Schedule

Below is the plan for each class day. The icon links to the relevant chapter of the online class book and the icon to that day’s slides. The Assessment column flags the graded events — quizzes, simulations, the midterm, and homework due dates (the icon links to the homework). A blank Assessment cell is a regular discussion day.

Most class days are Q&A days: a randomly drawn panel discusses the reading while the rest of the class asks questions. Simulation days replace discussion with an in-class game and a debrief, and a few days open with a short auto-graded quiz. Check-in, the panel draw, quizzes, and the question queue all run through our class platform (Commons).

The schedule is provisional — topics, readings, and the exact placement of quizzes and simulations may shift as the term unfolds.

Module 0: Welcome to the Class!

Class	Date	Topic	Reading	Slides	Assessment
1	Thu 8/27	The U.S. health care system; how this class works

Module 1: Health Insurance

Class	Date	Topic	Reading	Slides	Assessment
2	Tue 9/1	Coverage & cost-sharing
3	Thu 9/3	Cost-sharing & networks; worked examples			Quiz 1
4	Tue 9/8	Buying insurance			Sim 1A
5	Thu 9/10	Risk & the demand for insurance
6	Tue 9/15	Risk premium & willingness to pay			Quiz 2
7	Thu 9/17	Setting premiums			Sim 1B
8	Tue 9/22	Public insurance: Medicare & Medicaid
9	Thu 9/24	Adverse selection & unraveling
	Fri 9/25	Homework 1 due
10	Tue 9/29	Risk adjustment; adverse-selection synthesis			Quiz 3
11	Thu 10/1	Insurance wrap-up

Module 2: Physician Agency and Treatment Decisions

Class	Date	Topic	Reading	Slides	Assessment
12	Tue 10/6	Physician agency & payment models
13	Thu 10/8	Patient & treatment decisions			Sim 2A
	Fri 10/9	Homework 2 due
	Mon–Tue 10/12–13	Fall break — no class
14	Thu 10/15	Physician learning & geographic variation
15	Tue 10/20	Physician decisions			Sim 2B
16	Thu 10/22	Physician synthesis & policy			Quiz 4

Module 3: Hospital Pricing and Competition

Class	Date	Topic	Reading	Slides	Assessment
17	Tue 10/27	Hospital objectives & behavior
18	Thu 10/29	Pricing; charges vs. prices; cost-shifting
19	Tue 11/3	Choosing a hospital			Sim 3A
20	Thu 11/5	Competition, HHI & mergers
21	Tue 11/10	Pricing & HHI worked examples			Quiz 5
22	Thu 11/12	Insurer–hospital negotiation			Sim 3B
	Fri 11/13	Homework 3 due
23	Tue 11/17	Consolidation & policy; midterm review

Midterm

Class	Date	Topic	Reading	Slides	Assessment
24	Thu 11/19	In-class exam — insurance, physicians & hospitals			Midterm

Module 4: Prescription Drugs

Class	Date	Topic	Reading	Slides	Assessment
25	Tue 11/24	Monopoly & generic pricing
	Wed–Fri 11/25–27	Thanksgiving — no class
26	Tue 12/1	R&D and innovation			Sim 4A
27	Thu 12/3	Patents, Hatch-Waxman & the FDA; innovation policy			Quiz 6
28	Tue 12/8	Course synthesis & policy capstone