The U.S. Health Care System

Catalog description

This course examines the various stakeholders of the U.S. health care system and how the stakeholders interact with one another. We begin by examining the role of medical care in producing health and the costs and benefits of new medical technologies (e.g., medical devices, prescription drugs, and new surgical techniques). We then examine the objectives and behavior of key stakeholders in the system: patients, employers, and taxpayers who pay for health care; private and public (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) health insurers who manage the funds; hospitals, physicians, and other health care professionals who provide medical care; and pharmaceutical and medical device firms that supply products that providers use. Students will also learn how to apply basic reasoning to examine health policy issues, including covering the uninsured, controlling the growth rate of medical spending, improving the quality of medical care, and reforming the malpractice system.