Introduction to US Health System

3.0 credits

In this course, we examine the organization, financing, delivery, and performance of the US health care system. The inherent tradeoffs between access to care, cost, quality, and outcomes are considered from the perspective of the main actors in the system, i.e. patients, providers (physicians, hospitals, etc), health plans, insurers and payers. Topics include: need and access to care; health care insurance and financing; Medicare and Medicaid; managed care; service delivery; long-term care; public health; quality of care, and others. The aim of the course is to help students deepen their understanding of the health care system, strengthen their ability to synthesize the literature and assess key current policy issues, and to further develop their critical thinking skills. This course is delivered online and may have synchronous sessions that meet during the scheduled class time.