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Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Preface -- New to the Ninth Edition -- Our Approach -- Additional Sources -- Alternative Course Designs -- Instructor Resources -- Acknowledgments -- Part I Basic Economics Tools -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- What Is Health Economics? -- The Relevance of Health Economics -- The Size and Scope of the Health Economy -- Health Care Spending in Other Countries -- Importance of the Health Economy in Personal Spending -- Importance of Labor and Capital in the Health Economy -- Time: The Ultimate Resource -- The Importance Attached to Economic Problems of Health Care Delivery -- Inflation -- Access -- Quality -- The Economic Side to Other Health Issues -- Economic Methods and Examples of Analysis -- Features of Economic Analysis -- Scarcity of Resources -- Rational Decision Making -- Marginal Analysis -- Use of Models -- Two Notable Contributors to Health Economics -- Does Economics Apply to Health and Health Care? -- An Example: Does Price Matter? -- Is Health Care Different? -- Disparities, Equity, and Need -- Presence and Extent of Uncertainty -- Prominence of Insurance -- Problems of Information -- Restrictions On Competition -- Government Subsidies and Public Provision -- Conclusions -- Summary -- Discussion Questions -- Exercises -- Note -- Chapter 2 Microeconomic Tools for Health Economics -- Scarcity and the Production Possibilities Frontier -- Practice With Supply and Demand -- The Demand Curve and Demand Shifters -- The Supply Curve and Supply Shifters -- Equilibrium -- Comparative Statics -- Functions and Curves -- Linear Functions -- Demand Functions -- Derived Demand -- Consumer Theory: Ideas Behind the Demand Curve -- Utility -- Indifference Curves -- Budget Constraints -- Consumer Equilibrium -- Individual and Market Demands.

"The Economics of Health and Health Care is the market-leading health economics textbook, providing comprehensive coverage of all the key topics, balancing economic theory, empirical evidence, and public policy. The ninth edition offers updated material throughout, including two new chapters: Disparities in Health and Health Care (Chapter 7) examines issues of race, ethnicity, income, gender, and geography with respect to health care access, health inputs, and health outcomes; Pandemic Economics (Chapter 9) introduces a new and simplified economic treatment of epidemics and pandemics within the context of COVID-19. The book further highlights the impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and updates the path-breaking comparative analyses across countries to focus on the differences in access and costs. The book continues to provide a clear, step-by-step understanding of health economics, making economic principles accessible to students, supported by boxed examples, figures and tables. Each chapter contains concise summaries, discussion questions and quantitative exercises to promote student learning. There is also a glossary of key terms and an extensive reference list. Instructors are supported by a range of digital supplements. It is the perfect textbook for students and practitioners taking undergraduate and postgraduate courses in health economics, health policy and public health"--

This study investigates whether alcoholism treatment costs are offset by reductions in other medical treatment costs by comparing people treated for alcoholism with a matched comparison group. The alcoholism treatment group is defined by diagnoses of alcohol dependence, abuse, or psychoses from health insurance claims filed between January 1980 and June 1987. A comparison sample was matched on age, gender, and insurance coverage. In this primarily methodological study, expected costs for nonalcoholism treatments were calculated from standardized regressions. Offset effects were measured from the insurer's perspective through differences in expected total nonalcoholism treatment costs in the periods preceding and following alcoholism treatment. Members of the alcoholism treatment group were more likely than the comparison group to be hospitalized and to need other (nonalcoholism) medical treatment, thus incurring higher total costs. Offset effects emerged for patients with alcohol abuse and without mental psychosis comorbidities.

This study examines the efficient provision of alcoholism treatment by determining how several factors predict long-term alcoholism treatment costs. Treatment costs are estimated with an integrated analysis of insurance claims data that considers the decision to seek alcoholism treatment, the treatment location (inpatient or outpatient), and treatment costs conditional on treatment location. The analysis is useful for determining whether increased or alternative treatments in the short term influence treatment costs in the long term. We find that the probability of long-term treatment depends on whether the diagnosis is for alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence, and whether a comorbidity is present. Comorbidities have an impact on long-term costs by affecting where treatment occurs. Increased short-term treatment has a small negative effect on long-term costs for patients with dependence, and a negligible effect on abusers. Most of the treatment costs, however, occur in the short term.

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- 1. Problem: The Importance of the Downtown -- 2. Recent History of the Downtowns -- 3. The Expansion of the Downtown -- 4. Delineation of the Central Area (CA) and the Central Business District (CBD) -- 5. Spatial Structure -- 6. CBD and Subcenter Visitors -- 7. Downtown vs. Subcenters: Activities and Attitudes -- 8. Recent Changes in Ground Floor Uses -- 9. Policy Issues and Perspectives -- 10. Appendices -- 11. References -- 12. Subject Index -- Backmatter