- The Economics of Health and Healthcare

Catalog description

This course examines the issues of health and healthcare from an economic perspective. Specific issues discussed are the relationship between health and healthcare consumption; demand under conditions of uncertainty; the production and distribution of health services; the role of risk, uncertainty and insurance; and the government as insurer and provider. We will also study several of the various sub-markets such as the pharmaceutical market and the market for physician services. As a bridge course, it will have significant focus on the availability of individuals across the economic spectrum to access healthcare resources as well as unequal outcomes across income group, race and ethnicity. As part of this work, students will compare outcomes of the United States system of healthcare provision to other systems in developed and developing world.