Aaron YelowitzApplied economist · University of Kentucky
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Historical

ECO 383 · Fall 2021

Health Economics

Historical syllabus; policies and dates reflect this term.

Archived syllabus. Policies, dates, assignments, and readings reflect Fall 2021.

Course information

ECO 383-001: Health Economics University of Kentucky Fall Semester 2021 3.0 Credits TR/11:00 am – 12:15 pm Eastern Time/B&E 235

Instructor Information

Professor Aaron Yelowitz Office: 225H B&E Building Email: aaron@uky.edu; if possible, please communicate with me through the Canvas email interface as it is easier for me to keep track of communication. Under normal circumstances, I will respond within 24 hours. Office hours: Thursday, 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm Eastern Time (also, usually available by Zoom, please schedule in advance).

Course Description

This course examines the organization, financing, and management of the U.S. health care system and programs, and emphasizes contemporary health policy concerns.

Course Prerequisites

ECO 201 and 202 or equivalent.

Student Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Identify the major features of the health care system in the United States.
  2. Contrast how health care markets differ from other economic markets.
  3. Apply data to examine how health care markets operate.
  4. Analyze whether empirical findings from data application are consistent with theory.
  5. Integrate economic theory and empirical analysis to understand health care markets.
  6. Assess whether health care policy proposals will have the intended consequences.

Required Materials

  1. Charles E. Phelps, Health Economics, 6th edition (Routledge, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-138-20798-1).
  2. There will be 7 popular readings, available on the web.
  3. There will be 4 academic readings, which are freely available from National Bureau of Economic Research or JSTOR.
  4. There will be class supplements and sample problems, distributed on Canvas prior to lecture.

Activities, Exams, and Grading Scheme

Course Assignments

  • Tutorials (10%): Open-book/open-note/untimed, on Canvas (anticipated weekly)
  • Quizzes (25%): Closed-book/closed-note/timed, on Canvas using Respondus Monitor.
  • Midterm (30%): Closed-book/closed-note/timed, on Canvas using Respondus Monitor.
  • Final (35%): Closed-book/closed-note/timed, on Canvas using Respondus Monitor.
  • Extra credit: From time to time, extra credit may be offered. It will truly be “extra” – it won’t affect the course scale / grades, and will be added only at the end of the semester after the grading scale is determined.

Summary Description of Course Assignments

Note: regardless of the points assigned to a Canvas tutorial or quiz, each tutorial will count equally towards the 10% component of the letter grade, and similarly each quiz will count equally towards the 25% component of the letter grade. For example, if tutorial #1 has 8 points (8 questions) and tutorial #2 has 4 points (4 questions), they will be rescaled so they each count equally.

In addition, several ungraded practice quizzes using Respondus Monitor will be given prior to the very first quiz, as well as before the midterm and final (with questions like: “What is the first letter of the alphabet”, or a graphical picture), where the only intent is to make sure that your technology is working correctly. These are required but do not count towards your letter grade.

  • 10%: Open-book/open-note Canvas tutorial: You will be permitted to take the tutorial as many times as you want during the window that it is open.
  • 25%: At least 5 quizzes will be given during the semester. Graded quizzes on Canvas will be based on class lectures and any online videos. You will have a 24 hour window to complete the quiz, and quizzes will be announced at least one day in advance. They will be proctored using Respondus Monitor. Related to academic integrity, you may not discuss quiz questions with other students until the quiz is reviewed in class or online video.
  • 30%: Midterm. The midterm will be given online on Canvas, and will be proctored using Respondus Monitor, and you will have a 24-hour window on Thursday, October 14, 2021 (Eastern Time). There will be no in-person meeting on the day of the midterm.
  • 35%: Final. The final will be given online on Canvas, will be proctored using Respondus Monitor and you will have a 24-hour window on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 (Eastern Time). There will be no in-person meeting on the day of the final.

Technology concerns: Based on my Fall 2020 experience, although proctored Canvas exams with Respondus Monitor will likely work for almost all of the students enrolled in ECO 383, if your situation makes this arrangement infeasible, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can make alternative arrangements. I can be reached at aaron@uky.edu.

Submission of Assignments

Any assignments will be submitted via Canvas or other online means that will be detailed later. For students with an excused absence, alternative arrangements will be made if submission cannot be met by the deadline. For students with an unexcused absence, late assignments will not be accepted. There will be no assigned homework; however, practice problems will be distributed on Canvas. These problems will help you prepare for the quizzes and exams.

Grading Scheme

A grading curve will be applied; historically in classes similar to this, approximately 30% of students earn an A; 50% earn a B; and 20% earn a C or lower. Mid-term grades will be posted in myUK by the deadline established in the Academic Calendar.

