NOTES,  Political Science 6321,  Health Policy, Spring 2007

These are links to summary outlines of frameworks, concepts, perspectives and facts.
Outlines were presented and critiqued as part of the discussion on the dates indicated and, usually, again on the following session.
Abbreviations: HPF: Health Policy Framework; GPF: General Policy Frameworks Web: Links to key web sites; Glossary: Glossary provided by AcademyHealth
Accountability: Exams may concern material covered in these notes (except those noted as FYI) and in the links provided here (except the portions of the links under the heading For further information). The exams will cover links on the HPF and GPF only when the same links are made in the notes below.

Date Notes on Topics Covered Illustrations
Jan 8
Mon
Introduction to health policy

Course outline
Costs are lumpy; present insurance market poorly structured; state role
Form study team (2 members)
Jan 10 Wed a. Review of Books to be read
b. Policy and Administration have multiple and conflicting purposes
c. Amer.  govt is concerned with who and how to balance these purposes
d. Links are provided in these notes to materials to be studied for this course. Students are responsible for the material on the links, but not for the material on secondary links, that are FYI.
e. CHANGE IN CLASS ROOM JUST THIS FRIDAY
f. CHANGE IN SCHEDULE
b.Purpose of government (e.g. why do we have federalism and why do we limit it): Liberty, Equality, Welfare (Ylivasaker)
    Professional perspectives as conflicts and complements: Efficiency, Value, Solidarity, Assurance, & Action (Diesing)
c. Levels of Government: 10th Federalist Paper.
    Separation of Powers: 51st Federalist Paper
e. OSH 214
f.  choice of data page postponed from 1/12 to 1/17
Jan 12 Fri a. Multiple goals
b. Multiple forms of rationality

c. Divisions of  power

d. "Muddling Through"
e. Special note: Inform Huefner if you have a serious problem with shifting class to M,W (no F) beginning at 7:00 (not 7:30)
a. Liberty, equality, welfare
b. Efficiency, value, solidarity, assurance, action
c. Federalism; separation of powers
d. Lindblom
e. If this change is adopted, we will begin Mon., Jan 22


Jan 17 Wed a. Four divisions of power

b. Access/Measures (a/m)
a. Privacy concerns and information technology
b. Language barriers
Jan 19 Fri a. Quality/Measures (q/m)


b. Course schedule changes
    (details by email)

a. Lalonde categories,
   
Accreditation standards,
    Socioeconomic status

   Practice patterns, patient safety
b. Meet M & W 7:00-8:20
    Data page draft postponed
Jan 22 Mon a. Course Schedule changes


b. Cost/Measures (c/m)
a. Fridays omitted; Adjustments for Data Page and Research Results
b. Slower growth
Jan 24 Wed
a. AHRQ Research Activities, monthly reports
b. Cost/Measures (c/m)


c. Review of Rolfs' visit




d. Regulation: Power & Politics
a. Policy oriented; only research supported by AHRQ
b. hospital & physician costs; projections; administration; per capita; long-term care
c. Epidemiology; incidence; prevalence
c. Medicare data--Bill Roper--Outcomes research
c. Epidemiology as sleuthing
d. NYTimes: tobacco regulation
Jan 29 Mon a. Sources: "Research Activities"
b. Regulation: adjudication; rule making
c. Cost/Issues (c/i) Who will pay the price of change?
d. Insurance and insurance regulation
e. Access/Issues (a/i)
f. disease prevention and health promotion
a. Pub Med classes at Eccles
b. Cigarettes; air quality; control of infectious disease, etc.
c. Providers, government, patients, insurers?
d. Community rating; experience rating; ERISA
e. Multiple tiers?
f. How much regulation? Creating moral burdens?
Jan  31 Wed a. U.S. health spending compared with other post-industrial nations


b. Conciseness is a primary concern of media assignments
c. Quality/Issues (q/i)

a. U.S. @ 16% of GDP: more than 50% higher than  most; twice G.B.
U.S. @ $6k/person: more than twice others; three times G.B.
b. e.g. Eat food, not too much, mostly from plants (NYTimes)
c. Quality: drives costs? or savings? e.g. genetic screening
Feb 5 Mon a. Quality increases costs

