Health care and health care policy

This course explores the policy issues and implications associated with health care in the United States. More specifically, we will explore the social, economic, organizational and institutional contexts of health care and medicine to answer questions such as, who is healthy in American society and who is not? Why are some healthy and others not? How is our health care system organized? And why is it different from most other industrialized nations? How does the organization of medical care affect the quality and cost of that care? Our goal will be to gain a deeper understanding of the organization and delivery of health care in the U.S., and to appreciate some of the relevant policy issues.