Spring 2013 - 63025 - PA393L - Advanced Policy Economics

Economics of Health Care Policy

Health care cost, access, and quality are now arguably the most important domestic policy issues for the United States. The Affordable Care Act will almost certainly improve overall access to care, but the long-term effects on cost and quality are ambiguous: the national debate on health care policy is by no means over. This course will teach students how to apply economic thinking to a range of health policy questions, and how to be critical consumers of health policy analysis.

The focus of the course will be U.S. federal and state policies and institutions, though there will be some discussion of other health care systems and much of the material will be broadly applicable. Topics covered in the course will include the history and institutions of health policy in the U.S., markets for health care and for health insurance, information economics and market failures, provider payment incentives and the quality of health care, technology change and cost growth, and cost-effectiveness analysis.