Measuring Health Care Costs

blog

The Most Popular RAND Research of 2021

As another extraordinary year draws to a close, we continue to believe that objective, nonpartisan research and analysis has a key role to play in navigating what continues to be a difficult time. Here are the 10 research projects that resonated most with rand.org readers in 2021.

commentary

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

commentary

Options for Designing a Public Option

State and federal policymakers are considering adding state-backed public options to the individual market in an effort to expand health coverage and improve affordability. We analyzed what would happen if public options became available in U.S. health insurance exchanges.

Michael Cohen, Al Bingham, et al.

blog

Australia's Fires, Artificial Intelligence, Fentanyl: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Australia's devastating fires, how artificial intelligence could manipulate the masses, the fentanyl crisis, and more.

blog

Hospital Prices, Border Solutions, Sri Lanka: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on hospital prices, common-sense solutions to the border crisis, myths about the Sri Lanka attacks, and more.

commentary

Paying for Telemedicine

Telehealth, delivering health services and information via technology, holds great promise. But more information is needed to determine what works and what doesn't.

Shira H. Fischer @ShiraFischer

commentary

Ringing the Alarm Bell for Antimicrobial Resistance

The increase in the number of bacterial and viral infections that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs poses a growing global health threat.

Jirka Taylor, Marco Hafner

commentary

Do You Get What You Pay For? Maybe Not in Health Care

While the current state of the evidence does not provide clear guidance to policymakers seeking to address the twin pillars of health care quality and cost, it is apparent that researchers must produce more detailed data on how to reduce health care spending while improving quality, writes Peter Hussey.

Peter S. Hussey

commentary

25 Small Ideas for Saving Big Health Care Dollars

Given the size of the annual “health care spend”—$2.7 trillion—summing up the savings associated with very minor cost-saving policy changes is likely to achieve significant aggregate savings, writes Jeffrey Wasserman.

Jeffrey Wasserman

blog

Physicians Can Lead the Way in Reducing Health Care Waste

Physicians are in an ideal position to identify and eliminate health care waste by categorizing all medical services into four distinct types.

commentary

Do Physicians Need a 'Shopping Cart' for Health Care Services?

Providing physicians with cost data in real time automatically as a part of the electronic medical record could make them better purchasers for their patients and provide better value, writes Robert H. Brook.

Robert H. Brook

commentary

Two Years and Counting: How Will the Effects of the Affordable Care Act Be Monitored?

Most will agree with the undeniable fact that a new era in US medicine and US health care begins in less than 2 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.

Robert H. Brook

commentary

Can the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Become Relevant to Controlling Medical Costs and Improving Value?

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.

Robert H. Brook

commentary

The Role of Physicians in Controlling Medical Care Costs and Reducing Waste

Because the budget crisis is really a crisis, it behooves physicians to answer the waste question as rapidly as possible. Without an answer, there is no hope that an appropriate policy process for reining in health care costs will be identified, writes Robert H. Brook.

Robert H. Brook