UNITEK COLLEGE SYLLABUS
Health Care Economics
Spring 2011 Term
1
Professor: Michael A. S. Guth, Ph.D., J.D.
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Michael A. S. GUTH, Ph.D., J.D.
Health Economics & Health Policy Researcher
send e-mail
(E-mail is best method of contact).
116 Oklahoma Ave.
Oak Ridge, TN
37830-8604
Phone: (865) 483-8309
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Course
Description: This is a course designed to teach you basic
principles of microeconomics and how to use those principles when thinking
about health care policy issues. We will use these principles to understand the
demand for health care, the supply of health care, the health insurance market,
and the role of the government in health policy. The textbook provides an academic perspective on health care
economics; the discussion boards and your term papers will provide very
practical applications.
The
course characterizes America’s health care industry by focusing on the market structure
and the conduct and performance of the sub-sectors that compose this industry.
Private insurance, pharmaceuticals, physician services, hospital service and
medical education markets are evaluated. Within each of these sub-sectors,
output and pricing decisions are analyzed along with the positive economic
implications for efficiency as well as the normative ethical implications.
Additionally, malpractice, risk, and the role of competition and government
regulation as a tool to remedy inefficiencies and inequities in these markets
are studied. Alternative health care systems are also studied, including the
Canadian, German, British and Japanese health care systems.
The purpose of the course is
not to make you health economists. The
purpose instead is threefold: (1) to
enrich your conceptual and technical understanding of the economic principles
that drive the health care system (the role of economic incentives,
competition, and regulation in the performance of the health care system), and
(2) to teach you how consumers – with and without health insurance – are
adapting to the system to receive health care at the lowest cost to them, and
(3) to show how the United States could achieve enormous reductions in
unnecessary deaths, demand for health care, and health care costs by changing
the focus from “waiting for health problems to occur and having insurance pay
for them” to “each person proactively taking charge of his or her health and
preventing problems from occurring.”
Instructor Biography: Dr. Michael
Guth is a public health economics researcher and attorney at law based in Oak
Ridge, TN. He has taught more than
thirty on-line courses for public and private universities in the areas of
economics, finance, business strategy, and tax law. His current research comprises public deficiencies in Vitamin D
and the consequences to health care costs from weakened immune systems, loss of
bone density, greater risk of heart attacks, and increased risks of cancer and
stroke. He is also interested in the health
care benefits of lowering serum glucose levels in the general public to prevent
a variety of diseases, including the now epidemic incidence of Type II
diabetes. Dr. Guth received his B.A.
(economics) from Rice University, his M.S. in Social Sciences (quantitative
economics) from Caltech, and his Ph.D. and J.D. degrees from the University of
Tennessee Knoxville. Health Care
Economics is one of his favorite courses to teach.
Returning
Messages: In general, I will respond to e-mail messages within 24
hours, but you can usually expect a response sooner than that. During my normal office hours, students will
receive responses usually in a matter of minutes. Therefore, students should check their email accounts for a
response shortly after they send me a message.
I will return long distance phone calls from students only if the matter
is urgent. For both urgent and
non-urgent matters, students are asked to communicate with me through e-mail if
at all possible.
Course
Content / Topics Covered:
1. Health Economics.
2. Production Possibilities Curve.
3. Opportunity Cost.
4. Cost-Benefit Analysis.
5. Theories of Health Economics.
6. Healthcare System- Models Other Countries.
7. First-Dollar Coverage.
8. National And Socialized Health Insurance.
9. The Production of Medical Services.
10. Utilization Management Programs.
11. Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility of
Health Services.
12. Structural, Process And Outcome Quality.
13. Lifestyle, Medical Devices and Life
Expectancy.
14. Healthcare Expenditures.
15. Law of Demand for Healthcare Services.
16. Health Insurances Impact On Demand.
17. Coinsurance and Deductibles.
18. Indemnity Insurance.
19. Moral Hazard.
20. Own-Price Elasticity of Demand.
21. Demand for Private Health Insurance.
22. Risk Avoidance.
23. Employer Contribution to Health
Insurance.
24. Insurer Relations.
25. Types of Managed Care Models.
26. Selective Contracting- Deselection.
27. Managed Care Gag Rules.
28. Short and Long Run Costs of Production.
29. Neoclassical Cost Theory.
30. Cost Identification Analysis.
31. Under and Overprovision of Medical
Services.
