LAW 7779 - American Health Care System

The American Health Care System is designed to introduce law students to the medical personnel, institutions, and health care delivery systems that they will inevitably encounter while participating in a variety of types of actions, including medical malpractice, personal injury, workers compensation, products liability, and age and disability discrimination. The course provides an introduction to the medical training, licensing, and peer review processes (including practical descriptions of the medical personnel hierarchy and the typical responsibilities of trainees and supervising physicians within the treatment team); a discussion of various common practice structures; a review of insurance and other healthcare financing structures (including fee for service, HMOs, and Medicare/Medicaid); and a summary of antitrust constraints on medical providers. This course also includes a policy-oriented discussion of the future of health care delivery and financing.