CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Health Care Administration
HCA 451 Healthcare Economics
Fall, 2014
Instructor: Richard L. Tradewell, MBA, Ph.D.
Call Number: 5850
Class Location: HHS1-101
HCA Dept. Administrative Coordinator:
Office Location: 04 (Patio behind HHS1)
E-Mail: Richard.Tradewell@csulb.edu
Class Meets: Wednesdays 4 – 6 :45 pm
Office Hours: Tu, W, or Th from 2pm – 6pm
Deby McGill, deby.mcgill@csulb.edu
Tel: 562/985-5694; Fax: 562/985-5886
Catalog Description
Pre-requisites: ECON 101 or 300
Application of microeconomics principles to the health care, the flow of funds through
the health care system including physicians, hospitals, managed care, nursing homes and
pharmaceutical firms. The third party payment, asymmetric information and health care
systems.
Course Description
This course studies basic health economic concepts such as opportunity cost, production
of good health, the demand for medical care, production and cost theory, cost-benefit
analysis, and health care systems and institutions. Other topics of interest include analysis
of the behavior of health care providers, profit maximization, perfect and imperfect
competition, and nonprofit firms’ objectives. The role of government in health matters
and medical care markets as well as a review of limited health care policies are studied
and discussed along with basic and applied research.
Learning Objectives, Domain and Competency Table
The Health Care Administration Department has adopted a competency-based
curriculum, based on the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE)
Competency Assessment Tool and Healthcare Leadership Alliance (HLA) Competency
Directory. This course is designed to develop competencies in the Knowledge of
Healthcare Environment (KHE) and Business Skills and Knowledge (BSK). This course
also enhances students’ writing and presentation skills that address the domain,
Communication and Relationship Management (CRM).
Learning Objective
Domain
demonstrate an understanding of the KHE
laws and principles of economics,
and the impact of these laws and
principles on healthcare
organizations
describe the various kinds of health KHE
Competency
A. Healthcare systems
and organizations
D. The community and
the environment
A. Healthcare systems
Activity (A1),
Assignment (A2) or
Assessment (A3)
A1-Lecture/Class
participation; A2Discussion and
article review; A3Quiz and final exam
A1-Lecture/Class
2
Learning Objective
Domain
BSK
Activity (A1),
Assignment (A2) or
Assessment (A3)
and organizations
participation; A2D. The community and
Discussion and
the environment
article review; A3Quiz and final exam
KHE-A. Healthcare
A1-Lecture/Class
systems and
participation; A2organizations
Discussion and
BSK-A. General
article review; A3management
Quiz and final exam
KHE- D. The community A1-Lecture/Class
and the environment
participation; A2BSK- G. Risk
Discussion and
management
article review; A3Quiz and final exam
A.General management
A3. Term paper
CRM
B. Communication skills
care markets
demonstrate an understanding of the KHE cost-benefit concept and its
BSK
application in health services
delivery,
demonstrate an understanding of
governmental regulations and
analyze the economic impact of
various healthcare policies on the
health care
analyze the health care system from
economics point of view
Demonstrate writing and oral
communication skills
KHEBSK
Competency
A2-Article review
and discussion
questions; A3
Article review
Texts and other course material
Required:
Getzen, Thomas. 2007. Health Care Economics: Wiley Publishing. ISBN-13 9780-47179076-1
Supplemental:
Feldstein, Paul J. 2011. Health Policy Issues, An Economic Perspective. Health
Administration Press.
Conover, Christopher J. 2012. American Health Economy Illustrated. American
Enterprise Institute
Please note there are additional reading assignments that can be found online at:
http://ereserves.library.csulb.edu or http://coast.library.csulb.edu and click the link (EReserves). You will be asked to select a department (Health Care Administration) or to
select an instructor (Richard Tradewell). After making the selection click the "Go"
button and look for your course. Next you will see a page listing the course - please select
it and you will be prompted for a password (hca451). Enter the password and accept the
usage policy. You will then see the list of additional readings. If you have any problems
accessing this information, please visit the eReserves Problem Report or let Tech Support
know and they will help you.
Course Format
3
Quizzes/Examination
The six quizzes will include 20 multiple choice questions each and are offered online for
one week prior to class meeting. You will have two hours to answer 20 questions. You
may use your notes, textbook and any other material available to you to answer quiz
questions. The final exam is 50 questions taken in class at the conclusion of the course.
It is a comprehensive exam with integrative components requiring thorough analysis of
economic principles and health care policies. Due to policy of allowing you to drop your
lowest quiz score, no make up quizzes will be given.
Article Review
Executive Summaries are written for readers who do not have time to read the entire
technical report. An executive summary is usually no longer than 10% of the report. It
can be anywhere from 1-10 pages long, depending on the report's length, but I prefer 2
pages, double spaced. Your article must be related to recent health care policies, debates,
crises, comparisons, etc., and you must clearly explain the economic
principles/foundations used in the article. You should use headings in your Executive
Summary that follow the format below:
I. Introduction
II. Literature Review (if included in the article)
III. Methodology
IV. Results/Findings
V. Economics Foundations of the Article
VI. Conclusion
More detailed instructions and student examples are posted in Dropbox assignment.
