Courses

The purpose of this course is to introduce economic analysis of health and health care within the context of the United States. The course provides an overview of the existing institutions and policies in the United States health care system and examines both the supply-side and the demand-side of health care. Standard microeconomic tools, such as models of imperfect competition, are used to analyze how the current structure influences the allocation and distribution of health services. The course also examines topics such as medical malpractice, Medicare, Medicaid, the cost of prescription drugs, and markets for human organs. The course evaluates the impact of existing policies and proposed reforms on the economically disadvantaged; it considers the appropriate role of government in health care after taking into account the potential of both the market failure and the government failure. The course looks at the latest health care reforms and the advantages and disadvantages of having universal health care of some type in the U.S. This course also compares the current American health care system with those of other countries such as Canada, the U.K., Germany and France. Students also write a semester-long empirical paper on a health economics topic of their choice. Prerequisites: Econ 294, Econ 350.