The Future of America's Healthcare Policies
Course Description
America’s healthcare system must undergo major reforms to prevent a national fiscal crisis. The costs for US healthcare have relentlessly grown as a share of national income, fast outpacing the shares for other countries. Our class will explore the factors responsible for increasing expenses and the policies available for reforming programs to produce a viable system for future generations. The course discussion will examine the strengths and weaknesses of different healthcare delivery and financing approaches, including private, single-payer, and universal systems. Students will analyze the impact of these approaches on access, cost, quality, and disparities. Topics will include the roles and features of the four major national health insurance programs in the public and private sectors, including Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act (ACA), and employer-sponsored insurance (ESI). Students will acquire an understanding of healthcare economics and financing, their relationship to health policymaking, and the connection of federal and state policies to healthcare access and the uninsured.
Meet the Instructor: Thomas MaCurdy
“I hold a joint appointment as a Professor of Economics, Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research. My expertise covers domestic policy related to government income support and entitlement programs, focusing on research disclosing consequential empirical findings relevant to the design and impacts of public assistance policies. In the healthcare area, I have directed and participated in numerous projects supporting the operations and regulation of various healthcare structures, including Medicare, Medicaid, Market Place Exchanges, and private markets. Through this work, I have accumulated in-depth expertise and experience in designing, evaluating, and implementing a broad spectrum of federal and state healthcare programs making up the US healthcare system.”
Of related interest
