Team Leadership/Management Style: Primary Post Assignment (20 Points):

Discussion Post Two 

Healthcare has become an industry. Finding the best delivery system can be challenging. McLaughlin and McLaughlin lay out the five main avenues for delivering healthcare. The first is a monopoly in which the market is controlled by one provider. This option is now considered illegal, for obvious reasons. One source should not have all the power in the market, to control prices and options. When the government is involved in a monopolized method of healthcare distribution, then individuals would not have any input in insurance options.The second option is a monopsony, which occurs when a single, exclusive buyer controls the market. In this case the government would most likely be the exclusive, primary buyer which may not be the best option for an individual looking for proper heath care and health insurance. If the government is the primary, exclusive buyer, then it would have the most control in distributing healthcare, and determining the prices. 

Oligopolistic is the third option. Within this system, there are three or four healthcare providers which control state and local healthcare prices when a national market is not present.  On a national scale, oligopolistic distribution occurs in pharmacy benefits management and Medicare managed care. In the industrial sector, oligopolistic competition means that the providers only control around 40% of the market, because at least two other providers  are present (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2015). 

If this type of competition was implemented in healthcare distribution, then the government would be one of the main sellers. Granted, it would most likely be the primary one, but the other main buyers would also have some influence as other sellers.            

The fourth option mentioned is administered competition which consists of several buyers and one primary buyer (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2015). With this said, the primary buyer would most likely be a government creation. This would imply that the government would still have a great deal of control of healthcare distribution, maybe not directly but indirectly through this government created buyer. 

The final option is consumer-driven healthcare. In this free market approach, consumers determine the market. In this model, the government would not have much influence, but at the same time it may not be the most reliable option. The free market model relies on accurate information, numerous buyers and sellers means that there aren’t any set prices. At the same time, all products have substitutes and an individual can leave the market whenever one wants (McLaughlin & McLaughlin, 2015). 

With this said, the oligopolistic method of distribution would be the best option because the government would have competition as a buyer and as a provider. It would not have complete control. John Kirkwood points out that when there are multiple buyers, the prices can be bargained collectively, when these buyers fuse the lowest price can be found (Kirkwood, 2016).

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