The RAND Blog

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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.

Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice

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Accounting for Risk of Violent Death

As a Southerner who learned to shoot at an early age, I've never had a problem with guns. But emergency-room doctors like me also know how much damage they can cause if misused or allowed to fall into the wrong hands, writes Arthur Kellermann.

Arthur L. Kellermann

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Health Care Costs Are Killing Us

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.

Arthur L. Kellermann

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Al Qaeda Threat to U.S. Embassy in Yemen Raises Questions

As in most war zones and high threat environments, one of the dangers to guard against is complacency...people become accustomed to a certain level of danger and assume that they have everything under control, when in fact they may have not fully thought through the problems posed by an enemy that is continually innovating, writes William Young.

William Young

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The Mirage of the Arab Spring

Like it or not, the United States counts among its allies a number of authoritarian Arab countries, and they are essential partners in protecting its interests, writes Seth G. Jones. The normative hope that liberal democracy may flourish in the future must be balanced by the need to work with governments and societies as they exist today.

Seth G. Jones

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Iran: A Rough Year in 2013

The Islamic Republic faces the potential of stronger economic sanctions and even a military strike because of its intransigence in complying with U.N. resolutions on its nuclear program. It also must deal with twin domestic challenges—deepening malaise among the young and increasing tensions among the political elite, writes Alireza Nader.

Alireza Nader

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Big Defense Cuts Are Coming, Regardless of the Fiscal Cliff

The prudent approach is to decide on a strategic direction that provides a framework for prioritizing which forces and equipment the United States should preserve and determining which can be trimmed or eliminated with limited risk to security, write Stuart Johnson and Irv Blickstein.

Stuart Johnson, Irv Blickstein

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RAND Corporation Accepting Applications for Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowships

The RAND Corporation is accepting applications for up to three Stanton Nuclear Security Fellows. The application deadline is February 11, 2013.

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Creating More Savvy Consumers Through Public Reporting

Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys are designed to capture patients' experiences in a systematic way that facilitates reporting the results publicly to help other consumers make more savvy care decisions. Consumer choices may influence providers to improve the care they offer so that they can effectively compete in the market.

Mary E. Vaiana

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Responding to Newtown

Art Kellermann reviews what is known from broad outlines of the Newtown attack and past research on gun violence to offer some preliminary thoughts to the Obama Administration's task force and the public.

Arthur L. Kellermann

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Shifting the Burden of Mental Health Care: Helping Families

In our national conversation on mental health, we should remember the role of families when thinking about treatment and ensure that our policies open up opportunities to support parents, siblings and relatives, and enhance their capacity for care, writes Ramya Chari.

Ramya Chari

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Wanted: Balance in Defense Cuts

Budget reductions must be applied in ways that pose the least risk to national security. We need to shrink force structure carefully, reduce or delay procurement of some weapons systems, streamline management and cut personnel costs, writes Harold Brown.

Harold Brown

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Egypt's Constitutional Referendum Was an Opportunity Lost

The Egyptian process left no room for broad deliberation of the constitutional issues, or even for educating citizens about the text of the document on which they were asked to vote, writes Laurel Miller.

Laurel E. Miller

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Silencing the Science on Gun Research

The United States has long relied on public health science to improve the safety, health, and lives of its citizens. Perhaps the same straightforward, problem-solving approach that worked well in other circumstances can help the nation meet the challenge of firearm violence, writes Arthur Kellermann.

Arthur L. Kellermann, Frederick P. Rivara

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North Korean 'Satellite' May Fall from Sky, but That Won't Deter Kim Jong-Un

Kim Jong-Un's regime has placed outsized import on its missile launches—despite the risk of alienating the international community—to offset the lack of success across a wide range of topics, writes Bruce Bennett.

Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett