ILRHR 5618

The Financialization of US Healthcare: Challenges for Providers, Managers, and Policymakers

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2023-2024.

Financialization is a process in which financial actors and the finance sector increasingly dominate the US economy. While it is occurring across most industries, it has penetrated the US healthcare sector at an alarming rate. The sector, historically organized by public and non-profit providers with a patient care mission, is increasingly dominated by large for-profit corporations, Wall Street investors, and Venture Capital HealthIT firms. How do these changes affect human resource and care management practices? To what extent do public policies need to be adjusted? This course examines these issues from a multi-stakeholder perspective. It is interdisciplinary – drawing on readings, cases, and guest speakers from HR management and employment relations, health economics, political science, and public health. Part I considers macro-level changes in the economy and regulatory policies that have facilitated change. Part II focuses on the dynamics of change in particular healthcare arenas, including hospitals, nursing homes, mental health, big pharma, HealthIT, and others. Part III examines outcomes for healthcare employees, patients, and providers – providing a basis for class debates on managerial and public policy options.

When Offered Fall or Spring.

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