Eastern Michigan University, Department of Political Science
Winter, 2015
PLSC 660: Health Policy
Instructor: DoganKoyluoglu, Ph.D.
Office: EMU Livonia Campus
Office Hours: Before and after each meeting or by appointment.
E-mail: skoyluogl@emich.edu
Phone: (734) 487 0063
Meeting days:
January 30, Friday 5:30-7:30 pm
February 13, Friday 5:30-7:30 pm
February 14, Saturday 9:00 am-5:00 pm
March 6, Friday 5:30-7:30 pm
March 7, Saturday 9:00 am-5:00 pm
March 27, Friday 5:30-7:30 pm
March 28, Saturday 9:00 am- 5:00 pm
Course Objectives: The purpose of this course is to give the students an understanding of the
way in which health care policy is made and implemented in the U.S. More specifically the
course will
a. examine the evolution and major components of the health care system in the U.S.;
b. study the problems associated with the provision of health care services at the present time;
c. review the solutions attempted and/or proposed to reform the current health care system, and
d. compare the U.S. health care system with those of a few selected industrial countries;
Course Format: This course will be conducted as a seminar and, thus, requires significant
preparation and regular attendance by the students.
Required Text:
Donald A. Barr, Introduction to U.S. Health Policy: The Organization, Financing, and
Delivery of Health Care in America, Third Edition (October 2011)
Harry A. Shultz and Kristina M. Young, Health Care USA: Understanding Its Organization
and Delivery, Seventh Edition (2011).
Assessment/Evaluation: Students will be evaluated on the basis of the following:
(1)Home Assignment One: A general take-home assignment, the purpose of which is to give
the students a basic understanding of the U.S. health care system (worth 15 points).
(2) Midterm: A take-home exam which will include a number of questions dealing with the
basic structure of health care provision in the U.S. (worth 25 points).
(3) Final: Another take-home exam which will include a number of questions dealing with the
problems and tried and/or suggested policies dealing with these problems with special
emphasis on the healthcare reform of 2010 (worth 25 points).
(4) Research Paper and Presentation: Each student will select (in consultation with the
instructor) a research topic related to a health care policy area, write a research paper on
this topic, and present it in class. Presentation time will be 20-25 minutes, which will be
followed by a class discussion (worth 35 points).
Topics to be covered:
Introduction: Defining health care; financing health care; delivering health care.
American Health Care System: How Americans are insured; Medicare; Medicaid; private
insurance.
Healthcare Reform: Patient protection and Affordable Care Act (2010)
Managed Care: The theory of managed competition; the attractions of managed
competition; the flaws in managed competition; the difficulty of regulating managed
competition; managed care and universal coverage.
Recent Developments in Managed Care.
The Making of Health Policy: Congressional structures and processes.
Hospitals: Origins, Organizations, and Performance
Financing Healthcare
Medical Education and Healthcare Personnel
Long Term Care and the Uninsured
Health Care Reform Efforts and the Key Policy Issues in Health Care Reform
Comparison of Health Care Models: Health care systems in other countries.
Affordable Care Act: Development, introduction and political and economical issues
associated with the imlementation of ACA.
Hi, Class.
I put together some topics for you to research and write a paper on and, also, to present it in class. You
are not limited to these topics. In fact these are just examples of the kind of research you will be
doing. You could pick topics related to the new health care reform, “The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (ACA)”, such as the provisions of the new legislation related to Medicaid and the
uninsured, Medicaid and Long-Term Care services and supports, Women’s health policy,Medicaid
Financial Eligibility for the elderly and people with disabilities, Accountable Care Organizations,
Health Insurance Exchanges and so on. The issues and the problems encountered, and still being dealt
with, during development, legislation and implementation of the ACA might be especially useful for
class discussions.
Suggested topics for PLSC 660 research paper:
Medicare prescription drug legislation
Pediatric obesity policy
Medical malpractice caps
Social health contracts
Community health services
Mental health care for the elderly
Public health systems in other countries
Privacy of medical records
Health care rationing
Patients’ bill of rights
Organ transplants and the issues involved with it
Medical education establishment and the problems of health care
Financial problems that the states are facing due to their Medicaid responsibilities
Specific issues that health care provision is facing in the age of new technology
Current Status of State Policies That Support School-Based Health Centers
Federal Medicaid Assistance to States: Impact on Prenatal Care
The Interaction of Public and Private Insurance: Medicaid and the Long-Term Care
Insurance Market
State Responses to New Flexibility in Medicaid
Assistive Technology in Medicaid Home-and Community-Based Waiver Programs
Medicare and Medicaid: Conflicting Incentives for Long-Term Care
Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services for the Elderly: Trends in Programs and
Policies
Health Information Technology
Various experiments in states dealing with health care: A few examples:
Newborn hearing screening (Vermont).
Assisted Living and Residential Care in Oregon: Two Decades of State Policy, Supply, and
Medicaid Participation Trends
Extending Medicaid Coverage for Family Planning Services: Alabama’s “First FourYears”.
Minnesota’s Long-Term Care Program for Dual Eligible Seniors
End of Life Expenditures by Ohio Medicaid Beneficiaries Dying of Cancer
The Relative Benefits and Cost of MedicaidHome- and Community-Based Services In Florida
Since you will be presenting your paper in class, I need your paper topic and a short outline no
later than February 14, 2015. Thanks.