3.00 Credits
It is expected that this course will facilitate your understanding of the traditional issues in health economics. This course will improve and broaden your knowledge of healthcare systems economics by exploring historical and current economic principles that guide the healthcare system. You will realize how the economy of our healthcare systems has reached the current status. This realization will be as a result of better understanding the impact of an aging population, the malpractice risk, the role of competition and government regulation, and the incentives used by pharmaceuticals and managed care insurers as they drive the healthcare systems. We will explore the health insurance market and managed care, the market for physicians' services, cost of healthcare in hospitals and other healthcare venues, labor issues, cost effectiveness analysis, equity and efficiency, role of government in the health economy, Medicaid and Medicare, international comparisons, and national health insurance.