Keep the Vaccine Moving to Save the Most Lives
The United States is waiting to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and millions of doses wait for arms. Policymakers at the national, state, and local levels have been stockpiling the shots for many reasons. While supply ramps up, policymakers could push to deliver vaccine to people instead of freezers.
Jan 19, 2021 The RAND Blog
Will Thanksgiving Be a National Super-Spreader Event?
Whether or not Thanksgiving will become a national super-spreader event will depend on the size of individual holiday gatherings across the country and the rate of COVID-19 cases in each community. December could be a grim month if people don't stay home on Thanksgiving.
Nov 24, 2020 The RAND Blog
COVID-19 Could Become a Widespread Preexisting Condition in a Post-ACA World
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is far from perfect, but its protections are particularly relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the ACA is struck down, then protections for preexisting conditions will go with it. Policymakers should consider the potential implications for millions of COVID-19 survivors.
Nov 4, 2020 The Hill
A $2.5 Trillion Question: What If Incomes Grew Like GDP Did?
Income inequality is an aspect of economics that resonates with many Americans: It feels like the rich are getting richer, while the rest are having a hard time just getting by. What would income distribution look like today if incomes grew apace with the economy?
Oct 6, 2020 ProMarket
Modeling the Future of COVID-19: Q&A with RAND Experts
The phrase “flatten the curve” familiarized Americans with epidemiological models used to estimate virus transmission, cases, and potential deaths from COVID-19. But new models are needed as the country enters a different stage of the crisis.
May 26, 2020
Trends in Inequality and the World's Eight Richest Men
While Oxfam reports have done a good job of bringing attention to the problem of inequality, they may lead the public and policymakers to believe that global inequality has been rising instead of falling. Global inequality has actually been on the decline while inequality within the developed world is increasing.
Feb 10, 2017 U.S. News & World Report
College Education No Panacea for Worker Inequality Woes
The earnings gap between high school and college graduates has grown with each generation, but even a college degree does not ensure a good income. Just as the nature of jobs for high school graduates has been changing due to consolidation, trade, and technology, the quality of employment for college graduates is beginning to shift.
Aug 31, 2016 The RAND Blog
Fixing Inequality of Opportunity
Research has fueled concerns about how income inequality drives inequality of opportunity. Commonsense approaches such as improvements in education and access to quality health care have been shown to provide young people with better opportunities.
Jul 6, 2016 Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity
Quick Takes: The Math of Medicaid Expansion
Expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is both contentious and complicated. RAND mathematician Carter Price has been using the COMPARE model to help those making decisions understand what their choices mean for their budgets and population health.
Oct 21, 2013 The RAND Blog
Data Points: Why Delay of the Employer Mandate May Not Actually Mean That Much
The bottom line is that the employer mandate does not provide a large inducement for firms to change their health insurance offerings, but it does raise a substantial amount of money to pay for the ACA's coverage provisions over time.
Aug 29, 2013 The Health Care Blog
Firefighting Aircraft: Is Bigger Better?
An aircraft's capacity and speed largely determine the rate at which water or retardant can be applied to a fire. Very large air tankers (VLATs) certainly have the capacity to apply large amounts of fluids to a fire, but because of the distances travelled they may not be able to get a second load very quickly.
May 20, 2013 The RAND Blog
Governors Missing the Point on Medicaid
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.
Apr 29, 2013 CNN
Helping Obama—and Other Americans—Weigh Which Health Insurance Exchange to Pick
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.
Apr 1, 2013 The RAND Blog
Modeling the Effects of the Affordable Care Act in Arkansas
The Medicaid expansion under the ACA will result in about 400,000 people newly insured in Arkansas by 2016. Of these, about 190,000 would be newly enrolled in Medicaid and the rest would be newly insured through the new insurance exchanges. The state is likely to save about $67 million for reduced uncompensated care costs for the uninsured.
Jan 7, 2013
What Happens Without Individual Mandate?
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.
Mar 21, 2012 USA Today
