Health Economics and Financing

Consumer-controlled personal health management systems: will they help to control health care costs?

Consumer-controlled personal health management systems (HMSs) are a class of tools that promote healthy lifestyle choices and provide health data to individuals, as well as aid in decision support. How will they be used to reduce health care costs, and to what effect?

Occasional Paper

Cost and Health Consequences of Air Pollution in California

This study used a unique mapping tool to examine how California’s failure to meet federal air quality standards resulted in some 30,000 additional hospital visits from 2005 to 2007 at a cost of $193 million, mostly borne by public insurers.

Research Brief

RAND COMPARE Analysis of President Obama’s Proposal for Health Reform

In this study, RAND policy analysts used estimates generated by the RAND COMPARE microsimulation tool to compare 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.

Research Brief

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

The growing number of retail clinics (health care clinics located in retail stores) tend to be in metropolitan areas and serve younger adults who lack regular providers. At least for some conditions, these clinics provide care that is equal in quality to care provided in other settings (such as emergency rooms) and at lower cost.

Research Brief

A Policy-Relevant Picture of California’s Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Free-standing ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), offering same-day surgical procedures, are playing an increasing role in health care delivery. This study compared quality regulations of ASCs in California with those of hospital outpatient surgery departments and with those of ASCs in other states.

Research Brief