Examines the evolution of the U.S. healthcare delivery system from early forms of organized institutional care through the current dynamic and increasingly integrated and managed care systems. Introduces students to the interactions of regulatory, economic, political, and social aspects of the healthcare system. Compares current policies and proposals for health reform. Students are asked to analyze the impact and consequences of actions in one era on the structure and function of healthcare practice in later years and to project these trends into the future.