Health Economics & Policy 3 rd Edition James W. Henderson Chapter 10 Sociocultural Considerations

The Nature of Societal Problems l AIDS l Drug Use l Other Pathologies

AIDS in America l Extent of AIDS –United States –Worldwide l Medical care issues

AIDS Cases in the U.S. by Year of Report

AIDS by Exposure Category

Drug Abuse l Extent of Drug Use –Medical consequences –Cocaine use in pregnancy l Cost to society l Intervention strategies

Tobacco and Alcohol Use l Related health problems l Premature deaths l Prevalence of use

Prevalence of Tobacco Use 18 Years and Older

Is Addiction Rational? l When does a habit become an addiction? l Potential for addiction increases if past consumption increases current consumption l Do individuals realize total cost of behavior? l Must assume time consistent behavior – future behavior is consistent with current desires for future behavior l Gruber and Koszegi (2001) – forward looking behavior is not consistent over time l Policy should take into consideration not only externalities of behavior, but internalities l Smokers die on average 6.1 years prematurely. At $100,000/year, cost per pack smoked is $30.45

Other Social Pathologies l Violence l Teen pregnancy l STDs –CDC lists 25 STDs –15 million new cases annually –65 million Americans have incurable STD l Obesity –BMI > 30 –30% of Americans –Direct costs of obesity in 1995 ~ $100 million

Infant Mortality

Birth Rates for Teen Mothers 1996

Estimated Cost of Selected STDs

Summary and Conclusions l Sociocultural concerns a major confounding factor in health care delivery l Government role in encouraging healthy lifestyle behavior