Economics of healthcare: a brief introduction
- New York Cambridge University Press 2024
- xviii, 252 p.
Table of contents: Part I: Patients Chapter 1: How Economists View Human Behavior Chapter 2: Where Does Health Come From? Chapter 3: Demand for Medical Care Chapter 4: Health Insurance and Demand for Medical Care Chapter 5: Evaluating Evidence Part II: Providers Chapter 6: Provider-Firms and the Market Chapter 7: The Healthcare Labor Force Chapter 8: Providers and Incentives Chapter 9: Hospitals Part III: Health Insurers Chapter 10: Health Insurance as a Product Chapter 11: Adverse Selection Chapter 12: Prices Chapter 13: Managed Care Chapter 14: Public Insurance Part IV: The Sector at Large Chapter 15: Pharmaceuticals Chapter 16: Externalities Chapter 17: Medical Malpractice Chapter 18: Inequality Chapter 19: International Comparisons References Index
An approachable beginner's guide to health economics that brings the economist's way of viewing the world to bear on the fundamentals of the US healthcare system. The conversational writing style, with occasional doses of humour, allows students to see how applicable economic reasoning can be to unpacking some of the sector's thorniest issues, while accessible real-world examples teach the institutional details of healthcare and health insurance, as well as the economics that underpin the behaviour of key players in these markets. Many chapters are enhanced by 'Supplements' that offer how-to guides to tools commonly used by health economists, and economists more generally. They help form the basic 'economist's toolbox' for readers with no prior training in economics, and offer deeper dives into interesting related material. A test bank and lectures slides are available online for instructors, alongside additional resources and readings for students, taken from popular media and health care and policy journals.