Health Policy

Descrizione The course first of all provides a critical analysis of market failures in the health care sector and describes in what spheres government action is required. The seriousness and empirical relevance of market failures and the capacity of government action to correct them will be ascertained by referring to both international and Swiss experience. The course then explores the tensions associated with the desires to increase access to care, improve quality, and limit rising costs. It examines alternative approaches to structuring a nation´s health system, develops an analytic framework for the comparative analyses of health systems and for the evaluation of reform proposals. Based on the understanding of the social determinants of health, the final part of the course highlights the links between policies within the health care sector and policies that affect other relevant areas like education, economic development and the environment.