It’s no surprise when courses on American film, comic books, circus arts and psychology fill up, but at the University of Virginia one of the most difficult subjects is also attracting a crowd.
If you find yourself confused about Medicaid and Medicare, PPO’s, health savings accounts and other aspects of medicine in America, you’re not alone. Rick Mayes is an expert on that subject.
The first time he offered this class at UVA, three years ago, about a dozen students signed up. This year, Mayes had to cap the number he could accept at 60.
We spoke with some of them before class.
"I am pre-med, and I don't know anything about healthcare," said Victoria Ngo.
"I think because there is so much suffering, and because we have the worst or most inefficient healthcare system in the world, we as students have an obligation to sort of engender change," adds John Han.
"It is supremely complicated," Barat Venkataramany observes.
"We are the only developed nation without universal healthcare," adds Paul Armstrong. "People routinely go bankrupt paying for their healthcare."
"Pricing of drugs and treatment is probably one of the biggest issues that's struck me," says Emily Cowen.
"Almost as important as the actual medicine itself is the delivery of it, because the science doesn't mean anything if it can't be given," Alexa DZienny says.
There’s no text book for the course, since the situation is changing fast. Instead, students are assigned to read newspapers and blogs or to watch YouTube videos. They find out how other developed countries provide healthcare, and they’re looking at models for medical care in this country. Again, Professor Rick Mayes.
“Kaiser Permanente on the West Coast, Geisinger in Pennsylvania, Intermountain can be emulated and scaled up. The private sector does have some extraordinary examples of how we can cover people at reasonable cost.”
And while many students aren’t sure, Mayes says a growing number are going with Bernie – supporting the call for a single payer system.