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Health Economics

94-705

Units: 12

Description

Can the tools of economic analysis be applied to health care? What about health care, if anything, makes it different than other goods? The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the methods of health economics and demonstrate how these methods can be applied to analyze issues in health policy and management. This course will teach the student to use economic analysis to understand critical issues in health care and health policy.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:
• Identify the flow of resources in the U.S. health care system, how purchasers pay for their services, and how providers obtain their revenues.
• Understand how to value of health and health care.
• Evaluate how health care resources should be allocated.
• Describe the structure of the health care industry, explain the incentives facing market participants, understand the strategies they use to compete and their impacts on social welfare.
• Understand the demand for medical care, and what role providers play in shaping this demand.
• Explain how competition works in health care.

• Explain important economic models in health care.