The healthcare sector consists of businesses that provide medical services, manufacture medical equipment or drugs, provide medical insurance, or otherwise facilitate the provision of healthcare to patients. Economically, healthcare markets are marked by a few distinct factors. Government intervention in healthcare markets and activities is pervasive, in part due to some of these economic factors. Demand for healthcare services is highly price inelastic. Consumers and producers face inherent uncertainties regarding needs, outcomes, and the costs of services. Patients, providers, and other industry players possess widely asymmetric information and principal-agent problems are ubiquitous.

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