Chapter 6 Cost and Supply Curve
Chapter 6 Cost and Supply Curve
Chapter 6 Cost and Supply Curve
• Cost functions show the relationship between total costs and output.
• Fixed costs
• remain constant Ex, When I open a clinic and no patients
• incurred even when output is zero come , so still I have to pay a salary for
the doctors and nurses
• Beds and other furnishings When I open the clinic , I have to buy all necessary thing like
beds and other equipment , even when output is zero
• Equipment
Cost functions
• Variable costs When i have a lot of patients in my clinic , I need to pay for
additional beds for them , as the number of patient
• increase with the level of output increase (output) , the production (cost) will increase
(direct relationship).
Ex, if I had 100 patients per vaccination I would
need more vaccines and I will be paying for the
• Example:
costs for the vaccines.
• costs associated with each patient For example, I cannot give the same needle of vaccine with more than one
patient, each patient has his own needle of vaccine, so when I have more
patients, I need to pay for getting more needles for them
• the cost of needles and syringes, dressings and medication The amount of drug given to a child
is different from the amount of drug
given to adults
Each of them their cost different to each patient
If the doctors get money from salary (fixed) not based on the number of patients
, even the doctors have or have not patients, the amount of the money will be
fixed
If the doctors get money from capitation or based on the number of patients
(variable) , depend on the number of patients
The supply curve
If the production cost for vaccine per one patient is 100 SAR
I will not be willing to sell the vaccine with 90 SAR because I will lose
money (beakeven ) not profit
I will be willing to sell it with 110 SAR OR MORE
The supply curve
• When the good is being sold at a low price, only a few suppliers would
be willing to sell it, thus the quantity supplied will be low.
Ex, produce a vaccine for monkey box with 100 SAR per patient.
If I sell it with 100SAR or lower(90Sar) , i will not earn a profit.
So i will not be willing to sell it in this price i as a supplier need to sell the
product with higher price to get money.
The different between production cost and the price of
• Subsidies
• Price regulation
The government will say no consultation fee beyond 100, the government
said so if I'm a provider , I charge 150 I can be penalized or I can be sent to
jail for overpriced.
• Public finance This doesn't affect you so much, because this one is based on
taxes. So in the US, the price of Coca Cola differs from one state
to another. minor differences, but it's because some of it is
actually in finance of the taxes.
Supply in Health Care
product.
• It is very difficult to measure the inputs and the outputs of health care.
The time (supply);that spend to one
patient is different from another
Supply in Health Care