Mark V. Pauly

Current Courses

• HCMG996 - Dissertation Abroad

  HCMG996001

Past Courses

• HCMG101 - Health Care Systems

  This introductory course takes a policy and politics angle to health care's three persistent issues - access, cost and quality. The roles of patients, physicians, hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies will be established. The interaction between the government and these different groups will also be covered. Current national health care policy initiatives and the interests of class members will steer the specific topics covered in the course. The course aims to provide skills for critical and analytical thought about the U.S. health care system and the people in it.

• HCMG202 - The Economics and Financing of Health Care Delivery

  The course provides an application of economic models to demand, supply, and their interaction in the medical economy. Influences on demand, especially health status, insurance coverage, and income will be analyzed. Physician decisions on the pricing and form of their own services, and on the advice they offer about other services, will be considered. Competition in medical care markets, especially for hospital services, will be studied. Special emphasis will be placed on government as demander of medical care services. Changes in Medicare and regulation of managed care are among the public policy issues to be addressed.

• HCMG204 - Comparative Health Care Systems

  This course examines the structure of health care systems in different countries, focusing on financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. We study the relative roles of private sector and public sector insurance and providers, and the effect of system design on cost, quality, efficiency and equity of medical services. Some issues we address are normative: Which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? Other issues are positive: How do these different systems deal with tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? Our main focus is on the systems in four large, prototypical OECD countries--Germany, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom--and then look at other countries with interesting systems- including Italy, Chile, Singapore, Brazil, China and India. We draw lessons for the U.S. from foreign experience and vice versa.

• HCMG845 - Managed Care and the Industrial Organization of Health Care

  This course, co-taught with Brad Fluegel, former Senior Vice President and Chief Healthcare Marketing Development officer at Walgreen Co, will focus on two interrelated topics: managed care and market structure. The section on managed care will cover strategic planning and marketing of managed care services, operational issues in developing a managed care network, actuarial issues, and the management of physician behavior. The section on health care market structure will analyze strategies of vertical integration and horizontal integration (M+As), and their attempt to alter the balance of power in local healthcare markets. The section will also analyze the operational issues in managing cost and quality in an integrated system, integration along the supply chain, and the performance of these systems, and the bargaining and negotiation between hospitals, physicians, and health plans.

• HCMG850 - Health Care Reform and the Future of the American Health System

  The objective of this course is to provide students with a rigorous understanding of the health care system in the United States. The course will focus on the historical development of the current health care system; challenges of health care costs, quality, and access; the relationship between market failure and the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA); the impact to date of recent health reforms on the organization, structure, delivery and outcomes of the health care system, and future reforms and responses of the health care system. This class will consist of 4 interconnected segments. The first segment will provide an in-depth analysis of the U.S. health care system prior to the passage of the ACA and the factors underlying the failure of this market. The second segment of the course will review the history of attempts to reform the US health care system, the politics of reform, and the story of how the ACA ultimately passed through Congress. The third segment will focus on the effects of the ACA subsequent health reforms, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, over the last 8 years on cost, access, and quality. This will include perspectives from a diverse set of stakeholders, includiing insurers, health care systems, physicians, private sector entrepreneurs, and others. ,The final segment of the course will consider the possible long-term outlook for health reform in the United States, including recent pushes for national single payer, or "Medicare for All."

• HCMG859 - Comparative Health Care Systems

  This course examines the structure of health care systems in different countries, focusing on financing, reimbursement, delivery systems and adoption of new technologies. We study the relative roles of private sector and public sector insurance and providers, and the effect of system design on cost, quality, efficiency and equity of medical services. Some issues we address are normative: Which systems and which public/private sector mixes are better at achieving efficiency and equity? Other issues are positive: How do these different systems deal with the tough choices, such as decisions about new technologies? Our focus first on the systems in four large, prototypical OECD countries- Germany, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom -and then look at other developed and emerging countries with interesting systems - including Italy, Chile, Singapore, Brazil, China and India. We will draw lessons for the U.S. from foreign experience and vice versa.

