The Daily Bulletin Archive

Dr. Ram Desai, professor of political science, will be offering Politics of Health Care during the fall 2006 semester on Monday evenings from 6:00 to 8:40 p.m. The American health-care system is bedeviled by serious problems. Rarely can you read a newspaper or watch a television newscast without encountering some news about the astronomical cost of health care. We pay twice as much per capita as people in other rich countries. Rising health-care costs threaten the solvency not just of Delphi, General Motors, and Ford, but also the state, federal, and local governments. The cost of an insurance policy for a family of four in New York State more than doubled, from $5,300 in 1996 to more than $11,000 in 2005. The high cost of providing health benefits has also weakened the state's competitive position in attracting and retaining businesses. This course will explore several issues such as problems, costs and access, the role of doctors, HMOs, cost of pharmaceuticals, changes in medical technology, physicians and nurses shortage, long-term care and nursing homes, health-care quality and patient cost and quality. Representatives of the various HMOs, hospitals, physicians, etc. will be guest speakers.