The central theme of "Health Economics, 4e" relates to the costs and benefits associated with various health care choices. Using this theme, the book covers the many changes that have taken place in the field of health care in both the public and private sectors allowing students to gain a very practical knowledge of today's health care systems. Authors Santerre and Neun take a fresh contemporary approach to health economics. The writing style is lively and inviting to students that are intimidated by the term 'economics'. The authors use several real-world applications to make the economic theory more approachable to students.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction. 2. Health and Medical Care: An Economic Perspective. 3. Cost and Benefit Analysis. 4. Health Care Systems and Institutions. 5. The Demand for Medical Services. 6. The Demand for Medical Insurance: Traditional and Managed CareCoverage. 7. Medical Care Production and Costs. 8. Structure, Conduct, Performance, and Market Analysis. 9. Government, Health, and Medical Care. 10. Government as Health Insurer. 11. The Private Health Insurance Industry. 12. The Physician Services Industry. 13. The Hospital Services Industry. 14. The Pharmaceutical Industry. 15. The Long-Term Care Industry. 16. Health Care Reform.