MZKEF0111s Economics and Financing- p

Faculty of Medicine
autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. JUDr. Ivan Malý, CSc. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Tereza Friessová (assistant)
Mgr. Bc. Alena Langaufová, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Ivan Malý, CSc.
Department of Public Economics – Faculty of Economics and Administration
Contact Person: Mgr. Bc. Alena Langaufová, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Health Sciences – Departments of Non-medical Branches – Faculty of Medicine
Timetable
Fri 20. 10. 9:00–12:20 B11/327, Fri 3. 11. 8:00–11:20 B11/327, Wed 3. 1. 12:00–13:40 B11/327
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course design is mostly theoretical. It aims to introduce students to the basic economic specifics of health care provision. It is intended to help students to acquire the ability of independent critical assessment of health policy options.
The course content follows standard textbooks Health Care Economics (Folland, Phelps, Feldstein). It derives from the specifics of the health markets, the demand and supply of health care the role of the state and the possibilities and constraints in addressing the essential dilemmas of health policy.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
- identify the root causes of state intervention in healthcare provision;
- describe the main deviations in the behaviour of health markets, health care demand and supply of health services compared to standard market conditions;
- explain the main consequences of the existence of third party payments;
- identify basic variants of methods of reimbursement of care and understand their importance for the motivation of economic subjects;
- understand the nature of selected economic concepts (information imbalance, moral hazard, adversary choice) necessary for understanding the internal patterns of the economic behaviour of health care.
Syllabus
  • 1. Health care as a subject of economic theory interest. Basic problems of application of methods of economic analysis in health care. Causes of growth in health expenditure.
  • 2. Economic nature of health services. Nature of goods produced by health care, structure and characteristics of the health care market. Market failure.
  • 3. Demand for health care. Demand versus need as a basis for health policymaking and health planning. Factors influencing patient demand, the elasticity of demand. The role of doctors in shaping demand. Tools to reduce the demand for health care. Participation, regulation.
  • 4. Offer health care. Factors affecting the level of supply. Forms of competition. Methods of supply regulation. Competition in health markets Rationalization of health care supply - instruments of regulation
  • 5. Financing of health care. Models (continental, NHS, liberal), possibilities and limitations of their use. Forms of payment (direct, indirect, typology of third party payers) Methods of reimbursement (reimbursement) to service providers - description, comparison. Influence of the chosen method of financing on the economic behaviour of subjects.
  • 6. General questions of health insurance - theory of demand for health insurance. Selected issues of health insurance: adversary selection, risk sharing, cream-skimming, moral hazard.
Literature
    required literature
  • Kolektiv, Zdravotní politika a její ekonomická dimenze. Elektronická učebnice, dostupná na stránkách předmětu v ISu. MU Brno, 2015. Kapitoly 5–10
    recommended literature
  • FOLLAND, S., A.C. GOODMAN and M. STANO. The Economics of Health and Health Care: International Student Edition. 8th Edition. New York: Routledge, 2017. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315103488. info
  • Critical challenges for health care reform in Europe. Edited by Richard B. Saltman - Josep Figueras - Constantino Sakellarides. Buckingham: Open University Press, 1998, xvi, 424. ISBN 0335199712. info
  • SALTMAN, Richard B. and Josep FIGUERAS. European health care reform : analysis of current strategies. Copenhagen: World Health Organization-Regional Office for Europe, 1997, 308 stran. ISBN 9289013362. info
Teaching methods
A combination of self-study from assigned literature (readers) and group discussion.
Assessment methods
There are two conditions for completing the course successfully: participation in a group presentation of a selected economic problem and submitting a final seminar paper.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 10.
The course is also listed under the following terms autumn 2022, autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/med/autumn2023/MZKEF0111s