Grading The grade of A is reserved for those who demonstrate extraordinarily excellent performance. The grade of A- is awarded only for excellent performance. The grade for good performance in this course is a B+/B. The grades of D+, D, and D- are not awarded at the graduate level. Please refer to the for grade appeal information. Tentative Course Calendar* *The instructors reserve the right to alter course content and/or adjust the pace to accommodate class progress. Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar. Meeting Time Topic Readings Due Date How do economists think of health? Issues in health care delivery design and implementation Sources and remedies for inequalities in health and related policies; Cost and benefit analysis Cutler, Chapter 1 Class notes Date The patient side The demand for health care; Medical care production; In-depth analysis: Challenges to the provision and delivery of mental health care and their resolution Class notes; Santerre and Neun, Chapters 5 and 7 Case: Achieving Mental Health Parity Reading: “Better But Not Best” by Glied and Frank; Health Affairs 28, No 3, 2009 Problem Set 1 distributed Date Institutional setup in health care provision and related challenges The demand for health insurance; Structure of the US Private Health Insurance Industry; Health insurance in developing countries; Behavioral challenges to health care delivery in developing countries; Behavioral economics concepts: Anchoring, framing and learning Santerre and Neun, Chapter 6 Article: Dupas, Pascaline (2013) “ Short-Run Subsidies and Long-Run Adoption of New Health Products” Case: Health Insurance to the Base of the Pyramid Problem Set 1 due at the end of class
Date The provider side 1: Models of hospital behavior; Quality of care issues; The Role of the State; Behavioral challenges to health care delivery in developed societies Behavioral concepts: Framing; discounting; procrastination Santerre and Neun, Chapter 13 Article: Loewenstein et al (2007) “Asymmetric Paternalism to Improve Health Behaviors” JAMA 2007; 298(20) pp. Case: Learning about Reducing Hospital Mortality in Kaiser Permanente Problem Set 2 distributed Teams for first set of group presentations formed Date The provider side 2: Models of Physician Behavior; Electronic Medical Records; Sources of bias in economic decision-making; Sources of bias in therapy decisions; In-depth analysis: Racial disparities in health care outcomes Class notes; Article: Bach, P et al (2004) Primary Care Physicians Who Treat Blacks and Whites” NEJM, 2004; 351: 575-84 Article: Simeonova, Emilia (2013) “Doctors, Patients, and the Racial Mortality Gap”, Journal of Health Economics, forthcoming Case: Apogee Health Care First set of group presentations in class Class grades for first set of groups presentations due to professor by midnight on Monday Date Complex issues with many players: Physician-patient interaction; Patient adherence to prescribed therapy; Behavioral concept: The power of default Class notes; Case: Target Systems Problem Set 2 due at the end of class Teams for second set of group presentations formed Date Behavioral issues in patient health management: obesity and exercise; smoking; addiction Reading list; Class notes Second set of group presentations in class Class grades for first set of groups presentations due to professor by midnight on Monday Date Final exam