The midterm exam is scheduled for in class on Wednesday, October 19. The exam will be closed book. This page will include a set of topics and questions that will help you in preparing for the exam. You should be able to answer most of these questions in one or two sentences based on our lectures. A fuller understanding is great, but beyond the scope of the exam.

For example, consider, “What was the Beveridge Plan in 1941?” The important answer for us is, “This is a British proposal that led to a number of laws in the UK establishing much of their modern welfare system including the National Health Service (NHS).” We talked about a few other interesting aspects of the plan and politics around the plan, most importantly that, “it was influential on plans in other Commonwealth countries (especially India and Canada).” Something like the first statement is likely to be on the the exam. Something like the second statement is unlikely to be on the exam. Something more detailed (what was Beveridge’s job, what was a unity government, what were the laws created based on the plan? etc.) will not be on the exam (although all were mentioned in class).

Exam topics and questions (in progress)

What is a DALY? a QALY? a YLL?
what conditions have the highest burden of disease as measured by DALY? by mortality?
What is a public good? an access good?
how do you calculate expected value in a lottery with two or three possible outcomes?
What is the law of large numbers and why is it useful in insurance?
What are the two concepts of pooling and why are they useful in insurance?
Briefly give the essential characteristic of the following philosophies with regards to the provision of rights to people: utilitarianism, cosmopolitanism, capabilities approach, Rawlsianism, libertarianism?
What are natural, legal, positive, and negative rights?
Why is Otto van Bismark important in the history of insurance? How did the revolutions of 1848 impact this?
What form of publicly provided social insurance was adopted most quickly throughout the world?
When did US states first begin enacting state accident insurance programs?
How was what we now call behavioral economics or nudging important in accident insurance programs of the early 20th-century?
What characterized communist social insurance programs in comparison with those based on the German model?
What did FDR and Churchill discuss about ideal political society before Pearl Harbor?
What was the Beveridge Plan in 1941?
When was the great depression? When was FDR’s Social Security Act passed?
What is a FICA? A FUTA? Who is responsible for them?
Other than retired individuals, who else can receive direct benefits from OASDI?
How many workers are paying payroll taxes per OASDI beneficiary?
What is the key change in the composition of SSI beneficiaries between its establishment and today?
What was the stabilization act of 1942 and why is it important for history of insurance?
When were Medicare and Medicaid created? Who was the president at that time?
What is the connection between health policies proposed by Nixon, Carter, Clinton in 1994, and Obama?
What are the 4 most important pieces of the ACA for insurance coverage?
What were the main influences of the following figures on social insurance in the US: Julia Lothrop, FDR, LBJ, Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Trump?
What was the switch in time that saved nine?
What is deinstitutionalization?
What is a Cadillac Tax?
What is IPAB?
What was NFIB v Sebilius? How was it decided? How was the decision changed during discussions in the court?
What is Medicaid expansion?
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