Health Care Policy

Health care spending in the United States has grown to more than 17 percent of GDP, and is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy. One reason for high expenditures on healthcare is the “third-party payer” system. Employers or state and federal governments pay for medical services selected by patients and doctors, diminishing the incentive to select the most cost-effective services. In many cases there is little objective evidence on what is the most effective form of treatment for particular conditions. As a result, a given condition may be treated quite differently from one area to another. Moreover, in spite of very large expenditures overall, many citizens lack medical coverage and others forgo preventative measures that could reduce later expenditures on treatment. Dealing with these inefficiencies and coverage gaps is a critical national priority.

The concentration in health policy prepares students to take part in the analysis of health care policy and in the broader political debate about health care.  Students completing this concentration have employment opportunities with local, state, federal, and international organizations concerned with health policy and regulatory agencies and with the firms dealing with such agencies, including consultancies.

Requirements

Required concentration courses and electives will be selected from the listing below, as appropriate for the goals of individual students. There will be a separate track for students with a special interest in epidemiology, which requires prerequisite coursework, specifically EPI 259, 261 and 223 or equivalents.

Note that the list of course below is not an exhaustive list; students may select other courses for their concentration with the approval of their faculty advisor.