Attendance Policy

Students are strongly encouraged to attend every lecture and review the assigned lecture notes in advance. Many of the readings – especially the academic readings – will be easier to understand with attendance. However, no credit will be given for attendance.

Safety Measures All safety measures related to COVID-19 required by University of Kentucky will be fully enforced – both the letter and spirit of the regulations. The “Fall Playbook” is here: https://www.uky.edu/coronavirus/fall-2021-guidebook. Please be aware of the following current regulations in particular:

Related to classroom instruction:

  • All students – both vaccinated and unvaccinated – must wear a facemask indoors including in all classrooms. As noted in the “Playbook”, proper mask usage requires covering both mouth and nose.
  • According to currently playbook rules, a speaker (such as a professor) – may be unmasked in an indoor classroom if the speaker is vaccinated and behind the plexiglass in a classroom.
  • Social distancing: In the UK playbook there are currently no regulations on social distancing (other than obvious classroom capacity). To the extent there are excess seats in a classroom, common courtesy would suggest spacing out, or keeping socially distant when interacting with others including your professor.

Related to in-person meetings / office hours:

  • In indoor offices – with two or more vaccinated individuals – face masks must remain on.
  • Masks are not required for vaccinated individuals outside. However, unvaccinated individuals should wear masks outside when around other people.

Course Schedule, ECO 383-001, Fall 2021

I. Introduction and Background

A. Phelps, Chapter 1

C. Phelps, Chapter 2

  • Utility and Health D. Chapter 2 Supplemental Readings
  • Class Supplement 1: Expected utility and insurance / insurance market pricing

II. Medical Care and Health

A. Phelps, Chapters 3 & 4

  • The Transformation of Medical Care to Health

  • The Demand for Medical Care: Conceptual Framework B. Phelps, Chapter 5

  • Empirical Studies of Medical Care Demand and Applications C. Chapter 5 Supplemental Readings

  • Academic Reading 1: Aron-Dine, et al., 2013. “The RAND Health Insurance Experiment, Three Decades Later,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(1): 197-222.

  • Academic Reading 2: Finkelstein, et al., 2012. “The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment: Evidence from the First Year,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(3): 1057-1106.

  • Class Supplement 2: Relative Risk Ratio

III. Physician Behavior, Malpractice, and Defensive Medicine

A. Phelps, Chapters 6 & 7

  • The Physician and the Physician-Firm

  • Physicians in the Marketplace B. Chapter 6 Supplemental Reading

  • Academic Reading 3: Marton, J., A. Yelowitz, and J. Talbert, 2014. “A Tale of Two Cities? Heterogeneous Impact of Medicaid Managed Care in Kentucky,” Journal of Health Economics, 36(1): 47-68. C. Phelps, Chapter 13

  • Medical Malpractice D. Chapter 13 Supplemental Readings

  • Academic Reading 4: Kessler, D. and and M. McClellan, 1996. “Do Doctors Practice Defensive Medicine?” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 111(2): 353-390.

Campus-wide University Senate Policies (see https://www.uky.edu/universitysenate/acadpolicy )

Excused Absences and Acceptable Excuses

  • Excused Absences: Senate Rules 5.2.5.2.1 defines the following as acceptable reasons for excused absences: (a) significant illness, (b) death of a family member, (c) trips for members of student organizations sponsored by an educational unit, trips for University classes, and trips for participation in intercollegiate athletic events, (d) major religious holidays, (e) interviews for graduate/professional school or full-time employment post-graduation, and (f) other circumstances found to fit “reasonable cause for nonattendance” by the instructor of record. Students should notify the professor of absences prior to class when possible.
  • If a course syllabus requires specific interactions (e.g., with the instructor or other students), in situations where a student’s total EXCUSED absences exceed 1/5 (or 20%) of the required interactions for the course, the student shall have the right to request and receive a "W," or the Instructor of Record may award an “I” for the course if the student declines a “W.” (Senate Rules 5.2.5.2.3.1)

Religious Observances

  • Religious Observances: Students anticipating an absence for a major religious holiday are responsible for notifying the instructor in writing of anticipated absences due to their observance of such holidays. Senate Rules 5.2.5.2.1(4) requires faculty to include any notification requirements within the syllabus. If no requirement is specified, two weeks prior to the absence is reasonable and should not be given any later. Information regarding major religious holidays may be obtained through the Ombud’s website.

