Course Description

U.S. Health Care Strategy is designed to help students understand the strategic challenges currently facing the U.S. healthcare sector and to provide exposure to key subsectors that shape our healthcare markets, including payers, providers, and biopharmaceuticals. Students will also develop a nuanced perspective on the policies and regulations that impact the performance of the healthcare sector and the strategies employed within it. This course builds on the economic principles of business strategy and is ideal for students looking to gain a comprehensive understanding of the strategic dynamics at play in the healthcare sector and to apply this knowledge to real-world scenarios.

Course time will be split between lectures and case discussions/examples. For each course topic there are required readings, listed in the syllabus below. Generally, I will introduce each topic with an interactive lecture that draws upon these readings. Lectures will be followed by discussions of case studies or examples drawn from various sources.

Selected topics and cases include industry analysis (insurance sector: Oscar), dynamic competition (biopharmaceutical product strategies), sustainability of profits (hospital sector: Vanderbilt), horizontal and vertical Integration (hospital sector: Beth Israel-Lahey and insurance/PBM sectors: Kaiser Permanente and Cigna-Express Scripts), market entry and disruption (e.g., value-based primary care: Oak Street).

For Whom is this Course Appropriate?

This course builds on concepts covered during the required first-year strategy course taught in the MBA curriculum and is not open to cross-registrants. It is designed to accommodate and challenge students with a wide range of pre-existing exposure to U.S. healthcare, ranging from those who have worked in the sector for many years to those approaching it for the first time. Per the course title, this course does not address health care strategy outside the U.S. our class discussions will delve into U.S.-specific institutions. Students with a limited background who are interested in the course content are encouraged to enroll and to engage with me in office hours to discuss any concepts or unfamiliar material. I also encourage clarifying questions during class discussions.

Course Requirements

We meet once weekly, on Tuesdays except for Wednesday Sept 4 and Wednesday Nov 6. Course requirements (grade share) are as follow:

• Class participation, including polls (40%)
• Written assignment (20%) – format TBD
• Exam (40%) timed, self-scheduled, open-note exam

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