Access to health care refers to the ease with which an individual can obtain needed medical services. RAND research has examined the social, cultural, economic, and geographic factors that influence health care access worldwide; the effects of changes in access; and the relationship between access and health for specific U.S. populations—including racial and ethnic minorities, people with limited English proficiency, the uninsured, the elderly, children, and veterans.
COMMENTARY
Most will agree with the undeniable fact that a new era in US medicine and US health care begins in less than 2 years. The key question is what potential measures should be monitored to determine both anticipated and unanticipated effects of the new law on the health of the US population, writes Robert H. Brook.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Examines the health care needs of released California prisoners, communities most affected by reentry, safety net capacity, and provider experiences with ex-prisoners, given California's Public Safety Realignment Plan and federal health care reform.
NEWS RELEASE
With the health care safety net in California under stress from the state's continuing financial crisis, jurisdictions across the state face unprecedented challenges caring for the health and social service needs of people released from state prisons.
REPORT
With the health care safety net in California under stress from the state's continuing financial crisis, jurisdictions across the state face unprecedented challenges caring for the health and social service needs of people released from state prisons.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Use of retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other retail settings increased tenfold between 2007 and 2009. The determining factors in choosing one over a physician's office were found to be age, health status, income, and proximity to the clinic.
COMMENTARY
Evidence from past efforts in the U.S. and abroad suggests that the full potential of health reform will not be realized without specific efforts to reduce disparities, write Robin M. Weinick, Malcom V. Williams, and Romana Hasnain-Wynia.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Approaching disparities through a public health framework can provide the foundation for developing more robust evidence to inform additional policies for improving access and reducing disparities.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Affordability benchmarks and premium-contribution requirements for Children's Health Insurance Program expansions in three states vary substantially, underscoring the ambiguity and subjectivity of affordability standards.
RESEARCH BRIEF
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.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Access to care and care quality for those with insurance are poorer in communities in which many individuals are uninsured.
COMMENTARY
The ongoing evolution of the health care system is leading US households toward greater responsibility for their own well-being. With this responsibility, however, comes an increasing need to be able to find, trust, use, and act on relevant information to make informed choices, write Laurie T. Martin and Ruth M. Parker.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
If the Affordable Care Act is to successfully expand health care coverage and access for those who most need it, states must implement strategies to ensure that those eligible for coverage are appropriately and efficiently enrolled.
PROJECT
Policymakers are facing new challenges as they implement the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). RAND COMPARE is a modeling tool that simulates the impact of implementation decisions on insurance coverage, premiums, and health care spending.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
Given the current realities of African health systems, governments will need to rely more heavily on the private health sector. This report assesses and compares the ways in which African governments are engaging with their private health sectors.
REPORT
This report presents findings from a study of health innovations transferred from South to North. This briefing examines technologies developed for developing country settings, which may have an application in the UK National Health Service.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
This study found that the number of emergency departments operating in the US from 1990 to 2009 declined by 27%. EDs with safety-net status, for-profit ownership, and low profit margin were at higher risk of closure.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
California's prisons, which are operating under receivership for medical care, need help in improving the quality of health care they provide.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
More educated, affluent patients were no more likely to be offered a choice than other population groups, but there does appear to be a social gradient in who chose to travel beyond the local area for treatment. If these results were replicated across England, there is at least the potential risk that when local hospitals are failing, patient choice could result in inequitable access to high quality care, rather than enhancing equity as…
JOURNAL ARTICLE
A faith-based health research network could create a framework for evaluating such efforts.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
This research brief summaries results of a longitudinal study of military families, which found that spouses and children faced major challenges when one parent was deployed overseas.
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