• HCMG863 - Management and Economics of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Industries

  This course provides an overview of the management, economic and policy issues facing the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The course perspective is global, but with emphasis on the U.S. as the largest and most profitable market. Critical issues we will examine include: R&D intensive cost structure with regulation and rapid technological change; strategic challenges of biotech startups; pricing and promotion in a complex global marketplace where customers include governments and insurers, as well as physicians and consumers; intense and evolving M&A, joint ventures, and complex alliances; government regulation of all aspects of business including market access, pricing, promotion, and manufacturing. We use Wharton and industry experts from various disciplines to address these issues.

• HCMG890 - Advanced Study Project: Management of Health Care Service Businesses

  HCMG 890-001: This course examines issues related to the Services Sector of thehealth care industry. For those interested in management, investing, or bankingto the health care industry, the services sector will likely be the largest and most dynamic sector within all of health care. We will study key management issues related to a number of different health care services businesses with a focus on common challenges related to reimbursement, regulatory, margin, growth, and competitive issues. We will look at a number of different businesses and subsectors that may have been unfamiliar to students prior to taking the course. We will make extensive use of outside speakers, many of whom will be true industry leaders within different sectors of the health care services industry. Speakers will address the current management issues they face in running their businesses as well as discuss the career decisions and leadership styles that enables them to reach the top of their profession. Students will be asked to develop a plan to both buyout and manage a specific health care services business of their choosing and will present their final plans to a panel of leading Health Care Private Equity investors who will evaluate their analysis. Prerequisites: HCMG 841. Health Care Management MBA majors only ,Senior healthcare executives and policy leaders will be engaged as guest speakers.

• HCMG900 - Proseminar in Health Economics

  900-001 Proseminar in Health Econometrics: This course will cover empirical methods used in economics research with an emphasis on applications in health care and public economics. The methods covered include linear regression, matching, panel data models, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, bunching,qualitative and limited dependent variable models, count data, quantile regressions, and duration models. The discussion will be a mix of theory and application, with emphasis on the latter. The readings consist of a blend of classic and recent methodological and empirical papers in economics . Course requirements include several problem sets, paper presentations, an econometric analysis project and a final exam. The course is open to doctoral students from departments other than Health Care Management with permission from the instructor. ,900-002 Proseminar in Health Economics: Models and Methods: This course is intended to provide entering doctoral students with information on the variety of health economics models, methods, topics, and publication outlets valued and used by faculty in the HCMG doctoral program and outside of it. The course has two main parts: the first, to acquaint students with theoretical modeling tools used frequently by health economists. This part of the course involves a number of lectures coupled with students presentations of class projects in a workshop environment. The second part of the course will offer presentations from the health economics, management and operations research community at Penn on a research method or strategy they have found helpful and they think is important for all doctoral students to know.

• HCMG901 - Seminar in Health Care Cost Benefit and Cost Effectiveness Analysis

  The purpose of this doctoral level course is to investigate the theory and practice of cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis as applied to health care. The three techniques to be examined are cost-effectiveness analysis with single dimensional outcomes, cost effectiveness analysis with multiple attributes (especially in the form of Quality Adjusted Life Years), and economic cost-benefit analysis. Valuation of mortality and morbidity relative to other goods will be emphasized. Students will be expected to develop written critiques of articles in the literature, and to design a new application of one of the techniques as a term project.

• Victor R, Fuchs Lifetime Achievement Award from ASHEcon, 2012
• President of the American Society of Health Economics, 2012
• William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research from the Baxter International Foundation and the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, 2012
• University of Pennsylvania Provost’s Award for Distinguished Ph.D. Teaching and Mentoring, 2011-2012
• John M. Eisenberg Excellence in Mentorship Award from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, 2007
• Distinguished Investigator Award from AcademyHealth, 2007
• National Institute of Health Care Management Foundation’s Research Award (with M. Kate Bundorf) for “Is Health Insurance Affordable for the Uninsured?” (Journal of Health Economics 2006), 2007
• Spencer Kimball Article Award (with Howard Kunreuther) from the Journal of Insurance Regulation for, 2006

