HLTH-1 Courses:

HLTH 8420 - Health Economics

(5 credits)

Because of the complexity and uncertainty of the healthcare system, as well as the scope of resources consumed by health and health-related organizations, managers must appreciate the economic implications of decisions regarding allocation of resources. Students in this course examine the application of economic principles to managerial decision making regarding the amount, structure, and distribution of healthcare resources and services. Through discussions and application-based assignments, students build on their knowledge of economic principles as they examine the population's demand for healthcare; the supply of organizations and practitioners; the role of insurance, moral hazard, and adverse selection; the practice of cost shifting; the structure, competitive nature, and dynamics of markets; differing objectives of for-profit and nonprofit organizations; variation in consumer access to and use of services; roles of uncertainty and information asymmetry; strategies for consumer cost sharing; and challenges that healthcare organizations face in pricing, producing, allocating, and distributing health services. Students also devote special attention to understanding how health services differ in a variety of competitive markets.