Verification of Absences

  • Verification of Absences: Students may be asked to verify their absences in order for them to be considered excused. Senate Rule 5.2.5.2.1 states that faculty have the right to request appropriate verification when students claim an excused absence due to: significant illness; death in the household, trips for classes, trips sponsored by an educational unit and trips for participation related to intercollegiate athletic events; and interviews for full-time job opportunities after graduation and interviews for graduate and professional school. (Appropriate notification of absences due to University-related trips is required prior to the absence when feasible and in no case more than one week after the absence.)

Make-Up Work

  • Make-Up Work: Students missing any graded work due to an excused absence are responsible: for informing the Instructor of Record about their excused absence within one week following the period of the excused absence (except where prior notification is required); and for making up the missed work. The instructor must give the student an opportunity to make up the work and/or the exams missed due to the excused absence, and shall do so, if feasible, during the semester in which the absence occurred. The instructor shall provide the student with an opportunity to make up the graded work and may not simply calculate the student's grade on the basis of the other course requirements, unless the student agrees in writing. According to SR 5.2.5.2.2, if a student adds a class after the first day of classes and misses graded work, the instructor must provide the student with an opportunity to make up any graded work.

Excused Absences for Military Duties

  • Excused Absences for Military Duties: If a student is required to be absent for one-fifth or less of the required course interactions (e.g., class meetings) due to military duties, the following procedure (per SR 5.2.5.2.3.2) shall apply: o Once a student is aware of a call to duty, the student shall provide a copy of the military orders to the Director of the Veterans Resource Center. The student shall also provide the Director with a list of his/her courses and instructors. o The Director will verify the orders with the appropriate military authority, and on behalf of the military student, notify each Instructor of Record via Department Letterhead as to the known extent of the absence. o The Instructor of Record shall not penalize the student’s absence in any way and shall provide accommodations and timeframes so that the student can make up missed assignments, quizzes, and tests in a mutually agreed upon manner.

Unexcused Absences

  • Unexcused Absences: If an attendance/interaction policy is not stated in the course syllabus or the policy does not include a penalty to the student, the instructor cannot penalize a student for any unexcused absences. (SR 5.2.5.2.3.3)

Prep Week and Reading Days

  • Prep Week and Reading Days: Per Senate Rules 5.2.5.6, the last week of instruction of a regular semester is termed "Prep Week.” This phrase also refers to the last three days of instruction of the summer session and winter intersession. The Prep Week rule applies to ALL courses taught in the fall semester, spring semester, and summer session, including those taught by distance learning or in a format that has been compressed into less than one semester or session. This rule does not apply to courses in

professional programs in colleges that have University Senate approval to have their own calendar.

  • Make-up exams and quizzes are allowed during Prep Week. In cases of "Take Home" final examinations, students shall not be required to return the completed examination before the regularly scheduled examination period for that course. No written examinations, including final examinations, may be scheduled during the Prep Week. No quizzes may be given during Prep Week. No project/lab practicals/paper/presentation deadlines or oral/listening examinations may fall during the Prep Week unless it was scheduled in the syllabus AND the course has no final examination (or assignment that acts as a final examination) scheduled during finals week. (A course with a lab component may schedule the lab practical of the course during Prep Week if the lab portion does not also require a Final Examination during finals week.) Class participation and attendance grades are permitted during Prep Week. The Senate Rules permit continuing into Prep Week regularly assigned graded homework that was announced in the class syllabus.
  • For fall and spring semester, the Thursday and Friday of Prep Week are study days (i.e. “Reading Days”). There cannot be any required "interactions" on a Reading Day. "Interactions" include participation in an in-class or online discussion, attendance at a guest lecture, or uploading an assignment. See Senate Rules 9.1 for a more complete description of required interactions.

Accommodations Due to Disability

  • Accommodations Due to Disability: In accordance with federal law, if you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please inform your instructor as soon as possible during scheduled office hours. In order to receive accommodations in a course, you must provide your instructor with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC coordinates campus disability services available to students with disabilities. It is located on the corner of Rose Street and Huguelet Drive in the Multidisciplinary Science Building, Suite 407. You can visit their website (uky.edu/DisabilityResourceCenter). DRC accommodations are not retroactive and should therefore be established with the DRC as early in the semester as is feasible.