• American Morning, CNN - 03/10/2010
• Morning Edition, NPR - 02/15/2010

Knowledge @ Wharton

• How the ACA Legal Challenge Could Hurt Insurers and the Insured, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/19/2018
• Lowering Drug Prices: Will the Cost Outweigh the Cure?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/18/2018
• Unlocking Serendipity Is the Key to Life Science Breakthroughs, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/25/2018
• Will Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Reinvent Health Care?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/06/2018
• Beyond Obamacare: What’s Ahead for U.S. Health Care in 2018, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/04/2018
• Is the CVS-Aetna Merger a Game Changer for Health Care?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/08/2017
• Is Canada the Right Model for a Better U.S. Health Care System?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/19/2017
• Following ‘Repeal and Replace,’ What’s the Fate of Health Care?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/28/2017
• The Republican Health Care Plan: Do the Promises Add Up?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/21/2017
• What Changes Are Ahead for the Affordable Care Act?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/23/2017
• Will Mylan’s EpiPen Episode Help Curb Pharmaceutical Price Gouging?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/26/2016
• Trump or Clinton? How the Election Will Impact the Economy, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/17/2016
• How Pfizer’s Allergan Purchase Will Boost Its Drug Pipeline, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/02/2015
• The Supreme Court ACA Ruling: What’s the Prognosis?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/26/2015
• What’s Driving Health Insurers’ Merger Mania?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/23/2015
• Hospital Consolidation: Can It Work This Time?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/11/2015
• Does Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Have a Future?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/18/2015
• Capital Flight: Can Tax Inversions Be Prevented?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/16/2014
• Health Care Outcomes: When the More Effective Choice Costs More, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/22/2014
• Smoke Signals: What the Reynolds-Lorillard Merger Means for the Tobacco Industry, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/30/2014
• ‘Trying to Recapture the Magic’: The Strategy Behind the Pharma M&A Rush, Knowledge @ Wharton - 05/28/2014
• Sustainable Health Care: Protecting Hospitals’ Financial Health, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/24/2014
• Sovaldi: Who’s to Blame for the $1,000 a Day Cure?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/16/2014
• Hospitals Hiring Physicians: Why the Trend Is on the Rise, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/12/2014
• Why Insurance Is the ‘Most Misunderstood Industry’, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/18/2013
• The U.S. Deficit Shrank, but Will It Come Back Bigger Than Ever?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/23/2013
• Refusing to Hire Workers Who Smoke: An Economic Perspective, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/08/2013
• On Samoa Air, Fatter People Pay More to Fly: Good Business or Bad Customer Relations?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/10/2013
• Access or Profits? Drug Patent Rulings in India Fuel the Debate, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/10/2013
• Mobile Medical Vans: Overcoming India’s Last-mile Health Care Challenges, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/14/2013
• Insurance: The Most Misunderstood Industry, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/13/2013
• Inaugural Speech, Part II, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/22/2013
• Health Rates to Rise, but the Expected Impact Is Unclear, Knowledge @ Wharton - 01/11/2013
• ‘Multi-tasking Writ Large’: Is American Health Care Reform a Prescription for Trouble?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/19/2012
• ‘Multi-tasking Writ Large’: Is Health Care Reform a Prescription for Trouble?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/05/2012
• Faculty Perspectives on the Election, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/07/2012
• What Now, Mr. President?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/07/2012
• When Insurance Buyers and Sellers Speak Different Languages, Knowledge @ Wharton - 10/23/2012
• Back to the Future: What’s at Stake for the Economy in the Obama-Romney Contest, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/12/2012
• The Soda Tax Gamble: Will It Really Make Us Healthier?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/12/2012
• Dealing with Natural Disasters, and Beyond, Knowledge @ Wharton - 08/01/2012
• The Supreme Court Health Care Ruling: Now What?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/28/2012
• Unneeded Medical Tests: Is It Time to Just Say No?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/16/2012
• Health Care Reform: Life after the Supreme Court Debate, Knowledge @ Wharton - 04/11/2012
• Research Roundup: Improving Intelligence Forecasts, Vertically Integrated Health Care, and ‘Worrisome’ Health Care Costs, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/20/2011
• Concierge Medicine: The Doctor Is (Always) In, If You Pay Enough, Knowledge @ Wharton - 11/22/2011
• Mystery Diagnosis: An Era of Uncertainty for the Health Care Sector, Knowledge @ Wharton - 09/14/2011
• Cures for an Industry Crisis: Big Pharma Scrambles to Find New Ways to Develop Drugs Faster, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/10/2011
• Health Care Reform: Not Ready to Be Discharged Yet, Knowledge @ Wharton - 03/31/2010
• So You Want to Live to 100? More of Us Will, and Here Is What Life Might Look Like, Knowledge @ Wharton - 12/09/2009