Introduction to Health Care Policy
Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Instructor: Richard G. Frank

The aim of this course is to provide students with an overview of the health care delivery system, its components, and the policy challenges created by the organization of US health care. The vehicle used for gaining this understanding will be to consider the health care system from the perspective of several main “actors” in the system: patients, providers (doctors and hospitals), health plans, and payors. In each case, students will be asked to consider each player’s objectives, constraints, incentives, knowledge, and conduct. Students will read both “insider” and “outsider” analyses of the problems each actor must face in pursuing their objectives. Literature from medical sociology, economics, politics, anthropology, and ethics will be incorporated into lectures, discussions, and homework exercises. Several brief essays (5 pages in length) will be required, along with a final exam. No disciplinary background is assumed, nor is any special familiarity with the field of health care required.