RAND Research Topic: Health Care Financing 2012-05-24T14:56:47Z Copyright (c) 2012, The RAND Corporation RAND Corporation http://www.rand.org/topics/health-care-financing.html The Public Option: Sorting Rhetoric from Reality http://www.rand.org/commentary/2009/06/24/ABC.html Jun 23, 2008 Jun 23, 2008 President Obama and several Congressional leaders have recently expressed support for the idea of allowing citizens to buy into a public insurance program as part of any health reform legislation. The intensity of the ensuing debate has been fascinating given the lack of specifics that have been offered by either side, writes Elizabeth A. McGlynn. Eliminating Individual Mandate Would Decrease Coverage, Increase Spending http://www.rand.org/publications/randreview/issues/2012/spring/news2.html May 11, 2012 May 11, 2012 If the individual mandate requiring all Americans to have health insurance were eliminated, it would sharply reduce the number of people gaining coverage and slightly increase the cost for those who do buy policies through the new insurance exchanges. Expanding Consumer-Directed Health Plans Could Help Cut Overall Health Care Spending http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201200104.html May 7, 2012 May 7, 2012 If consumer-directed health plans grow to account for half of all employer-sponsored insurance in the United States, health costs could drop by $57 billion annually—about 4 percent of all health care spending among the nonelderly. Would the Affordable Care Act Lead to Reductions in Employer-Sponsored Coverage? http://www.rand.org/blog/2012/05/would-the-affordable-care-act-lead-to-reductions-in.html May 4, 2012 May 4, 2012 As the U.S. Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) individual mandate, one of the questions being debated is what effect the mandate would have on employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. A factor to consider in this is the effect the ACA would have on small businesses, which employ the majority of America's private-sector workforce. Survey Results Show That Adults Are Willing to Pay Higher Insurance Premiums for Generous Coverage of Specialty Drugs http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20120092.html Apr 1, 2012 Apr 1, 2012 This study estimated how healthy people value insurance coverage of specialty drugs, defined as high-cost drugs that treat cancer and other serious health conditions like multiple sclerosis, by quantifying willingness to pay via a survey. Rules Allowing Small Businesses to Opt Out of Health Reform Should Have Minor Impact on Insurance Cost http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100293.html Feb 8, 2012 Feb 8, 2012 Rules that allow some small employers to avoid regulation under the federal Affordable Care Act are unlikely to have a major impact on the future cost of health insurance unless those rules are relaxed to allow more businesses to opt out. Financial Burden of Prescription Drugs Is Dropping, but Costs Remain a Challenge for Many Families http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20120039.html Feb 8, 2012 Feb 8, 2012 The financial burden Americans face paying out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs has declined, although prescription costs remain a significant challenge for people with lower incomes and those with public insurance. Impacts of Rising Health Care Costs on Families with Employment-Based Private Insurance: A National Analysis with State Fixed Effects http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20120063.html Jan 1, 2012 Jan 1, 2012 Rising health costs reduce employment-based private insurance availability and enrollment, and the financial protection provided by it, especially for middle-class families. Take-up of Public Insurance and Crowd-Out of Private Insurance Under Recent CHIP Expansions to Higher Income Children http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20120099.html Jan 1, 2012 Jan 1, 2012 The CHIP expansions to children in higher income families were associated with limited uptake of public coverage. Bundling Payments to Curb Health Care Costs Proves Difficult to Realize http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100242.html Nov 7, 2011 Nov 7, 2011 Under bundled payments, doctors, hospitals, and other providers share one fee for treating all aspects of a procedure such as a hip replacement or a chronic disease like diabetes. The approach should eliminate unnecessary care and improve quality, but putting it into practice is proving to be more difficult than anticipated. Bundling Payments to Curb Health Care Costs Proves Difficult to Realize http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/11/07.html Nov 7, 2011 Nov 7, 2011 Under bundled payments, doctors, hospitals, and other providers share one fee for treating all aspects of a procedure such as a hip replacement or a chronic disease like diabetes. The approach should eliminate unnecessary care and improve quality, but putting it into practice is proving to be more difficult than anticipated. Can the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Become Relevant to Controlling Medical Costs and Improving Value? http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100253.html Nov 1, 2011 Nov 1, 2011 Research sponsored by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute can help patients make better decisions by comparing the effectiveness of alternative therapies, but it is constrained from considering the costs of therapies it compares. Consumers May Have More Control Over Health Care Costs Than Previously Thought http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100208.html Sep 29, 2011 Sep 29, 2011 The historic RAND Health Insurance Experiment found that patients had little or no control over their health care spending once they began to receive a physician's care, but this has changed for those enrolled in consumer-directed health plans. Medicare's Bundled Payment Pilot for Acute and Postacute Care:: Analysis and Recommendations on Where to Begin http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100216.html Aug 31, 2011 Aug 31, 2011 Medicare's National Pilot Program on Payment Bundling should use hip fracture and joint replacement as the conditions to include and use longer episodes, capturing a higher percentage of costs and hospital readmissions but adding little financial risk. A Decade of Health Care Cost Growth Has Wiped Out Real Income Gains for an Average US Family http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP201100172.html Aug 31, 2011 Aug 31, 2011 This article translates aggregate numbers about health spending into concrete measures that consumers can relate to. Factors Associated with Closures of Emergency Departments in the United States http://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP20110092.html May 17, 2011 May 17, 2011 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. How National Health Reform Will Affect a Variety of States http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/04/05.html Apr 5, 2011 Apr 5, 2011 A series of new reports by the RAND Corporation outlines the impact that national health care reform will have on individual states, estimating the increased costs and coverage that are expected in five diverse states once reform is fully implemented in 2016. Health Reform Will Add Coverage for 6 Million Californians; State Health Spending to Grow by 7 Percent http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/04/05/index1.html Apr 5, 2011 Apr 5, 2011 National health care reform will help 6 million California residents obtain health insurance and increase health care spending by state government by about 7 percent when it is fully implemented in 2016. Health Reform Will Add Coverage for 170,000 in Connecticut; State Health Spending to Drop by 10 Percent http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/04/05/index2.html Apr 5, 2011 Apr 5, 2011 National health care reform will help 170,000 Connecticut residents obtain health insurance and decrease health care spending by state government by about 10 percent when it is fully implemented in 2016. Health Reform Will Add Coverage for 1.3 Million in Illinois; State Health Spending to Grow by 10 Percent http://www.rand.org/news/press/2011/04/05/index3.html Apr 5, 2011 Apr 5, 2011 National health care reform will help 1.3 million Illinois residents obtain health insurance and increase health care spending by state government by about 10 percent when it is fully implemented in 2016.