on Facebook
on Twitter
on YouTube
Health Economics and Financing
U.S. Health Care: Facts about Cost, Access, and Quality
The U.S. spends approximately 15 percent of its gross domestic product on health care, making health care the largest single sector of the U.S. economy. Despite these levels of expenditure, Americans are not healthier and do not live longer than citizens in many other nations. American adults receive just half of recommended health care services, and quality does not vary much by socioeconomic factors. Focusing on the nation as a whole, this chart book provides an overview of key health care policy issues in the areas of cost, access, and quality.
Read more
The RAND Corporation is at the forefront of research on health insurance and managed care, conducting high-profile studies on a variety of topics, including the influence of insurance coverage on access to health care and on health outcomes. RAND's 15-year Health Insurance Experiment, which began in 1971, is considered the most important study of health insurance ever conducted, laying the groundwork for future research on health care quality and coverage and on managed care. Our current studies on health care financing and organization are highlighted below.
Profiles of Current Research
Highlights of Recent Studies & News
Regulating Drug Prices: U.S. Policy Alternatives in a Global Context
This study found that regulation of prescription drug prices has increased worldwide, usually reducing pharmaceutical revenues. The study examines the implications of these decreased revenues for consumer savings, continued drug innovation, and, ultimately, life expectancy.
Is the Economic Burden of Providing Health Insurance Greater for Small Firms Than for Large Firms?
Despite the increasing cost burden of providing health insurance, no evidence exists that either small or large firms have dropped coverage; however continuing increases in costs might increase employers' difficulty in shouldering this burden.
Modeling the Health and Medical Care Spending of the Future Elderly.
This study, which modeled the likely influence of health innovations and projected health status on health spending, found that health technologies are likely to increase, not decrease, spending; that elimination of disease (with the exception of obesity) would not reduce health spending; and that prevention care might decrease spending, but only under particular conditions.
Related Web Sites
COMPARE
Healthcare for Communities
http://www.hsrcenter.ucla.edu/research/hcc.shtml
HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS)
www.rand.org/health/projects/hcsus/
Bing Center for Health Economics
www.rand.org/health/centers/bing/
RAND Roybal Center for Health Policy Simulation
http://www.rand.org/labor/roybalhp/
UCLA/RAND NIMH Center for Research on Quality in Managed Care
Working with Congress
RAND’s Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) furthers RAND’s mission to provide objective analysis and effective solutions by disseminating research results to Congress and federal agencies. OCR publishes a monthly electronic newsletter featuring current work on health policy. The RAND Health Congressional Newsletter is found at www.rand.org/congress/newsletters.html. Contact: Shirley Ruhe (Shirley_Ruhe@rand.org).
The RAND Health Congressional Newsletter
Top