The debate within the U.S. government about reforming the health care system centers on ways to control rising costs and assure high-quality, affordable care. RAND Health and its health care reform initiative—RAND COMPARE (Comprehensive Assessment of Reform Efforts)—provide objective research and analysis on topics that can inform the health care reform debate, including financing; increasing access, insurance coverage, and quality; decreasing costs; and promoting wellness and prevention.
With the complex process of implementing the ACA underway, RAND research is tracking the progress of implementation and assessing the potential consequences of choices facing federal and state governments, employers, families, and individuals.
In its second term, the Obama Administration can restrain further health care spending growth—without compromising quality—by employing four broad strategies: fostering efficient and accountable providers, engaging and empowering consumers, promoting population health, and facilitating high-value innovation.
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.
Report
A substantial body of RAND research has focused on evaluating policies to lower health care costs; promoting health and preventing disease; and improving health system value and quality of care.
Multimedia
In this October 2011 Congressional Briefing, Art Kellermann presents a breakdown of how U.S. health care cost growth directly affects the finances of a typical American family.
Journal Article
This article examines potential effects of the Affordable Care Act's quality provisions on disparities and suggests disparities impact assessments to measure and monitor effects.
Journal Article
Analysis of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Plan suggests national health care reform may require larger numbers of support personnel, rather than requiring greater numbers of physicians and nurses themselves.
Commentary
Because the budget crisis is really a crisis, it behooves physicians to answer the waste question as rapidly as possible. Without an answer, there is no hope that an appropriate policy process for reining in health care costs will be identified, writes Robert H. Brook.
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
This commentary argues that physicians must take the lead in identifying and eliminating waste in US health care.
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.
Report
Implications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (as Modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act) for small firms' decisions to offer self-insured health plans and consequences of self-insurance for enrollees.
News Release
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.
News Release
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.
News Release
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.
News Release
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.
News Release
National health care reform will help 125,000 Montana residents obtain health insurance and increase health care spending by state government by about 3 percent when it is fully implemented in 2016.
News Release
National health care reform will help 5 million Texas residents obtain health insurance and increase health care spending by state government by about 10 percent when it is fully implemented in 2016.
Research Brief
Projects how the coverage-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect health insurance coverage and state government spending on health care in five states.
Report
Projects how the coverage-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect health insurance coverage and state government spending on health care in Illinois through 2020.
Report
Projects how the coverage-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect health insurance coverage and state government spending on health care in Texas through 2020.
Report
Projects how the coverage-related provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect health insurance coverage and state government spending on health care in California through 2020.
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