The cost of health care accounts for an increasingly larger part of the U.S. economy. Each year, health-related spending escalates, often outpacing spending on other goods and services. These cost increases have a considerable effect on the way households, businesses, and government agencies operate. Among other things, inflation associated with health care costs places extreme pressure on businesses that offer insurance benefits to their employees.

This course provides a comprehensive study of this topic, including basic and major medical expense, disability, long-term care, AD&D and workers' compensation, as well as Medicare and Medigap. It explores how health insurance is provided and how it is utilized. The regulation of health insurance and highlights significant regulatory requirements brought about by COBRA and HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act are also discussed. The course also covers the taxation of health insurance premiums and benefits and explains the various means of paying for medical expenses on a tax-advantaged basis, including health savings accounts and health reimbursement accounts.

Upon conclusion of this course, students will:

• understand private medical insurance and traditional fee-for-service arrangements
• be able to characterize the managed care model as a means for delivering health care
• be familiar with disability policies and be able to distinguish between types of coverages
• understand the concept of long-term care and how partnership policies can reduce Medicaid's burden of paying LTC costs
• be able to describe accidental death and dismemberment insurance coverage
• understand Medicare and its role in providing health care benefits
• understand the scope of coverage of other government insurance programs such as Medicaid, Social Security, and workers' compensation