Non-Discrimination Statement and Title IX Information

  • Non-discrimination and Title IX policy: In accordance with federal law, UK is committed to providing a safe learning, living, and working environment for all members of the University community. The University maintains a comprehensive program which protects all members from discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct. For complete information about UK’s prohibition on discrimination and harassment on aspects such as race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed, religion, political belief, sex, and sexual orientation, please see the electronic version of UK’s Administrative Regulation 6:1 (“Policy on Discrimination and Harassment”) (https://www.uky.edu/regs/ar6-1). In accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the University prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex in academics, employment, and all of its programs and activities. Sexual misconduct is a form of sexual harassment in which one act is severe enough to create a hostile environment based on sex and is prohibited between members of the University community and shall not be tolerated. For more details, please see the electronic version of Administrative Regulations 6:2 (“Policy and Procedures for Addressing and Resolving Allegations of Sexual Assault, Stalking, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Exploitation”) (https://www.uky.edu/regs/ar6-2). Complaints regarding violations of University policies on discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct are handled by the Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity (Institutional Equity), which is located in 13 Main Building. You can also visit Institutional Equity’s website (https://www.uky.edu/eeo).
  • Faculty members are obligated to forward any report made by a student related to discrimination, harassment, and sexual misconduct to the Office of Institutional Equity. Students can confidentially report alleged incidences through the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center (https://www.uky.edu/vipcenter), Counseling Center (https://www.uky.edu/counselingcenter), or University Health Service (https://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/university-healthservice/student-health).
  • Reports of discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct may be made to Institutional Equity here.

Academic Offenses (See https://www.uky.edu/universitysenate/ao )

Senate Rules 6.3.1 ("Plagiarism")

  • Plagiarism: Per University policy, students shall not plagiarize, cheat, or falsify or misuse academic records. The minimum penalty for a first offense is a zero on the assignment on which the offense occurred. If the offense is considered severe or the student has other academic offenses on their record, more serious penalties, up to suspension from the University may be imposed. A plea of ignorance is not acceptable as a defense against the charge of academic dishonesty.
  • Senate Rule 6.3.1 states that all academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. In cases where students feel unsure about a question of plagiarism involving their work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the matter before submission.
  • When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, wording, or content

from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism.

  • Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else's work (including, but not limited to a published article, a book, a website, computer code, or a paper from a friend) without clear attribution. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be, except under specific circumstances (e.g. Writing Center review, peer review) allowed by the Instructor of Record or that person’s designee. Plagiarism may also include double submission, self-plagiarism, or unauthorized resubmission of one’s own work, as defined by the instructor.
  • Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, except where prohibited by the Instructor of Record (e.g. individual take-home exams). However, the actual work must be done by the student, and the student alone, unless collaboration is allowed by the Instructor of Record (e.g. group projects).
  • When a student's assignment involves research in outside sources or information, the student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where and how he/she has employed them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the organization, content and phraseology intact is plagiaristic. However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas which are so generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain.
  • Please note: Any assignment you turn in may be submitted to an electronic database to check for plagiarism.

Senate Rules 6.3.2 ("Cheating")

  • Cheating is defined by its general usage. It includes, but is not limited to, the wrongfully giving, taking, or presenting any information or material by a student with the intent of aiding himself/herself or another on any academic work which is considered in any way in the determination of the final grade. The fact that a student could not have benefited from an action is not by itself proof that the action does not constitute cheating. Any question of definition shall be referred to the University Appeals Board.

Senate Rules 6.3.3 ("Misuse of Academic Records")

  • Misuse of academic records: Maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and appropriate privacy of student academic records is an essential administrative function of the University and a basic protection of all students. Accordingly, the actual or attempted falsification, theft, misrepresentation or other alteration or misuse of any official academic record of the University, specifically including knowingly having unauthorized access to such records or the unauthorized disclosure of information contained in such records, is a serious academic offense. As used in this context, "academic record" includes all paper and electronic versions of the partial or complete permanent academic record, all official and unofficial academic transcripts, application documents and admission credentials, and all academic record transaction documents. The minimum sanction for falsification, including the omission of information, or attempted falsification or other misuse of academic records as described in this section is suspension for one semester.

Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

  • The University of Kentucky is committed to our core values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and human dignity, and a sense of community (Governing Regulations XIV). We acknowledge and respect the seen and unseen diverse identities and experiences of all members of the university community (https://www.uky.edu/regs/gr14). These identities include but are not limited to those based on race, ethnicity, gender identity and expressions, ideas and perspectives, religious and cultural beliefs, sexual orientation, national origin, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. We are committed to equity and justice and providing a learning and engaging community in which every member is engaged, heard, and valued.
  • We strive to rectify and change behavior that is inconsistent with our principles and commitment to creating a safe, equitable, and anti-racist environment. If students encounter such behavior in a course, they are encouraged to speak with the instructor of record or the college’s diversity officer, who is charged with addressing concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (uky.edu/inclusiveexcellence/college-diversity-inclusion-officers). Students may also contact a faculty member within the department, program director, the director of undergraduate or graduate studies, the department chair, or the dean. To submit an official report of bias, hatred, racism, or identity-based violence, visit the Bias Incident Support Services website (https://www.uky.edu/biss/report-bias-incident).