The U.S. healthcare system comprises one-seventh of the output of the largest economy in the world. Yet fully one in seven persons at any given time is uninsured in this country, and health outcomes of the U.S. population are worse than many other developed nations that spend far less per capita on healthcare. State Medicaid programs faced with budget shortfalls must make difficult decisions on how to continue to be an effective safety net.

To understand how healthcare can be so expensive, be distributed unequally throughout the population, and not produce superior outcomes, students need comprehensive knowledge of how the system is structured and how it performs. This course provides a comprehensive overview of the U.S. healthcare system: its organization, its financing, its method of delivering services, and its current challenges and policy issues. This course is ideal for students preparing for careers in policy positions in the government or the private sector, healthcare clinicians, and healthcare managers.

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