Health and Society: Health Care in America

Examination of the organization and financing of the U.S. health care system. Focus on health disparities, health care policy, and cross-national comparisons. Cross-listed with: SOC 1300.

Cross-listed with SOC 1300 A; total combined enrollment=174; Open to Degree and PACE students

This course will focus on understanding the United States' health care system from a sociological perspective. Specifically, students will gain an understanding of the organization and financing of the health care system and how such components lead to individual and collective health outcomes. We will also examine the moral implications of popular definitions of health and illness, why disparities in health and health care exist between groups, how health care services might be distributed equitably, what health care policy interventions are currently possible, and how our system compares with health care systems in other countries.