This course will introduce basic healthcare systems and their impacts from policy perspectives. The course is structured each week by topic. The course topics cover private and public healthcare systems in Asia and around the world (including the U.S., Taiwan, and South Korea), global health issues, healthcare reforms (such as the Affordable Care Act in the U.S.), long-term care systems, risky health behaviors and conditions (such as smoking and drinking), and medication. Health policy issues (such as the problems of underinsurance/the uninsured and the financial issues of health care systems) and how to solve these issues through public policies will also be discussed in class. Students will also learn to conduct health policy research by finishing their final projects. Prof. Don S. Lee from Korea University will be the guest instructor of this course. He will introduce related cases of South Korea.

By the end of the course, students will: ‧ have concepts of what policy is, the formation of a policy, and policy impacts. ‧ have developed a good understanding of health care systems; ‧ be familiar with health behaviors and health policy issues; ‧ learn to conduct their own health policy research.

Participation & Reading Memos, Midterm Exam, Research Project

3 hours / week