II. This Health Economics Paper Requirements document provides essential information relating to students' preparation and submission of their Health Economics Paper. Section XI.D of the Course Syllabus contains additional information and requirements regarding the Paper. B. The student's Health Economics Paper is expected to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, and application of selected U.S. health care economics and policy beliefs, values, concepts, models, theories, features, practices, and issues from course learning, in addition to their research and writing skills. C. Each student shall submit a Health Economics Paper on a health economics topic selected by the student from among the available topics shown in Section II below. The student's Paper submission is expected to fully address each of the subtopics shown for the topic selected. D. The Health Economics Paper shall be prepared according to Section III below. E. The Health Economics Paper shall be submitted according to Section VI below. Health Economics Paper Topics and Content Requirements (select one). Topic #1: Health Insurance Provide essay responses to each of the following subtopics in your Health Economics Paper: 1. Role of health insurers in our society. 2. Purpose of health insurance and the economic advantages to an individual/family of having it. 3. How health insurance it is organized, offered, and obtained. 4. Economic factors that influence why some individuals/families would be more likely and others would be less likely to purchase health insurance. 5. Health insurance deductibles and coinsurance and their respective economic effects on both the insured and the insurer. 6. Health insurance coverage for people under age 65. 7. Economic reasons why an employer might choose to offer or not offer health insurance to its employees. 9. Accountable Care Organizations and their relationship to managed care. 10. Population Health and its relationship to managed care. 11. Social Determinants of Health and their relationship to managed care. Topic #3: Prescription Drugs Provide essay responses to each of the following subtopics in your Health Economics Paper: 1. Structure of the pharmaceutical industry. 2. Main reasons for the ongoing increases in pharmaceutical expenditures in the United States. 3. Pricing practices of U.S. pharmaceutical companies and the related impact on consumers, employers, employees, insurance companies, and health care providers (i.e., hospitals). 4. Generic drug shortages and the related impact on consumers, employers, employees, insurance companies, and health care providers (i.e., hospitals). History of prescription drug regulation. 6. Rationale for FDA regulation of drugs. 5. 7. FDA's guidelines for safety and efficacy. 8. Accuracy of studies on international variations in drug prices. 9. Why prescription drugs are expected to be priced lower overseas. 10. Development of new drugs by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. 11. Political attractiveness of price controls on prescription drugs. 12. Consequences of price controls on prescription drugs. 13. Rationale for considering the pharmaceutical industry a public policy dilemma. Topic #4: Hospitals Provide essay responses to each of the following subtopics in your Health Economics Paper: 1. Why hospitals are predominantly nonprofit. 2. Performance of nonprofit and for-profit hospitals. 3. Tax-exempt status for nonprofit hospitals. 4. Effects of managed care on health care providers. Origins of nonprice competition among hospitals. Hospitals' transition to price competition. 5. 6. 7. Hospital price competition in theory and practice. 8. Theory of hospital cost shifting. 9. Relationship between hospital prices and profits. 10. Origins of claims of hospitals cost shifting. 11. Conditions under which hospital cost shifting can occur and its causality. 12. Price discrimination and its application to hospitals. Topic #5: COVID-19 Pandemic Provide essay responses to each of the following subtopics in your Health Economics Paper: 1. Effects on employee health insurance coverage. 2. Effects on hospitals. 3. Effects on physician practices. 4. Effects on prescription drugs. 5. Effects on mental health care. 6. Effects on public health. III. Form & Format. A. General. The Health Economics Paper shall have a title page, abstract, main body, and a reference list. Exhibits and tables should be used when appropriate. The Paper shall not be less than twenty-five (25) fully-filled pages in length, excluding the title page, abstract, and reference list. See also Course Syllabus, Section XI.D for additional requirements relating to the Paper. B. Word Processing Software. The Health Economics Paper shall by prepared and saved as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx file extension). C. Format and Style. The Health Economics Paper shall be prepared in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (APA 7th edition) format and style. D. Citation Style. The Health Economics Paper shall be cited and referenced according to the APA 7th edition. E. Subtopics. The Health Economics Paper shall be organized with section headings in the main body that identify verbatim each subtopic of the selected topic followed by the student's response to the subtopic beneath the headings. IV. V. F. Scholarly Literature References Required. The Health Economics Paper shall have at least eight (8) references from the scholarly literature that have been published in the last ten (10) years. Synonyms for scholarly literature are: academic articles, academic journals, academic literature, scholarly articles, scholarly journals, scientific literature, peer-reviewed literature, peer-reviewed articles, peer-reviewed journals, professional literature, professional articles, and professional journals. Use of additional references in the Paper in the form of non-scholarly literature (e.g., non-peer reviewed literature and articles, magazines, newspapers, Wikipedia) are encouraged, but not required; the number of non-scholarly literature references that may be used is unlimited. G. Textbooks May Not Be References. Textbooks may NOT be used as scholarly or non-scholarly literature references in the Health Economics Paper. For purposes of this course, a textbook is "a book used in the study of a subject such as one containing a presentation of the principles of a subject or a literary work relevant to the study of a subject." Accordingly, this course's textbook may not be used as scholarly and non-scholarly literature references in the Paper. Identifying and Locating Scholarly Literature. See the "Scholarly Literature Reference Help" document enclosed in the Unit 6 "Health Economics Paper" folder for assistance with scholarly literature references. Preparation Assistance. For assistance with preparation of your Health Economics Paper in the APA 7th edition format, browse to TAMUCC's Center for Academic Student Achievement at http://casa.tamucc.edu/wc.php and click the "WC Resources" tab.