Course Details

Healthcare Finance

This course explores how healthcare is paid for in the United States and will seek to answer the following questions: To what degree is healthcare available without regard to a patient’s ability to pay? What mechanisms are used to pay for healthcare and how are effective are these at ensuring access? What is the legal framework surrounding payment for healthcare? More specifically, the topics covered in this course are: (1) The United Nations classifies healthcare as a fundamental human right. This principle is in tension with a healthcare delivery system that makes access to health care contingent on payment. In this class we will explore the degree to which key federal and state laws ensure access to healthcare services regardless of a patient's ability to pay. (2) There are a variety of traditional and non-traditional ways in which we pay for health care in the U.S., including charity care, private pay, commercial insurance (employer-sponsored and individually purchased) and governmental healthcare programs and facilities. In this class we will become familiar with these mechanisms and how they are regulated. At the conclusion of the class, students should be able to understand the dynamics of, and think critically about, how healthcare is financed in the United States. This understanding is critical for anyone involved in healthcare delivery or finance and useful, even if you are not!

Catalog Number: REGLAW 945-0

Additional Course Information: MSL students only


Course History

Fall 2023
Title: Healthcare Finance
Faculty: Sanders, Sheva
Section: 1     Credits: 0.5
Capacity: 28     Actual: 3

Fall 2022
Title: Healthcare Finance
Faculty: Sanders, Sheva
Section: 1     Credits: 0.5
Capacity: 28     Actual: 4