32. Value of Life.
33. Cost Effectiveness Analysis.
34. Perfect Competition.
35. Determination of Market Price and
Quantity.
36. Taxes And Location of For-Profit
Hospitals.
37. Regulated Market for Human Organs.
38. Profit Maximization.
39. Market Structure/Market Power.
40. Degree of Monopoly.
41. Oligopoly.
42. Barriers to Market Entry.
43. Imperfect Consumer Information.
44. Monopsony And Price Setting.
45. Product Differentiation and Advertising.
46. Market Structure, Conduct And
Performance.
47. Not-For Profit Concepts.
48. For-Profits and Profit Maximizing.
49. Physician Control Model.
50. Supplier Induced Demand.
51. Market Behavior and Hospital Ownership.
52. Ownership Conversion of Not-For-Profit
to For-Profit.
53. Conversion Foundations.
54. Size Distribution of Community
Hospitals.
55. Sources of Hospital Funds.
56. Managed Care and Market Structure.
57. Market Structure and Hospital Behavior.
58. Hospital Ownership and Hospital
Behavior.
59. Drive Through Delivery.
60. Integrated Delivery System.
61. Hospital Price Inflation.
Learning
Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course students
will be able to:
- Compare past, present, and anticipated changes in
the health care environment.
- Describe various payment sources and the
populations they serve.
- Explain economic factors that influence health
care decisions.
- Demonstrate an understanding of global factors
affecting the health care industry.
- Illustrate how microeconomic theory can be used
to understand the operation of health care markets as well as to analyze
various problems and issues related to health care economics.
- Explain international comparisons and the global
issues every country faces when addressing the problem of allocating
resources in the health care sector.
- Evaluate political issues as they relate to
health care economics.
- Compare the health care systems at least four
other countries with that of the United States.
- Identify factors that influence the production of
medical services.
- Relate structural, process and outcome quality to
lifestyle and life expectancy.
- Compare and contrast not-for-profit hospital
behavior to for-profit and profit maximizing behavior in terms of services
offered.
- Relate what they have learned in this course to
their work environment.
1. REQUIRED:
Textbook
Overview: Health Care Economics is an introductory health economics textbook. It is
more "user friendly" and less theoretical (mathematical) than many of
the health care books on the market.
The book illustrates how microeconomic theory can be used to understand
the operation of health care markets as well as to analyze various problems and
issues related to health care economics.
2. CLASS POLICIES:
I will try to give you
hints throughout the course that will assist you with problems. The Internet will be a valuable research and
question-answering-tool for you in this course. Although some of the problems in this course are challenging, you
will find the Internet contains helpful references or explanations for
techniques with which you might not be familiar. However, there are several policies that will be followed:
- This syllabus is subject to change based on
student progress with the reading and homework assignments. Please see the Announcements section of
the course web page for any changes in assignments or due dates.
- Attendance will be required according to Unitek
guidelines for online courses.
Students are responsible for all course content and assignments
whether they check the course web page routinely or not.
- Students are expected to complete the course on
time; there are no extensions in online courses.
- A week in this course begins on a Monday and will
end on the following Sunday.
4. GRADING:
Unitek College
Institutional Grading Policy
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Letter
Grade
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Range
(%)
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Grade
Point
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A
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90.0-100.0
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4.0
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B
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80.0-89.9
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3.0
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C
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70.0-79.9
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2.0
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F
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Below
70.0
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0.0
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Grading
Rubric for Discussion Postings
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10 (Excellent)
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9 (Good)
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8 (Fair)
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7 (Poor)
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Contribution to the
Classroom
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Posting is insightful,
thorough, and interesting.
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Posting is thorough
and interesting.
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Posting is interesting
but lacks insight and depth.
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Posting is
uninteresting and/or too brief for the assignment.
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Inspires Reply Postings
from Other Students
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A serious effort is made to
frame the discussion posting in such a way as to encourage others to
reply. Posting generates questions
and opens up new avenues for discussion.
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A serious effort is made to
frame the discussion posting in such a way as to encourage others to reply.
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Some effort is made to
frame the discussion posting in such a way as to encourage others to reply.
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No effort is made to frame
the discussion posting in such a way as to encourage others to reply.