Public Policy Critical Analysis Classroom Debate
Health Economics provides tools for analyzing today’s high stakes pubic policy debates
in a rational and systematic manner. In this classroom debate your group will analyze the
policy from an economic perspective, looking at both market and government failures,
and debate pros and cons or best options.
Your group will have 10-15 minutes to discuss both sides of the debate. Your group will
conclude by asking the class to discuss, for another 10-15 minutes, the classmate
responses to a question regarding your topic that you have posted for them online in
advance of your debate.
These are just a few examples:
1. Why are prescription drugs so high-priced in the U.S. compared to other nations?
(Can consumers reduce out of pocket drug costs by ignoring their third party
coverage and buying generic drugs directly from Costco or Walmart)?
2. Should kidneys and other organs be bought and sold?
4
3.
4.
5.
6.
Competition among hospitals: does it raise or lower costs?
Is the physician a perfect agent for the patient?
Why don’t more medical expenditures produce better health?
If the U.S. ends up with something similar to Britain’s National Institute for
Health and Clinical Effectiveness (NICE), that uses QALY’s to determine which
treatments to cover, will decisions be more based on cost effectiveness than
clinical effectiveness?
7. Are FDA guidelines for safety and efficiency too stringent? Should the FDA be
abolished?
8. Why does the U.S. have no long-term care policy? Why did the long-term care
piece of the Affordable Care Act not get implemented?
9. What has the federal done to make it more difficult for seniors to transfer assets
(for less than fair market value) to family members or others in order to qualify
for Medicaid eligibility? Which states have ignored the rules?
10. Should your parents buy a private long-term care insurance plan? Why are these
policies usually not good value for men? Why is the State Department of Health
pushing so hard to get those over 55 to buy LTC policies?
11. Why are hospital services far more expensive in the U.S. relative to European
counterparts? What can be done about it?
12. Will the ACA’s Accountable Care Organizations bend the cost curve?
13. What is the probable effect of guaranteed issue and community rating features of
the ACA on your insurance premiums?
14. How does the federal government’s tax exemption of health benefits redistribute
benefits from the poor to the wealthy?
15. Is Canada being forced to abandon its single-payer system?
16. Why has the U.S. suffered a several decade shortage of nurses? Why hasn’t the
market corrected the shortage?
17. Does technology actually increase health costs? What is impact of technologies in
cash markets (Lasik eye surgery, cosmetic surgery, some dental procedures?)
18. Why is Medicare unsustainable and facing bankruptcy as presently constituted?
19. What are the advantages of ending employer-based health coverage as the Dutch
and Swiss have done? Why should we end the tax exclusion of employer-based
health insurance premiums?
20. Is Social Security a Ponzi scheme according to the definition of the Securities and
Exchange Commission? What is its impact on savings? On employment?
Course Evaluation and Grading
Self test
Article Review
Policy Debate
Six Quizzes @ 20 points each
Group Online Discussions
Final Exam
TOTAL
10 points
50 points
50 points
100 points (Drop lowest quiz score)
40 points (8 topics x 5 points each)
50 points
300 points
5
90% and above
80% - 89%
70% - 79%
60% - 69%
Below 60%
A
B
C
D
F
Cheating and Plagiarism
Please ensure that your behavior conforms to University Policy. See:
http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/undergrad/senate/documents/policy/2008/02/
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the dishonest act of presenting the words or thoughts of another writer as if
they were your own. You commit plagiarism whenever you use a source in any way
without indicating that you have used it. If you quote anything at all, even a phrase, you
must put quotation marks around it, or set it off from your text; if you summarize or
paraphrase an author's words, you must clearly indicate where the summary or paraphrase
begins and ends; if you use an author's idea, you must say that you are doing so. In every
instance, you must also formally acknowledge the written source from which you took
the material.
Reprinted from Writing: A College Handbook, James A. W Heffernan and John E. Lincoln. By Permission
W. W. Norton & Co., Inc. Copyright 1982 by W. W. Norton & Co. Inc.
If there is anything about plagiarism you do not understand, ask your professor. The
Student Handbook may provide you additional information concerning plagiarism.
Withdrawal policy
Per University policy; see
http://www.csulb.edudivisions/aa/grad_undergrad/senate/documents/policy/2002/02/ .
6
STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET
Fall, 2014
(TURN IN TO INSTRUCTOR)
Name___________________________________________________________
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Address_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Phone(s):________________________________________________________
Best time/place to reach you:_______________________________________
Fax:_________________________________________________________
E-mail address:__________________________________________________
Please describe briefly:
a.
Your educational background and work experience:
b.
Future educational and career plans:
c.
Your reasons for taking this course, what you hope to learn from it:
d.
Other HCA classes you are taking or have completed: