ECO 2531: Health Economics

Abstract

Why take a course in Health Economics The U.S. presidential election of 2008 was a watershed event in the health care reform debate. Keeping his promise, and taking advantage of Democratic majorities in both, the House and the Senate, president Barack Obama signed legislation on May 23, 2010, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became the law of the land. This event began a decade long process that will transform health care delivery and financing, extending coverage to more than 32 million previously uninsured Americans and changing rules that govern how health insurance is delivered. The health care sector, now representing more than one-sixth of the U.S. economy in terms of economic activity, continues to change in unimaginable ways. Sweeping transformations in the organizational arrangements of health care providers, newly developed medical technologies, the creation of new health insurance products, and the development and evaluation of various public policy initiatives all make the health care sector a dynamic and exciting area for applying the lens and tools of economic analysis. Indeed, not a day goes by without the unfolding of a medical event that requires the insights of economics to unravel the depths of its implications. By taking a course in Health Economics, students would be able to: 1) Recognize the relevance of economics to health and medical care and to apply economic reasoning to better understand public health-related issues; 2) Understand the mechanisms of health care delivery in the United States within broad social, political, and economic contexts; 3) Explore the changing nature of health and medical care and its implications for medical practice, medical education and research, and health policy; 4) Analyze public policy in health and medical care from an economic perspective. Objectives of the Course: Application of economic tools and concepts to the analysis of the US health care system and public health. Effects of health care on health, hospital behavior, health care workforce supply and demand for health care. Role of health insurance and demographic changes in health care systems. Emphasis on public health in the United States and its current situation. Comparison of the USA health care system with the health care system of other countries.