PMO 598 Introduction to Healthcare Economics
The primary objective of this course is to provide students with economic tools to understand and assess the practical policy issues facing healthcare in the Military Healthcare System (MHS) and in the United States. The course applies economic principles and concepts to health policy issues including the demand and production of health services, health care costs, uncertainty, and asymmetric information faced by consumers and providers of health services. Other topics include issues of moral hazard, adverse selection, the structure, performance and conduct of insurers, physicians, hospitals, long-term care organizations and pharmaceutical companies. The course also covers public health insurances such as Medicaid/SCHIP, and Medicare. In addition, the course deals with the role of government in the healthcare industry and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Costs, readiness and other health economics topics relevant to the MHS are emphasized throughout the course. This course is very applied as it teaches students how to conduct an empirical analysis on the medical care costs of selected health conditions and behaviors in the MHS.