Healthcare and Healthcare Reform

Professor: Ryan
Units: 0.5
Elective Course
Concentration: Policy Analysis

Managed care dominated the health care scene in the United States for decades – reaching its zenith in the late 1990s. Its impact has been felt in a number of ways. Capitation financing, associated with managed care, was seen as an alternative way to pay for health care that would reign in the excesses of fee-for-service payment, which many agree has fueled the explosion of health care costs. The emergence of managed care as the dominant form of health care delivery and financing resulted in an alteration in the way health care was perceived and has impacted the roles of most, if not all, players in the health care system.

Most observers agree, however, that managed care – at least as originally conceived and practiced – is in retreat - and with the advent of health care reform, it’s not entirely clear what our near–term future looks like. Implementation of major aspects of the Affordable Care Act is happening now — and will continue over the next few years – perhaps reshaping our health care market dramatically – and perhaps not.

This course gives you an opportunity to examine issues in health care as the Affordable Care Act is being put into place at the national, state and local levels. The course assumes that you have a basic understanding of the mechanics of the health system; instead we will take on contemporary topics that will allow you to better understand health policy and politics in the current landscape.