Health Care Financing

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Informing the Debate About Telemedicine Reimbursement: What Do We Need to Know?

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. payers and policymakers broadly expanded payment for telemedicine services and relaxed many regulations. To decide the long-term fate of pandemic-era temporary telemedicine, policymakers should consider the effects of telemedicine on health care spending, patient outcomes, and health equity.

Ateev Mehrotra, Lori Uscher-Pines

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Doubling NIH Funding for Women's Health Would Yield Substantial Return on Investment

The scientific evidence base generally is biased toward the male body as a result of a long history of generous funding for diseases that predominantly affect men and underfunding for those that predominantly affect women. But the cost of the science pales in comparison to the price we continue to pay for what we don't know about caring for women.

Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD

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Rethinking the Impact of Audio-Only Visits on Health Equity

New pandemic-era flexibility that allowed audio-only health visits to be routinely reimbursed as telehealth may be leading to substandard care for those it was meant to serve. It may be time to consider limiting audio-only visits in the pursuit of health equity.

Lori Uscher-Pines, Lucy B. Schulson

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Twelve-Month Continuous Eligibility for Medicaid Adults Can Stabilize Coverage with a Modest Cost Increase

Churning—frequent moving in and out of Medicaid due to income fluctuation—increases insurance coverage gaps, disrupts access to health care, increases unnecessary administrative burden, and leads to suboptimal health outcomes. Federal and state policymakers might consider continuous eligibility to help stabilize Medicaid enrollment.

Harry H. Liu, Leighton Ku

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What Are the Practical Considerations for Outcome-Based Payment in the NHS?

Uncertainty can surround the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of a new medicine, making it difficult to agree on a medicine's price. One solution to avoid unduly delaying or restricting patients' access is to link the medicine's price to the outcomes it produces in a patient. Despite some barriers, outcome-based payment could offer a “win” for patients, the NHS, and industry.

Amanda Cole, Jon Sussex

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Fintech's Role in Reducing Disparities and Financial Barriers to Health Care Access

Given the growing pressures on health care systems globally and the need for innovative approaches to financing health care, the time may be ripe to develop a robust evidence base and share learning on fintech-enabled approaches that could support universal health coverage agendas and healthier and more stable societies.

Sam Alom, Sonja Marjanovic @SonjaCambs

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How COVID-19 Lessons Can Transform U.S. Mental Health Care

It would be a powerful conclusion to the pandemic if Americans reimagined a health system that was resilient against future threats, including the resulting psychological trauma. Policymakers have the opportunity now to cut short the pandemic's long tail of mental illness by taking decisive action.

Ryan K. McBain @ryankmcbain

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Vaccine Hesitancy, Sexual Misconduct in the U.S. Military, the Iran Nuclear Deal: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Black Americans' vaccine hesitancy, sexual harassment and sexual assault in the U.S. military, rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, and more.

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ACA Subsidies for Higher-Income Families Are Key to Enrolling More Americans

The House Ways and Means Committee has proposed several insurance reforms in its emergency COVID-19 relief package, including increasing subsidizes and extending subsidies to people with higher incomes. The proposed combined approach is a far more efficient means of covering uninsured Americans than enhancing subsidies only for those who are currently eligible.

Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner

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Why States' 'Netflix Model' Prescription Drug Arrangements Are No Silver Bullet

Despite the buzz and catchy notion that subscription models are “Netflix for drugs,” it's hard to come up with a theoretical case that supports subscription models over traditional price negotiation between payers and manufacturers over a per-dose or per-unit price.

Harry H. Liu, Andrew W. Mulcahy @AndrewWMulcahy

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COVID-19, Out-of-Network Hospital Payments, Russia's Economy: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19, limiting out-of-network hospital payments, Russia's sluggish economy, and more.

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Health Funding—Finally Something We Can Agree On

At a time when it has become common to think of the UK as a divided society, there are important questions of policy on which a great many people agree. How to fund the ever-growing needs of the NHS and social care is one such area of agreement.

Jon Sussex

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Taliban, Health Care, Russia: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on U.S.-Taliban peace talks, what single-payer health care really means, comparing threats from Russia and China, and more.

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The Most Popular RAND Research of 2018

RAND serves as an objective source of facts that help inform the world's most pressing policy debates. When decisions are based on the best evidence, that's when public policy can have a positive impact on people's lives. We're highlighting the 10 research projects that RAND.org readers found most engaging this year.

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Medicare for All: Sounds Good, but What Does It Mean?

Traditional Medicare is popular and therefore can lend a good brand name to coverage expansion proposals, but its limits can be significant for some patients. Those proposing and evaluating “Medicare for All” proposals should consider whether and how these limits are addressed.

David Anderson, Jodi L. Liu @jodilliu, et al.