Econ-190

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Econ 190: Current Issues in U.S. Health Care

This is a Freshman Seminar focusing on current issues in U.S. health care, taught by Ian McCarthy at Emory University. The official syllabus can be found here. I put most of the course materials and links on this site because it’s a little easier than accessing links through a PDF. Below is the outline of topics that I hope to cover throughout this semester, as well as a description of the weekly assignments.

Moving online…

As I mentioned in my announcement on Canvas, our online class structure will be a blend of “synchronous” and “asynchronous”. This means we will try to maintain some of the same schedule as we would with in-person classes, supplemented with online materials that can be viewed whenever is convenient for you. The synchronous portions of classes (i.e., live virtual class discussions) may not work for everyone, as I know some of us are in different time zones and some of us may have intermittent internet access. As a backup option, all of our virtual meetings will be recorded and made available on this website, so the material will be out there if you can’t make it to any given “virtual” meeting.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how things will (hopefully) work for the rest of the semester. Effectively, each week will be split into our podcast/video materials on Monday and a virtual class discussion on Wednesday. You don’t have to view/listen to the materials on Monday of course, that’s just a suggestion to keep your same schedule.

  1. For our Monday classes, please watch or listen to the relevant source in the course outline. Be sure to do this sometime before Wednesday at 2:30 eastern time.
  2. Submit at least two questions on Canvas related to the podcast. Please submit these questions before Wednesday’s class.
  3. For our Wednesday classes, log in to our Econ 190 Zoom Room to participate in the virtual classroom. Since anyone with the link can log in, I’ve only posted the Zoom link on our Canvas page. Also on our Canvas page is a separate meeting room link for my Zoom office hours.

The remaining videos are publicly available. The podcasts are on Spotify, which has a free version. In case any given podcast isn’t available with the free version, Spotify also offers a free 30 day trial for the premium version, which should carry us through the rest of the class. To make sure that everyone has access to the relevant material within a 30-day free trial period (if necessary), I’ve moved our Opiods section to the end of the class as that material comes from an online presentation.

Finally, note that the new weekly assignment is that you submit two questions on Canvas before 2:30 eastern on Wednesdays. The assignment is no longer split into a question and response component.

Course Outline

The course is broadly organized into two parts: one on current issues and one on future challenges. For each topic below, I provide a link to the underlying material for that topic (mainly podcasts).

  1. Health Spending, Podcast: We Spend HOW MUCH on Health Care?

  2. Private Insurance and Health Care Access, Documentary: The Waiting Room

  3. Medicare, Podcast: All About Medicare

  4. Medicaid, Podcast: All About Medicaid

  5. The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), Podcast: Unraveling the Effects of the Affordable Care Act After 10 Years

  6. Hospital Pricing and Competition, Podcast: The Train Has Left The Station

  7. Health Care Spending and Waste, Documentary: Money and Medicine. Also take a look at the New York Times Article that questions the use of Medicare spending to identify efficient health care delivery areas, The Experts Were Wrong…

  8. Health Care Inequalities, Documentary: Take Care, Mr. Elson
  9. Medicare for All, Podcast: All About Medicare for All
    • Check out the fun online tool from the Lancet article, Improving the prognosis of health care in the USA.

  10. The Future of the Affordable Care Act, Podcast: ACA Still Under A Cloud After Court Ruling

  11. Surprise Billing, Podcast: Who Will Pay To Vis Problems Of Surprise Medical Bills?

  12. Redesigning Health Insurance, Podcast: The Good Stuff

  13. Opioids, Video: Overcoming Opiods, Paths to Progress

Assignments

Your grade in this class will be determined by weekly homework assignments (no exams). Each assignment is the same and consists of two parts:

  1. Before the start of class each week, write down your own understanding of the topic for that week and one question about that topic for which you’d like an answer. You must submit these on Canvas before class each week.

  2. At the end of each week, try to answer the question you posed and correct any misunderstandings you had at the beginning of the week.

Full credit will be given for completing both parts to each assignment. There are no wrong answers. There will be at least 12 assignments in the semester, 10 of which will go toward your final grade. That means you should get 2 weeks to miss an assignment. Please use those sparingly!

I’ve compiled the most common/pressing questions throughout the semester and some short answers here. My hope is that this link serves as a comprehensive guide for all the things we discuss over the course of the semester.

Changes effective 3/23
Since we’re now online, the only weekly assignment is to submit two questions from the podcast/video materials. These questions must be submitted before our Wednesday virtual classes at 2:30 eastern. Ideally we could all attend the virtual class, but that’s just not feasible for everyone. Therefore, if you can’t attend the virtual classes, please still be sure to submit your questions and try to watch the recorded material afterward if at all possible.