HSCI 710 - Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System (Core course)

3 Credit(s)

This course is a broad survey of the various components of the U.S. health system, emphasizing the historical development of the various institutions which make up the system, and financial analysis of those institutions as they currently exist. This class will not address health care systems of countries outside the U.S. This course will include the status and implementation of the new reform legislation at the state and federal levels and to the budgetary implications of health care spending more broadly. There will also be a focus on the major health policy institutions and important issues that cut across institutions, including private insurers and the federal/state financing programs (Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP). Attention also will be given to mental health issues, disparities in access to care, the quality of care, structure of the delivery system, the challenges of long-term care and the aging of the population, and the drivers of cost growth.