首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Canada’s premiers (the leaders of provincial governments), if they have any breath left after complaining about Ottawa at their
Canada’s premiers (the leaders of provincial governments), if they have any breath left after complaining about Ottawa at their
admin
2009-06-24
40
问题
Canada’s premiers (the leaders of provincial governments), if they have any breath left after complaining about Ottawa at their late July annual meeting, might spare a moment to do something, to reduce health-care costs.
They’re all groaning about soaring health budgets, the fastest-growing components of which are pharmaceutical costs.
66.______.
What to do? Both the Romanow commission and the Kirby committee on health care—to say nothing of reports from other experts—recommended the creation of a national drug agency. Instead of each province having its own list of approved drugs, bureaucracy, procedures and limited bargaining power, all would pool resources, work with Ottawa, and create a national institution.
67.______.
But "national" doesn’t have to mean that. "National" could mean interprovincial—provinces combining efforts to create one body.
Either way, one benefit of a "national" organization would be to negotiate better prices, if possible, with drug manufacturers. Instead of having one province—or a series of hospitals within a province—negotiate a price for a given drug on the provincial list, the national agency would negotiate on behalf of all provinces.
Rather than, say, Quebec, negotiating on behalf of seven million people, the national agency would negotiate on behalf of 31 million people. Basic economics suggests the greater the potential consumers, the higher the likelihood of a better price.
68.______.
A small step has been taken in the direction of a national agency with the creation of the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health technology assessment, funded by Ottawa and the provinces. Under it, a Common Drug Review recommends to provincial lists which new drugs should be included. Predictably, and regrettably, Quebec refused to join.
A few premiers are suspicious of any federal-provincial deal-making. They (particularly Quebec and Alberta) just want Ottawa to fork over additional billions with few, if any, strings attached. That’s one reason why the idea of a national list hasn’t gone anywhere, while drug costs keep rising fast.
69.______.
Premiers love to quote Mr. Romanow’s report selectively, especially the parts about more federal money. Perhaps they should read what he had to say about drugs: "A national drug agency would provide governments more influence on pharmaceutical companies in order to try to constrain the ever-increasing cost of drugs".
70.______.
So when the premiers gather in Niagara Falls to assemble their usual complaint lists, they should also get cracking about something in their jurisdiction that would help their budgets and patients.
A. Quebec’s resistance to a national agency is provincialist ideology. One of the first advocates for a national list was a researcher at Laval University. Quebec’s Drug Insurance Fund has seen its costs skyrocket with annual increases from 14.3 percent to 26.8 percent!
B. Or they could read Mr. Kirby’s report: "The substantial buying power of such an agency would strengthen the public prescription-drug insurance plans to negotiate the lowest possible purchase prices from drug companies".
C. What does "national" mean? Roy Romanow and Senator Michael Kirby recommended a federal provincial body much like the recently created National Health Council.
D. Of course, the pharmaceutical companies will scream. They like divided buyers; they can lobby better that way. They can use the threat of removing jobs from one province to another. They can hope that, if one province includes a drug on its list; the pressure will cause others to include it on theirs. They wouldn’t like a national agency, but self-interest would lead them to deal with it.
E. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, prescription-drug costs have risen since 1997 at twice the rate of overall health-care spending. Part of the increase comes from drugs being used to replace other kinds of treatment. Part of it arises from new drugs costing more than older kinds. Part of it is higher prices.
F. So, if the provinces want to run the health-care show, they should prove they can run it, starting with an interprovincial health list that would end duplication, save administrative cost, prevent one province from being played off against another, and bargain for better drug prices.
选项
答案
E
解析
文章谈论的是加拿大医疗制度和机构改革过程中存在的问题,属于新闻综述体裁。本题前面一段是说加拿大的省长们都在抱怨医疗费用预算的激增,而后面一段则提出了"怎么办"这一问题。由逻辑与文章的结构可知,所空段落应当涉及的是医疗预算激增的具体表现,选项中E谈论的正是医疗费用增长的统计,符合逻辑要求,因此是本题答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/J3Hd777K
本试题收录于:
公共英语五级笔试题库公共英语(PETS)分类
0
公共英语五级笔试
公共英语(PETS)
相关试题推荐
Whatdoestherecentpollshow?WhichofthefollowingisNOTtrueaboutacontemporarymarriedcouple?
A.togivethebossyouradviceB.howheisfeelingC.thebossmayhaveD.whatyoureallywanttotalktohimaboutE.withou
A.togivethebossyouradviceB.howheisfeelingC.thebossmayhaveD.whatyoureallywanttotalktohimaboutE.withou
Icouldeasilyidentifyhimamongthecrowdbecausehewaswearinglonghair.
A.itsbenefitsB.theirchildhoodmemoriesC.theirstressD.moretrainingE.disciplineproblemsF.becauseofitslowpayThegov
NaturalMedicinesSinceearliestdays,humanshaveusedsomekindsofmedicines.Weknowthisbecausehumanshavesurvived.An
FairyTalesforAlltheWorldThisyear,theworldismarkingthe200thanniversaryofDanishauthorHansChristianAndersen
TheGreatestMysteryofWhalesThewhaleisamammal(哺乳动物)-warm-blooded,air-breathing,givingbirthtoitsyoungalive,
TheScienceofPersuasionIfleadershipconsistsofgettingthingsdonethroughothers,thenpersuasionisoneoftheleader’se
TheWorldTableTennisChampionshipsattractsthemostinterestinAsiancountries.Manystateleaderswillattendtheopening
随机试题
TheheadoftheMuseumwas______andletusactuallyexaminetheancientmanuscripts.
继发型肺结核包括
对断肢的处理方法,除需干燥、冷藏保存外,还需要
膀胱手法挤压的作用是
由于各行业生产性质和条件的不同,建筑系数和场地利用系数的大小必然有所差异,就一般工业项目而言,其建筑系数应不低于()。
特定减免税政策是指在特定范围内适用的税收优惠政策,这个特定范围通常包括()。
下列资产计提的资产减值准备,在相应持有期间可以通过损益转回的是()。(2014年)
下列各项中,不属于数字版权保护技术的是()。
如图所示,固定于竖直面内的粗糙斜杆,与水平方向夹角为30°,质量为m的小球套在杆上,在大小不变的拉力F作用下,小球沿杆由底端匀速运动到顶端。已知小球与斜杆之间的动摩擦因数为,关于拉力F的大小和F的做功情况,下列说法正确的是()。
一种产品的价值由其质量与价格之间的比率决定。一种产品的价值越高,其竞争性就越强,所以对于既定产品而言,或者通过提高质量,或者通过降低价格,都会提高消费者选择这种产品而不选择竞争性产品的概率。下面哪项如果正确,最能支持以上得出的结论?
最新回复
(
0
)