In a certain country, insurance companies pay only a fixed percentage—set by law and uniform across all insurance companies—of the fees actually billed by healthcare providers. Patients without insurance coverage, however, are legally responsible for the full amount of those fees. If the fixed percentage set for insurance companies is changed, healthcare providers will adjust their fees so that the insurance companies pay the same dollar amount that they would have paid before the change.

The information given most strongly supports which of the following general claims about the country described?

(A) If the percentage prescribed by law for insurance companies is decreased, private patients without insurance coverage will pay more for healthcare services.

(B) The dollar amount paid by insurance companies to healthcare providers will not change unless the legally specified percentage is changed.

(C) If the number of patients without insurance coverage grows beyond the number of patients covered by insurance, healthcare providers will adjust their billing practices according to the needs of those patients.

(D) If an economic recession causes the healthcare industry to suffer, the legally prescribed percentage paid by insurance companies will be increased.

(E) Acquiring insurance coverage, if possible, would be a sound economic decision for any patient.



OA A

Source: Manhattan Prep