remember not to worry too much about the details on your first reading; you're not expected to become a science whiz, but you are expected to understand the general structure and overall purpose of each passage.

richirish · Answer

4 mins all correct, not 700 level IMO barring the last question perhaps.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

You are right, I have edited the tag accordingly. The difficulty levels are as follow:

Question #1: 600
Question #2: 650
Question #3: 700

Overall: 650

Thank you

parthwagh · Answer

The author argues that the federal government, not for-profit healthcare institutions, should be responsible for providing healthcare to those who cannot afford it. They present three reasons:

1. Societal Responsibility: Ensuring a fair distribution of benefits and burdens is a societal necessity.
2. Governmental Capacity: The federal government can finance large programs and distribute costs fairly through taxation.
3. Efficiency and Equity: The government can coordinate healthcare across regions, preventing gaps in coverage and ensuring consistent minimum standards.

The author acknowledges alternative methods for providing access (vouchers vs direct provision), but emphasizes the separate issue of how to fulfill the societal obligation.

## Tone of the Author

The author's tone is neutral and objective. They present a reasoned argument without expressing personal opinions or biases. They acknowledge potential opposing viewpoints but focus on presenting their own stance logically.

## Answers to the Questions:

1. Answer: (D) require for-profit corporations to assume a greater role in providing health care to those without it

The passage argues that the obligation belongs to the government, not private entities. While the government could incentivize or collaborate with corporations, requiring them to provide free care goes against the author's main argument.
 Other options are correct according to the passage:
 (A) Raise revenue: The author mentions the government's taxing power for financing.
 (B) Distribute costs equitably: The author highlights fair cost distribution through taxation.
 (C) Ensure access across boundaries: The author specifically mentions this as a government power.
 (E) Set minimum standards: The author implies the government's role in setting standards.

2. Answer: (A) The revenue from a federal tax increase is used in part to raise standards of health care in less affluent regions and communities

This option directly aligns with the concept of "society-wide distributive requirements" by using federal funds to address regional disparities in healthcare access and quality.
 Other options:
 (B) Consenting to stricter standards doesn't address distribution mentioned in the prompt.
 (C) Disavowing legislation contradicts the author's argument for government responsibility.
 (D) Compensating for federal cuts with state taxes doesn't align with "society-wide" distribution.
 (E) Transferring funds from another program might address healthcare, but not necessarily regional disparities.

3. Answer: (C) an issue that is distinct from the guarantee of health care itself

The passage acknowledges different methods (vouchers vs direct provision) for guaranteeing healthcare access, but argues that choosing the method is separate from the principle of guaranteeing access itself.
 Other options:
 (A) The author presents their argument, not focusing on preventing agreement as a concern.
 (B) The passage argues against this by advocating for federal, not state/local, responsibility.
 (D) While market variations exist, the author doesn't imply it's dependent on the chosen method.
 (E) The author argues for a solution, not implying it's unsolvable.

I hope this analysis is helpful and clarifies the reasoning behind each answer!

We must question the assumption that for-profit health care institutio

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We must question the assumption that for-profit health care institutio

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