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Demonstrated
Understanding of the Reading Assignment
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Posting demonstrates a
thorough understanding of the reading assignment and is substantiated by
several examples from the textbook and/or companion website.
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Posting demonstrates an
understanding of the reading assignment and is substantiated by at least one
example from the textbook and/or companion website.
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Posting demonstrates an
understanding of the reading assignment but is not substantiated by examples
from the textbook and/or companion website.
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Posting demonstrates very
little understanding of the reading assignment.
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Grammar, Mechanics,
Spelling, and Sentence Structure
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Posting is highly polished;
no grammar or spelling errors.
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Posting is polished;
maximum of one grammar or spelling error.
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Posting is adequate;
maximum of two grammar or spelling errors.
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Inadequate posting; more
than two spelling or grammar errors.
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GRADING RUBRIC FOR ESSAYS
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Category
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0-4 points
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5-8 points
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9-12 points
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13-16 points
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17-20 points
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Technical requirements
(grammar, punctuation, spelling, typed, double-spaced, min. Length; font size
no larger than 12
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Grammar, punctuation,
spelling errors are frequent and distracting; not typed; or d-spaced or not
min length
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Grammar, punctuation, &
spelling errors are frequent and distracting(>3 but <10); typed,
d-spaced, and at least 3 pp. Long.
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Major grammar, punctuation,
& spelling errors (>3 but <10); typed, d-spaced, and min length
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Minor (<3) grammar,
punctuation, & spelling errors; typed, d-spaced, and at least 3 pp long.
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Essay is technically
flawless; typed, d-spaced, and at least 3 pp long.
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Documentation: valid sources; signal phrases; quotes, paraphrases, and summaries are appropriately
documented; adequate original ideas. Works are cited plagiarism is avoided.*
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Sources are not
appropriate; no signal phrases; inadequate documentation;
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Sources not appropriate; no
signal phrases; research is somewhat documented but not well integrated;
paper overly dependent on outside sources.
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Sources appropriate. No
signal phrases. Research is documented but not well integrated; too dependent
on outside sources.
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Sources appropriate; use of
signal phrases; research is fairly well integrated and fairly well
documented. Works not cited properly.
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Sources are appropriate;
signal phrases are used to introduce research which is properly documented;
works cited.
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Thesis is debatable point.
Opposing viewpoint considered; specific supporting evidence. Sensitivity to
audience.
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Thesis is not clear or is a
fact; opposing views ignored. Lacks specific evidence; writer not sensitive
to audience.
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Thesis is clear but weak; evidence
is weak or very general. Opposition ignored, no sensitivity to audience.
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Thesis is debatable point;
inadequate evidence. Opposition considered; some sensitivity to audience.
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Thesis is debatable point;
supporting evidence is moderate. Some sensitivity to audience.
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Thesis is a debatable
point; opposing points recognized; specific supporting evidence; sensitive to
audience.
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Demonstrates understanding
of theories or methods or concepts discussed in class.
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Does not demonstrate
understanding of topics discussed in class.
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Demonstrates lack of
understanding of 3 or more topics.
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Demonstrates fair
under-standing of 1-2 topics.
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Demonstrates good
understanding of 3-4 topics.
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Demonstrates good
understanding of 4-5 topics.
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Critical thinking and
analysis
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Shows no effort and/or
analysis.
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Shows minimal effort and
analysis.
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Shows adequate effort and
analysis.
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Shows excellent effort and
analysis.
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Shows exceptional effort
and analysis.
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Total
Score
COMPUTING YOUR FINAL GRADE
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Assignments:
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Percentage:
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Date:
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GRADING SCALE:
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Midterm Paper
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30%
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Due at end of Week 4
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A
to F
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Final Paper
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30%
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Due at end of Week 8
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A
to F
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Homework
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20%
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Weekly
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High
Pass or Fail, with cumulative letter grade A to F at the end of the term.
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Threaded
Discussions
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20%
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Weekly
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A
to F
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ASSIGNMENTS:
Homework assignments are due
at the end of the week for the assigned reading. A week is defined in this course as beginning on Monday and
ending on the following Sunday. Assignments
will also be posted to the Moodle Web page for this course. Students should turn in their assignments
through the digital drop box on Moodle.
