Health Economics and Policy

Catalog description

Introduction to health economics and public policy. The roles of physicians, hospitals, government, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the newly introduced medical exchanges in the delivery of health care. Topics covered include: characteristics of the health care sector of the economy; cost benefit and effectiveness analysis, justifications for government involvement in health care regulation; how government policies and insurance markets determine the allocation of health care resources; financing of health care services; international comparisons; and policy issues such as universal health insurance. This course is the same as Economics 3500.