ECON-350 Health Economics (3)

Students study markets for healthcare services and health insurance, with a focus on problems in U.S. healthcare policy. The course analyzes the demand for healthcare, including behavioral-economics perspectives: markets for health insurance and issues of adverse selection; Medicare, Medicaid, and reforms intended to increase access to health insurance; moral hazard and utilization of healthcare services; competition among hospitals, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies; antitrust concerns; rising healthcare spending; international comparisons of healthcare systems; and current topics in healthcare reform, including insurance-market policies and payments innovations. Usually Offered: spring. Prerequisite: ECON-100; and ECON-150 or ECON-200.