RAND Health Care has been analyzing major issues related to public and private financing of health care since the program? inception in 1968. An early landmark study in this body of work is the RAND Health Insurance Experiment, still the largest health policy study in U.S. history. RAND work in this research area includes the organization and regulation of health care markets, the effects of population health on public financing, cost-effective allocation of private and public financing, and distributional issues in health and health care associated with health care financing, among others.
In this analysis, we built a Monte Carlo Markov Chain microsimulation model using estimates and parameters from the evidence on standard treatment for multiple myeloma and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies.
To estimate annual Medicare spending on lecanemab, we performed a cost analysis using nationally representative survey data from the 2018 Health and Retirement Study (HRS).
Testimony submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health on May 17, 2023.
Testimony presented before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means on May 16, 2023.
This retrospective cohort study evaluated the quality and cost implications of receiving primary care from nurse practitioners (NPs) compared to physicians in 14 states that reimburse NPs at the Medicaid fee-for-service physician rate (pay parity).
We estimate the average direct medical expenditures for essential tremor using Medicare claims data. Beneficiaries have $1068 more annual expenditures relative to comparisons. This aggregates to $1.5–$5.4 billion in additional annual costs.
Understanding how CFOs think about the return on investment of telehealth can inform efforts to promote telehealth utilization in rural communities and to develop policy solutions to make telehealth more sustainable.
This population-based cross-sectional study found that although quality of care and patient experience were slightly higher with higher-premium plans, quality varied widely within each premium category.
This study aimed to compare the costs incurred and saved from universal use of N95 respirators with surgical masks for operating room providers in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adding community-to-clinic tailored navigation to a community-based colorectal cancer screening promotion program may be highly cost-effective.
Clinical guidelines for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening suggest use of either stool-based tests or colonoscopy. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis to compare 2 mailed outreach strategies to increase CRC screening.
We find that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with chronic conditions respond to changes in copays, although these responses are small. Reductions in copays lead to reduced use of specialists, suggesting that lowering copays could be a way to reduce specialist care.
Aducanumab, a weight-dosed Alzheimer's drug, is available in two fixed-dose vial sizes. This may result in large amounts of discarded drug and wasteful spending. More-efficient vial sizes could save Medicare money if the drug is approved for widespread use.
Testimony presented before the Texas House of Representatives Select Committee on Health Care Reform on August 4, 2022.
Microsimulation (Future Adult Model) predicted 30-year improved diet quality impacts across 12 demographic groups. Diet improvement reduced prevalence of heart disease by 7.6% to 13.8% across groups and reduced healthcare costs by $10B in year 30.
This report describes the reach and scope of Medicare's Part D Senior Savings model, which has lower, fixed cost sharing for a specified set of model drugs.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 men who have sex with men who presented for routine health care at a STD clinic about their experiences with accessing and paying for PrEP.
This study was a cross-sectional mixed-methods analysis of in-depth multimodal data from 31 POs affiliated with 22 purposefully selected health systems in 4 states. Data were analyzed from June 2019 to September 2020.
This paper investigates adoption of behavioral nudges by health system-affiliated physician organizations (POs), types of nudges being used, PO leader perceptions of nudge effectiveness, and implementation challenges.
Because employer-sponsored spending comes from employee wages and benefits, employers have a fiduciary responsibility to administer benefits in the interest of participants. The lack of transparency of prices in the health care market limits the ability of employers to knowledgeably develop or implement benefit design decisions. This report is designed to allow an easy comparison of hospital prices using a single metric.
