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Health Care Access

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Access to health care refers to the ease with which an individual can obtain needed medical services. RAND research has examined the social, cultural, economic, and geographic factors that influence health care access worldwide; the effects of changes in access; and the relationship between access and health for specific U.S. populations—including racial and ethnic minorities, people with limited English proficiency, the uninsured, the elderly, children, and veterans.

Commentary

Counties Need to Help Parolees Access Health Care

Nov 23, 2016

Health needs can be big challenges for former prisoners seeking to reenter communities. But recent policies in California promise to reduce that barrier.
Report

Lessons Learned from the MAVEN Project Pilot

Dec 9, 2016

The Medical Alumni Volunteer Expert Network (MAVEN) Project created a corps of experienced volunteer physicians to provide telehealth consults to providers in safety-net clinics. This evaluation of the program can inform quality-improvement efforts.

Explore Health Care Access

Blog

RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress

Hill staffers can make the most of the Congressional recess with this list of must-read research and commentary on the policy issues they will be addressing this fall.

Aug 4, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Utilization of Registered Nurses in Primary Care Teams: A Systematic Review

Embedding registered nurses into primary care teams can increase patient access to primary care services and alleviate organizational workload.

Aug 4, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Did the Affordable Care Act's Dependent Coverage Expansion Affect Race/Ethnic Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage?

While the ACA's Dependent Coverage Expansion has increased insurance coverage, it has also widened race/ethnic disparities because it benefits only those young adults whose parents have private coverage.

Aug 1, 2017
Content

Oregon's Options for Financing Health Care

Though an early adopter of the ACA, Oregon has more progress to make toward providing access to affordable health care. RAND researchers evaluated three new health care financing options in comparison to the state's current system.

Jul 14, 2017
Commentary

Ingredients for Health Care Reform

Despite their differences, the Affordable Care Act and the current proposals to replace it take a similar approach to providing health insurance. What might some alternatives look like? And how could they provide coverage to more Americans?

Jul 10, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Identifying Policy Implications and Future Research Directions Regarding Military Community Support and Child Psychosocial Adjustment

Efforts to organize and consolidate the wide range of support services designed to bolster resilience in military families could enhance service members' mission readiness.

Jun 7, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Expanding Suicide Crisis Services to Text and Chat: Responders' Perspectives of the Differences Between Communication Modalities

Internet chat and text messaging offer anonymity and increased access to suicide hotline callers, but they are not yet a replacement for telephone crisis support services.

Jun 6, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Rapid Growth In Mental Health Telemedicine Use Among Rural Medicare Beneficiaries, Wide Variation Across States

The use of mental health telemedicine among rural Medicare patients varies dramatically across states and is highly concentrated both in terms of who receives and who provides this care.

Jun 6, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Sources of Care for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: The Role of the African American Church

Many Los Angeles-area African American churches provide recovery supports and services for alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and actively connect individuals to formal AOD treatment.

Jun 6, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Emergence and Promise of Telelactation

Telehealth services to support lactation may hold particular promise, but additional research is needed to determine whether the benefits outweigh potential challenges.

Jun 2, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Family Perspectives on Telemedicine for Pediatric Subspecialty Care

Innovative uses of telemedicine - such as previsit communication and postvisit follow up - could improve care by optimizing, rather than replacing, in-person visits.

May 30, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Variation in Dermatologist Visits by Sociodemographic Characteristics

Medicaid enrollees are less likely than those with private insurance to see a dermatologist or receive care for a skin condition, suggesting that efforts need to be made to increase access to skin specialists.

Apr 26, 2017
Report

Examining the Implementation of the Medicaid Primary Care Payment Increase

RAND researchers examined stakeholder experiences with an Affordable Care Act provision that qualifying providers of primary care services participating in the Medicaid program would receive enhanced federal payments for providing certain services.

Apr 4, 2017
Journal Article

Telehealth Prompts New Use of Medical Services; Not Likely to Decrease Spending

Direct-to-consumer telehealth services are touted as a convenient, cheaper way to get care for minor ailments. But telehealth prompts new use of medical services. This may drive up spending rather than trim costs.

Mar 28, 2017
Content

Dr. Pedro José Greer, Jr.'s Philanthropy Supports Community-Based Solutions

Dr. