Economics of Health and Health Care, The

PART I: Basic Economics Tools
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Microeconomic Tools for Health Economics
Chapter 3: Statistical Tools for Health Economics
Chapter 4: Economic Efficiency and Cost-Benefit Analysis
PART II: Supply and Demand
Chapter 5: Production of Health
Chapter 6: The Production, Cost, and Technology of Health Care
Chapter 7: Demand for Health Capital
Chapter 8: Demand and Supply of Health Insurance
Chapter 9: Consumer Choice and Demand
PART III: Information and Insurance Markets
Chapter 10: Asymmetric Information and Agency
Chapter 11: The Organization of Health Insurance Markets
Chapter 12: Managed Care
Chapter 13: Nonprofit Firms
PART IV: Key Players in the Health Care Sector
Chapter 14: Hospitals and Long-Term Care
Chapter 15: The Physician’s Practice
Chapter 16: Health Care Labor Markets and Professional Training
Chapter 17: The Pharmaceutical Industry
PART V: Social Insurance
Chapter 18: Equity, Efficiency, and Need
Chapter 19: Government Intervention in Health Care Markets
Chapter 20: Government Regulation: Principal Regulatory Mechanisms
Chapter 21: Social Insurance
Chapter 22: Comparative Health Care Systems
Chapter 23: Health System Reform
PART VI: Special Topics
Chapter 24: The Health Economics of Bads
Chapter 25: Epidemiology and Economics: HIV/AIDS in Africa

For courses in Health Economics, U.S. Health Policy/Systems, or Public Health, taken by health services students or practitioners.

The text that makes economics concepts the backbone of the health care coverage.

Folland is the bestselling Health Care Economics text that teaches through core economic themes, rather than concepts unique to the health care economy.

This edition contains revised and updated data tables, where applicable. The advent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010 has also led to changes in many chapters , most notably in the organization and focus of Chapter 16.

Discussion of John Nyman’s path-breaking health insurance analysis in Chapter 8–Examines Nyman’s argument that we should view insurance payoffs as income transfers from those who remain healthy to those who become ill. Rather than producing welfare-reducing moral hazard, these income transfers generate additional consumption of medical care and potential increases in economic well-being.

Exciting work comparing the U.S. and Canadian health care systems, by Dave and June O’Neill, in Chapter 22.

Carefully analysis on the process of health system reform–Notes that the most serious obstacle to reform (using the United States as a prime example) is the fundamental divide in philosophy. Should policies expand the government’s role through mandates, additional regulations, and tax subsidies or should they rely increasingly on markets through deregulation and tax changes that neutralize the current bias toward subsidized, employer-based insurance?

Discussion of the applicability of traditional economic analyses–Relates material to a wide range of health-related problems.

Extensive pedagogy–Encourages student comprehension throughout with the presentation of:

–Graphs, tables, and charts

–Discussion questions and exercises to help students master the basics and prompt them to think about the issues

–Features on up-to-date applications of theory and policy developments, as well as tidbits of purely background information.

A comprehensive reference section with close to 1,000 sources–Addresses the complexity of the material and encourages students to enrich their work through referral of original sources.

Early introduction to the realities of the health economist’s profession–Also updates the immediacy of health care costs and health insurance coverage in 2009.

Clear connections between principles and application–Demonstrates the links between economic principles such as supply and demand and relates them to health care and insurance.