Economics of Healthcare: A Brief Introduction

An approachable beginners guide to health economics that brings the economists way of viewing the world to bear on the fundamentals of the US healthcare system. The conversational writing style with occasional doses of humour allows students to see how applicable economic reasoning can be to unpacking some of the sectors thorniest issues while accessible real-world examples teach the institutional details of healthcare and health insurance as well as the economics that underpin the behaviour of key players in these markets. Many chapters are enhanced by Supplements that offer how-to guides to tools commonly used by health economists and economists more generally. They help form the basic economists toolbox for readers with no prior training in economics and offer deeper dives into interesting related material. A test bank and lectures slides are available online for instructors alongside additional resources and readings for students taken from popular media and health care and policy journals.