Health Economics and Financing

2012

Eliminating Discretionary Use of Anesthesia Providers During Gastroenterology Procedures Could Generate $1.1 Billion in Savings per Year — 2012

The use of dedicated anesthesia providers for routine gastroenterology (GI) procedures is seen as medically justifiable only for high-risk patients. Eliminating these services for low-risk patients could generate $1.1 billion in savings per year.

How Would Eliminating the Individual Mandate Affect Health Coverage and Premium Costs? — 2012

An analysis of the effects of implementing the Affordable Care Act without an individual mandate found that over 12 million people who would have otherwise signed up for coverage will be uninsured and premium prices will increase by 2.4 percent.

2011

High-Deductible Health Plans Cut Spending but Also Reduce Preventive Care — 2011

High-deductible plans significantly reduce health care spending but also lead consumers to cut back on their use of preventive health care -- even though high-deductible plans waive the deductible for such care.

How Does Growth in Health Care Costs Affect the American Family? — 2011

Health care costs nearly doubled between 1999 and 2009, which left the average 2009 family with only $95 more per month than in 1999. If costs had matched the consumer price index's rise, the average family would have an additional $450 per month.

How Will Health Care Reform Affect Costs and Coverage? Examples from Five States — 2011

Projects how the coverage-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect health insurance coverage and state government spending on health care in five states.

Improving Value for Money in Funding HIV Services in Developing Countries — 2011

This brief summarizes options for improving value for money in HIV funding by using a case study that focuses on the two largest funders, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund, and antiretroviral therapy.

Preventing Obesity and Its Consequences: Highlights of RAND Health Research — 2011

Summarizes key RAND studies on the causes of obesity, its economic and health consequences, and potential strategies for prevention, including work on health care costs, junk food, food deserts, school meals, and proximity of parks.

What Is the Impact of Using Evidence-Based Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in Veterans? — 2011

If all veterans suffering from major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder were to receive evidence-based treatments, policy simulations suggest that cost savings generated would be $138 million (15 percent) over two years.

Why Are Many Emergency Departments in the United States Closing? — 2011

Between 1990 and 2009, the number of emergency rooms (ERs) in nonrural U.S. hospitals declined by 27 percent (from 2,446 to 1,779). Economic factors play a central role in an ER's ability to remain open.

2010

Analysis of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) — 2010

Using the COMPARE microsimulation model, estimates proposed health care reform legislation's effects on the number of uninsured, the costs to the federal government and the nation, revenues from penalty payments, and consumers' health care spending.

Analysis of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) — 2010

Using the COMPARE microsimulation model, estimates the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) on the number of uninsured, the costs to the federal government and the nation, and consumers' health care spending.

The Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Programs: The Impact of One State's Investment in the Health of its Residents — 2010

Summarizes results of RAND's evaluation of the progress and impact of Arkansas' antismoking and health programs established with its share of tobacco settlement funds.

Cost and Health Consequences of Air Pollution in California — 2010

Examines how California's failure to meet federal air quality standards has affected hospitalizations and insurers' costs.

Coverage, Spending, and Consumer Financial Risk: How Do the Recent House and Senate Health Care Bills Compare? — 2010

Compares how two health care reform bills, HR. 3962 and H.R. 3590, passed by the U.S. House and Senate, respectively, in late 2009 compare on a variety of projections made using the RAND COMPARE microsimulation model.

Health Care on Aisle 7: The Growing Phenomenon of Retail Clinics — 2010

Presents information on the growing phenomenon of retail medical clinics, the types of patients they serve and the types of care they provide, and whether some common claims about retail clinics are supported by evidence.

How Will the Affordable Care Act Affect Employee Health Coverage at Small Businesses? — 2010

Finds that the Affordable Care Act will increase the percentage of employers that offer health coverage to workers: from 57 percent to 80 percent for firms with 50 or fewer workers, and from 90 percent to 98 percent for firms with 51 to 100 workers.

Is Physician Cost Profiling Ready for Prime Time? — 2010

Physician cost profiling is intended to identify physicians with lower spending patterns, but RAND analysts found that common profiling methods result in 22 percent of physicians being assigned to the wrong cost category in a two-tier system.

RAND COMPARE Analysis of President Obama's Proposal for Health Reform — 2010

Compares President Obama's Proposal for Health Reform, the U.S. House and Senate health care reform bills, and the status quo on changes in number of uninsured and government and national costs, as estimated by the RAND COMPARE microsimulation model.

2009

Controlling Health Care Spending in Massachusetts — 2009

In 2006, Massachusetts passed landmark legislation ensuring near-universal health insurance coverage to its residents, but rising costs threaten the initiative; this policy brief assesses 21 options for controlling health care spending in the state.

Designing Effective Pay-for-Performance in K-12 Education — 2009

RAND recommends policy actions and investments to increase the likelihood of success of pay-for-performance systems of educator compensation in the United States and identify the practices most likely to succeed.