Medical Care

RAND advances understanding of health and health behaviors and examines how the organization and financing of care affect costs, quality, and access. RAND's body of research—conducted primarily through the RAND Health division—includes innovative studies of health insurance, health care reform, health information technology, and women's health, as well as topical concerns such as obesity, complementary and alternative medicine, and PTSD in veterans and survivors of catastrophe.

Research conducted by: RAND Health; Military Health Policy Research; RAND Europe; RAND Drug Policy Research Center; RAND Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment; RAND Labor and Population; RAND Gulf States Policy Institute

Featured at RAND

The Affordable Care Act: Four Key Policy Areas

Obama signing the ACA

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.

Four Strategies to Contain America's Growing Health Care Spending

pills and coins

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.

News Releases (225)

Health Reform Will Add Coverage for 1.3 Million in Illinois; State Health Spending to Grow by 10 Percent — 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.

Health Reform Will Add Coverage for 125,000 in Montana; State Health Spending to Grow by 3 Percent — Apr 5, 2011

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.

Health Reform Will Add Coverage for 5 Million in Texas; State Health Spending to Grow by 10 Percent — Apr 5, 2011

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.

Army Children with a Parent Deployed Nineteen Months or Longer Experience More Academic Difficulties — Apr 4, 2011

Army children whose parents have deployed 19 months or more since 2001 score lower on standardized tests than other Army children whose parents have deployed for shorter periods of time.

Childhood Psychological Problems Have Long-Term Impact on Individuals' Earnings and Social Relationships — Mar 28, 2011

Psychological problems experienced during childhood can have a long-lasting impact on an individual's life course, reducing people's earnings and decreasing the chances of establishing long-lasting relationships.

Largest Study of High-Deductible Health Plans Finds Substantial Cost Savings, but Less Preventive Care — Mar 25, 2011

The largest-ever assessment of high-deductible health plans finds that while such plans significantly cut health spending, they also prompt patients to cut back on preventive health care.

New Report Helps Inform Decisions about How Science Should Be Funded — Mar 7, 2011

Project Retrosight analysed 29 case studies of cardiovascular and stroke research in Australia, Canada, and the UK, and found that clinical research has greater societal impact over a 15-20 year timescale, while basic research has greater academic impact.

Investment in New Health Care Quality Measures Needed as Cost-Cutting Strategies Grow — Feb 22, 2011

As the health care industry, employers, and government officials seek to control the growth of health spending, new efforts are needed to develop and refine quality-of-care and other performance measures that can assure changes will improve medical care and do not harm patients.

Ways for Communities to Build Resilience to Aid Disaster Recovery — Feb 22, 2011

Communities can build resilience to disasters through efforts such as joint planning of government and non-governmental organizations and the development of community networks.

U.S. Military Should Improve Behavioral Health Programs in Response to Rising Number of Suicides Among Armed Forces — Feb 17, 2011

U.S. military officials should improve efforts to identify those at-risk and improve both the quality and access to behavioral health treatment in response to a sharp rise in suicide among members of nation's armed forces.

Nearly a Quarter of New York Veterans Face Mental Health Challenges; More Coordination of Resources Needed — Jan 26, 2011

Military veterans from New York state who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are at high risk for mental health problems. Outreach to connect veterans with services and better coordination among government and community agencies is needed.

Hispanic Seniors Less Likely to Be Immunized Against Flu and Pneumonia — Jan 24, 2011

Seniors of Hispanic descent are far less likely to become immunized against the flu or pneumonia compared to similar White seniors.

Children and Spouses of Deployed Military Members Report Challenges as Responsibilities Increase — Jan 19, 2011

Children and spouses of military members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan report facing challenges as family relationships change and they assume more responsibility for household duties during deployment.

Electronic Medical Records Not Always Linked to Better Care in Hospitals — Dec 23, 2010

Use of electronic health records by hospitals across the United States has had only a limited effect on improving the quality of medical care.

Most Massachusetts Physician Groups Engaged in Improving Patient Experience, but Focus is Not on Physician Role — Dec 20, 2010

Most Massachusetts physician groups are using results from a statewide patient survey to help improve patient experiences, but a significant number are not making use of the information or are making relatively limited efforts.

Home Health Care Could Help Sustain Health Care Systems, but Requires Efforts by Stakeholders — Dec 7, 2010

Home health care technology may provide one important solution to global concerns about how to sustain health care systems threatened by rising costs and manpower shortages, but such a change faces multiple obstacles to adoption.

More Resources Must Be Focused on Understanding Why Many Americans Avoid Flu Vaccine — Nov 24, 2010

More research is needed to improve understanding of Americans' reluctance to be vaccinated against the flu to better prepare the nation for a future pandemic flu outbreak.

Art Kellermann Named New Director of RAND Health — Nov 17, 2010

Dr. Arthur L. Kellermann, one of the nation's leading public health and emergency medicine researchers, has been named as the new head of the health research division at the RAND Corporation, RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson announced today.

Antibiotic Treatment for Ear Infections in Children Provides Modest Benefits and Some Risks — Nov 16, 2010

Using antibiotics to treat newly diagnosed acute ear infections among children is modestly more effective than no treatment, but comes with a risk of side effects.

Older Americans Less Healthy Than English Counterparts, But They Live as Long or Longer — Nov 4, 2010

While Americans aged 55 to 64 have higher rates of chronic diseases than their peers in England, they die at about the same rate. And Americans age 65 and older—while still sicker than their English peers—have a lower death rate than similar people in England.

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