Measuring Health Care Costs

As health care costs rise, policymakers and industry leaders are increasingly interested in developing accurate ways to measure and, ultimately, to try to reduce them for the individual patient as well as for society as a whole. RAND researchers have sought to measure the health care costs of state and federal health plans, hospice treatment, and certain health behaviors.

Research conducted by: RAND Health

All Items (44)

REPORT

What is the Impact of Health Care Reform on Workers' Compensation Medical Care? — Apr 23, 2012

When enacting, implementing, and evaluating health care reform, policymakers should consider potential spillover effects on workers' compensation insurance. The experience of Massachusetts's heath care reform suggests that reform may reduce medical costs.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Consumers' and Providers' Responses to Public Cost Reports, and How to Raise the Likelihood of Achieving Desired Results — Apr 1, 2012

Public reporting of health care costs is intended to motivate consumers to choose lower cost providers, and motivate providers to lower costs to retain market share. Measures should be chosen based on which pathway policymakers intend to influence.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Ways to Improve Health Care Provider 'Report Cards' — Mar 5, 2012

As health care reform expands the use of "report cards" to grade health care providers, greater attention to reporting methods may be needed to assure the quality of such efforts.

COMMENTARY

Do Physicians Need a 'Shopping Cart' for Health Care Services? — Feb 22, 2012

Providing physicians with cost data in real time automatically as a part of the electronic medical record could make them better purchasers for their patients and provide better value, writes Robert H. Brook.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Do Physicians Need a "Shopping Cart" for Health Care Services? — Feb 1, 2012

The technology of the ubiquitous electronic shopping cart could be adapted to help physicians understand the cost of the services they order for patients, and possibly change the mix and total costs of the products in the cart.

COMMENTARY

How Will the Effects of the Affordable Care Act Be Monitored? — Jan 4, 2012

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.

COMMENTARY

Can the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Become Relevant to Controlling Medical Costs and Improving Value? — Nov 9, 2011

A scientific and political case could be made to amend health care legislation to require that cost be included in the studies that the PCORI funds, writes Robert H. Brook.

REPORT

Three Essays on Economics of Health Behavior in China — Nov 4, 2011

Three essays each focusing on one topic in economics of health behaviors in China.

REPORT

Policy Options for Addressing Medicare Payment Differentials Across Ambulatory Settings — Sep 30, 2011

Under Medicare, many health care services can be provided in a range of ambulatory settings, but payment differentials exist for the facility-related components of care. Building on prior RAND analyses, this report presents options for modifying Medicare payment policies to improve the value of services and to address cost and payment differentials for similar services provided in various ambulatory settings.

NEWS RELEASE

Consumers May Have More Control Over Health Care Costs Than Previously Thought — 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.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Consumers May Have More Control Over Health Care Costs Than Previously Thought — 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.

NEWS RELEASE

Accelerating Health Care Costs Wiping Out Much of Americans' Income Gains — Sep 7, 2011

Fast-rising health care costs have eaten nearly all the income gains made by a median-income American family of four over the past decade, leaving them with just $95 per month in extra income, after accounting for taxes and price increases.

RESEARCH BRIEF

Accelerating Health Care Costs Wiping Out Much of Americans' Income Gains — Sep 7, 2011

Fast-rising health care costs have eaten nearly all the income gains made by a median-income American family of four over the past decade, leaving them with just $95 per month in extra income, after accounting for taxes and price increases.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

A Decade of Health Care Cost Growth Has Wiped Out Real Income Gains for an Average US Family — Aug 31, 2011

This article translates aggregate numbers about health spending into concrete measures that consumers can relate to.

RESEARCH BRIEF

Is Physician Cost Profiling Ready for Prime Time? — Sep 21, 2010

Physician cost profiling is intended to identify physicians with lower spending patterns, but RAND analysts found that common profiling methods result in 22 percent of physicians being assigned to the wrong cost category in a two-tier system.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Cost Profiles: Should the Focus Be on Individual Physicians or Physician Groups? — Jul 31, 2010

Cost profiles of physician groups are statistically more reliable than profiles of individual physicians but they don't predict individual physician performance within the group.

RESEARCH BRIEF

Is Physician Cost Profiling Ready for Prime Time? — Jun 10, 2010

Physician cost profiling is intended to identify physicians with lower spending patterns, but RAND analysts found that common profiling methods result in 22 percent of physicians being assigned to the wrong cost category in a two-tier system.

REPORT

Grandfathering in the Small Group Market Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — Jun 3, 2010

To avoid changes in current health coverage, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exempts existing plans from some regulations. These exemptions may lead to higher employer-sponsored insurance enrollment and lower government spending.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Efforts to Promote Use of Lower-Cost Physicians May Be Based on Misleading Profiles — Mar 16, 2010

Increasingly common insurance plans that encourage patients to receive care from physicians who keep medical costs lower are based on unreliable estimates of doctor performance and may not achieve the intended savings.

REPORT

Funding intensive care -- approaches in systems using diagnosis-related groups — Mar 5, 2010

This report reviews approaches to funding intensive care in systems that use activity-based payment based on diagnosis-related groups to reimburse hospital care (Victoria/Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, US-Medicare).

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