The U.S. health insurance model frequently costs more and provides less care than systems in other Western nations. RAND's health insurance research began in 1971 with the 15-year Health Insurance Experiment, the only community-based experimental study of how cost-sharing arrangements affect people’s use of health services, their quality of care, and their health status. Subsequent research has continued to inform the U.S. policy debate.
While a governor or legislator may disagree with Medicaid expansion for philosophical reasons, the claims that the expansion will be a burden on states' economies seem misguided given the full range of projected economic impacts on the states, writes Carter C. Price.
Multistate plans are most likely to appeal to out-of-state students, interstate migrants, out-of-state workers, seasonal movers (e.g., “snowbirds”), and similar groups that require improved access to health care across state lines.
At a time when our country is teetering on the edge of a “fiscal cliff,” no challenge in health care is more important than reducing health care spending, writes Arthur L. Kellermann.
Unfortunately, nearly every actor in our health care delivery system—hospitals, physicians, other health care providers, insurance companies and the manufacturers of drugs and devices—is currently focused on maximizing revenue growth, write Arthur Kellermann and David Auerbach.
A problem with using surveys to predict behavior is that they measure employer sentiment toward the ACA today, rather than the economic decisions employers typically make when the time comes, writes Art Kellermann.
If the individual mandate were ruled unconstitutional, subsidies and the age structure of premiums should keep enough healthy people in the insurance exchanges to prevent huge spikes in premiums, write Carter C. Price and Christine Eibner.
Most will agree with the undeniable fact that a new era in US medicine and US health care begins in less than two 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.
Hospitals operating with little competition are able to charge health plans much higher prices, which are passed on to consumers in the form of higher insurance premiums, writes Glenn Melnick.
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.
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.
The success of the Affordable Care Act to enroll those newly eligible in an appropriate insurance plan depends on clear communication to individuals who have limited health literacy, write Laurie T. Martin and Ruth M. Parker.
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.
Can the health care system handle the demands of 30 million-plus new customers?, asks Elizabeth McGlynn.
How close do you think that the health care reform plan would come, in reality, to achieving each goal? On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 is extremely close, and 1 is not at all close.
To clear up some of the confusion about the newly approved health care legislation, Elizabeth McGlynn debunks some common misconceptions about the bill.
To provide a context for understanding health insurance premium price increases, this document identifies the factors that insurance companies consider when setting rates for the next year.
RAND's latest analysis of options for reducing the number of uninsured shows that among all the options included in the House tri-committee bill, the Senate HELP bill, and the proposal released by Senator Max Baucus, the individual mandate would have the greatest impact, writes Elizabeth McGlynn.
A little-known proposition amid the highly charged health care debate is that properly controlling health care spending could generate economic growth equal to 1 percent of gross domestic product, write Dana Goldman and Neeraj Sood.
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.
The pricing plans most people choose for their cell phones are simple: Pay one price and talk as much as you want. What if paying for your prescription drugs were as easy and appealing?, writes Dana P. Goldman.
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