Most of the studies reported in these pages are products of two RAND research centers--one concerned with issues of aging, the other with the financing of health care. The centers are funded respectively by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the federal agency responsible for managing Medicare and Medicaid.
Established in 1989 with a grant from the NIA, this center studies the social and economic functioning of the elderly.
Current projects include analyses of the economic consequences of poor health in old age; social and psychological factors affecting the health and functioning of the elderly; nursing home outcomes; and the relationships between marriage, divorce, widowhood, health and the finances of older individuals.
These studies also encompass a wide range of interdisciplinary issues--the aging labor force, health care and its financing, and the role of the family in supporting the elderly. Center researchers have developed nationally representative surveys that contain a wealth of data on the health and economic well-being of older people. In addition, the center sponsors seminars for scholars and policymakers, provides for the publication of conference proceedings and supports staff in preparing documents for more general audiences.
The center is also committed to research training through the RAND postdoctoral training program in population and aging studies. The training of new PhDs takes place largely through work with ongoing center projects.
For further information contact Lee A. Lillard, director, at RAND. Telephone: 310-393-0411, x6535; Internet: Lee_Lillard@rand.org.
This center, established by HCFA in 1984, draws upon the expertise of three major research institutions: RAND, the UCLA School of Public Health, and Harvard University. For over a decade, HCFA, as overseer of Medicare and Medicaid, has been at the center of the debate over health care financing and has faced demands for policy analysis and research beyond the capabilities of its staff. Recognizing that outside assistance would be necessary, HCFA established several centers for research in this field. RAND, in conjunction with the UCLA School of Public Health, was designated as one of the centers. Harvard became a member in 1988.
Center researchers have analyzed a broad range of health care financing issues in both fee-for-service and managed-care systems. These issues include the costs of AIDS to the Medicaid program, strategies for setting payment rates for capitation programs, the effects of prospective payment on hospital finances, payments to hospitals for medical education, the cost-effectiveness of geriatric nurse-practitioner programs, the quality of hospital care, and methods of calculating meaningful hospital mortality rates.
For additional information contact Grace M. Carter, director, at RAND. Telephone: 310-393-0411, x7279; Internet: Grace_Carter@rand.org.