Schedule

Below is the plan for each class day. links to the online book chapter and to that day’s slides (a few days draw on two of each). Most days are lectures, and the Activity column is usually blank. It flags the days that carry a graded event, namely a panel discussion (), a simulation (), or the midterm. A short auto-graded quiz () or a homework due date () appears alongside and links to the assignment.

On lecture days we develop the model at the board and work an example. On panel days a randomly drawn panel discusses the reading while the rest of the class earns points asking questions. A simulation is an in-class game followed by a debrief. The longer games fill the class, while the shorter ones run alongside that day’s lecture. 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. Optional material we won’t cover in class is listed under Bonus at the bottom.

Module 0: Welcome to the Class!

Class Date Topic Reading Slides Activity
1 Thu 8/27 The U.S. health care paradox

Module 1: Health Insurance

Class Date Topic Reading Slides Activity
2 Tue 9/1 How insurance works
3 Thu 9/3 Private insurance
4 Tue 9/8 Public insurance
5 Thu 9/10 Why we buy insurance
6 Tue 9/15 What insurance is worth
7 Thu 9/17 Set the premium
8 Tue 9/22 Adverse selection
9 Thu 9/24 Do we want competition in insurance?
Fri 9/25 Homework 1 due

Module 2: Physician Agency and Treatment Decisions

Class Date Topic Reading Slides Activity
10 Tue 9/29 Does your doctor work for you?
11 Thu 10/1 Do incentives change treatment?
12 Tue 10/6 How physicians are paid
13 Thu 10/8 Overtreated?
Mon–Tue 10/12–13 Fall break — no class
14 Thu 10/15 You’re the doctor
Fri 10/16 Homework 2 due
15 Tue 10/20 The end of fee-for-service?

Module 3: Hospital Pricing and Competition

Class Date Topic Reading Slides Activity
16 Thu 10/22 What is a hospital price?
17 Tue 10/27 Does profit status matter?
18 Thu 10/29 How hospitals set prices
19 Tue 11/3 The two-price market
20 Thu 11/5 Insurer–hospital bargaining
21 Tue 11/10 Make the deal
22 Thu 11/12 When hospitals merge
Fri 11/13 Homework 3 due
23 Tue 11/17 Are hospitals too big?

Midterm

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

Module 4: Prescription Drugs

Class Date Topic Reading Slides Activity
25 Tue 11/24 The life of a drug
Wed–Fri 11/25–27 Thanksgiving — no class
26 Tue 12/1 Why new drugs cost so much
27 Thu 12/3 Generics and the patent cliff

Finale

Class Date Topic Reading Slides Activity
28 Tue 12/8 The future of U.S. health care policy

The finale is a reverse panel covering the whole semester — invited guests put the questions to the class, now that you’re the experts.

Bonus / Optional

Material we won’t cover in class, here if you want to go further:

  • Physician learning — how doctors update from experience (Bayesian learning):
  • Physician training & location — where physicians train and practice:
  • Brand-name drug pricing (formal model) — monopoly and differentiated pricing, the formal version of the in-class simulation:
  • Regulation & innovation (formal) — R&D incentives and drug-pricing policy: