The U.S. Health Care System
Today’s healthcare system is vastly different from the one that existed only forty years ago. Before the mid-1980s, solo physicians and stand-alone, community hospitals were the principal sources of healthcare. Today, regional delivery systems comprising hospitals, physician group practices, medical imaging centers, laboratory facilities, out-patient surgery centers, home health agencies, and other related healthcare facilities provide most healthcare. What are the forces that are driving this transformation and what does it all mean? Where are we headed as a society? Will things continue to change and in what direction? Are other countries experiencing similar changes? What are the benefits, and what are the costs? Is anyone being left behind? This course will examine the answers to these and other questions through the lenses of history, economics, political science, and public administration.