The homework assignments will be graded on a pass-fail basis subject to
the following condition: to receive a
passing grade on the homework, the student must turn in answers that merit an A
or B letter grade. If a student does
not complete the homework in a satisfactory manner, the assignment will be
rejected and the student will have to resubmit corrected answers if he or she
wants credit for that assignment.
Students will have only one opportunity to resubmit their homework
assignment. Because students will be
solving objective, numerical problems with each week’s homework assignments,
the midterm and final exams have been replaced with mid-term and final course
papers.
ACTIVE STUDENT LEARNING
Students
will actively learn about health care economics in two manners. First, the two required papers and the
discussion board topics will bring in current events and the latest medical
research that has an impact on health care economics. The midterm paper must pertain to a topic that concerns both nutrition
and health care economics. Writing on
nutrition alone or on health care economics unrelated to nutrition will not be
acceptable. The final term paper is
more broadly concerned with efficiency and the economics of health care. Both of these assignments will require
students to demonstrate creativity and not merely regurgitate the same old
information about the rising costs of health care. Students will be asked to “think outside the box” and discuss how
health care should be provided cost effectively, not merely describe how it is
provided today.
Second, the weekly homework
assignments ensure that students will master the contents of the textbook and
the ambitious learning objectives for this course. By turning in weekly homework assignments on their chapter
reading assignments, students will prove they understand the economic concepts
well enough to solve problems posed to them at the end of each assigned
chapter. Hopefully, the work and
exercise of preparing homework answers will lead students to incorporate new
material and economics concepts into their course papers that they would have
otherwise overlooked.
HANDY HINTS:
The best way to do well this
class is to:
(1) participate actively in
the course discussion board,
(2) frequently examine the
rest of the course web site,
(3) do the homework,
(4) read the book, and
(5) STUDY!
ASSIGNMENTS:
WEEK 1
REQUIRED READINGS:
·
Getzen,
Allan, and Moore (hereafter referred to as Text) Chapters 1 & 2.
·
There
are no homework exercises in the first week of this course.
·
Go
to the Lecture Notes button on Moodle and read the Power Point slides / lecture
notes for the two chapters assigned this week.
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.
WEEK 2 REQUIRED READING:
·
Text Chapters 3 & 4.
·
Homework
exercises for Chapters 3 & 4 are due at the end of the week.
·
Go
to the Lecture Notes button on Moodle and read the Power Point slides / lecture
notes for the two chapters assigned this week.
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.
WEEK 3 REQUIRED READING:
·
Text Chapters 5 & 6.
·
Homework
exercises for Chapters 5 & 6 are due at the end of the week.
·
Go
to the Lecture Notes button on Moodle and read the Power Point slides / lecture
notes for the two chapters assigned this week.
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.
WEEK 4
*At the end of Week
4, the first course paper is due. The
first paper will concern a topic in health care economics and nutrition.
REQUIRED READING:
·
Text Chapters 7 & 8.
·
Homework
exercises for Chapters 7 & 8 are due at the end of the week.
·
Go
to the Lecture Notes button on Moodle and read the Power Point slides / lecture
notes for the two chapters assigned this week.
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.
WEEK 5
REQUIRED READINGS
·
Text
Chapters 9 & 10
·
Homework
exercises for Chapters 9 & 10 are due at the end of the week.
·
Go
to the Lecture Notes button on Moodle and read the Power Point slides / lecture
notes for the two chapters assigned this week.
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.
WEEK 6
REQUIRED READING:
·
Text
Chapters
11 & 12.
·
Homework
exercises for Chapters 11 & 12 are due at the end of the week.
·
Go
to the Lecture Notes button on Moodle and read the Power Point slides / lecture
notes for the two chapters assigned this week.
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.
WEEK 7
REQUIRED READING:
·
Text Chapters 13 & 14.
·
Homework
exercises for Chapters 13 & 14 are due at the end of the week.
·
Go
to the Lecture Notes button on Moodle and read the Power Point slides / lecture
notes for the two chapters assigned this week.
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.
WEEK 8
*At the end of Week 8,
the second course paper is due. This
paper will concern one or more methods to improve the provision of health care
either through lower costs, reaching more people for the same level of
expenditures, or some aspect of health care economics. Students are free to select any topic covered
in the textbook or suggest a new topic that interests them.
REQUIRED
READING:
·
Text No
additional reading
·
No
Homework exercises
·
Post
at least three scholarly messages and three or more other messages to this
week’s discussion board.