A Summary of the Rand Health Insurance Study

This paper provides a brief overview of the objectives, study design, and progress to date of the Rand Health Insurance Study. This study, which began in 1974, is being carried out under a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, California, by a team of physicians, economists, statisticians, psychologists and other personnel. The study sought to address questions of health care financing by analyzing existing data and by conducting an experiment. As part of the experiment, the National Opinion Research Center is conducting house-hold interviews and gathering self-administered questionnaire data; Glen Slaughter and Associates, a health and welfare plan administrator, is processing claim forms and providing a wide range of administrative services; and the Health Testing Institute is conducting medical screening examinations.