b. Quality saves expenditures

c.Conciseness in communications

a. Technology, as in drugs, scanners, & procedures
b. Reduction of "adverse events"; IOM reports
c. Seek few words and yet substance and specifics
Feb 7 Wed a. Multiple actors (Gaus)

b. Multiple processes (Jones)
c. Ethics: responsibility; honesty
a. Adminstrators: DofVet.Affrs.; Surgeon General
b. Budgeting
c. Life style (blame?); placebo
Feb 12 Mon a. Present your research

b. Midterm
c. Hypotheses


a. Utah Health Services Research Conference, April 6
b. A past exam
c. (h/a) equality, or market?
(h/c) incentivies: right or wrong?
(h/q) habits: individual, provider
Feb 14 Wed a. Multiple processes and actors determine quality of care

b. Insurance plans shaped by market structure to avoid costs
c. Expenditures depend upon market structure: bargaining power
a. Good quality: staff level?
Poor quality: high level policies?
Other way around, or both ways?
b. Eligibility, terms, & rates can avoid expensive care
c. Discounted payments for proceedures and drugs
Feb
21
Wed
MIDTERM REVIEW

Feb 26 Mon
MIDTERM EXAM

Feb 28 Wed a. More on the Jones Outline

Mar 5 Mon
a. Getting problems to govt./Jones
b. Access: who pays? a/d
c. Relative power; influence
a. Walter Reed; election campaigns
b. 3rd party; state v. federal; etc.
c. Agenda setting (again)
Mar 7 Wed a. Guest: Kim Wirthlin
Mar 12
Mon
a. Access politics a/p
b. Cost politics c/p
c. Quality politics q/p
a-c. Wilson's typology
Mar 14 Wed a. Allocation of scarce resources
a. More than money
Mar 26 Mon a. Measuring access
b. Health care studies: more than any individaul can track
c. Biomedical ethics, as in the "principleS" approach
a. More than the # of uninsured
b. Respect for uncertainty, patient/practitioner interaction, etc.
c. Accountability to patient, or community? (Multiple values!)
Mar 28 Wed
a. Medicare (Title XVIII)
b. Medicaid (Title XIX)
c. FYI: Proposals
d. Reform designs re cost c/d
e. Reform designs re quality q/d
a.-b. "Primers" by Kaiser Family Foundation
c. The Commonwealth Fund
d. Balance of  public & private?
e. Education: providers & patients
Apr 2 Mon a. Influencing policy

b. Economic analysis a/tq
c. Statistics and epidemiology q/tq
a. Garbage Can; Confidence (i.e. trust)
b. Benefit/Cost analysis
c. Expected value; decision trees
Apr 4 Wed
a. Financial analysis c/tq
b. Influence: money or voters?

c. Quality improvement

d. Public policy development often begins outside of government, for ratification and implementation by government
a. Financial statements
b. Lobbying and campaign expenditures
c. Uncertainty of measures; certanty of room for improvement
d. Utah Health Data agency
Apr 9 Mon a. FYI "Yield Curve"

b. Administrative tools a/ti
a. FYI: interest rates, risks, supply of capital, deficits, etc.
b. Range of govt/private mix; Communication
Apr 11 Wed a. Negotiation c/ti

b. Dr. Sundwall: purposes and challenges of public health FYI: Utah Dept. of Health
a. Getting to Yes; e.g. BATNA can improve balance in negotiations 
b. Are liberal Democrats essential?
 Join Public Health with Medicaid?
 Education: how expensive? q/ti
Apr 16 Mon a. Habits: challenges to change
b. Politics, Processes, and Skills



a. Practitioners (IOM); life style
b. Compare Smoking & Politics to Civil Action, Great Influenza, Complications, and Medicine and Culture
Apr 18 Wed
a. Final exam: 5 of 6 questions
a. 2006  exam
Apr 23 Mon
a. Last link, not yet covered in class: Burns re leadership, in which he finds that leaders change, as well as those led.
a. E.g. contrast Wilson re League of Nations and FDR re the Depression
How will health care reform evolve?
Apr
25
Wed


Apr
27
Fri

FINAL EXAM: 8-10


"Notes" for 2006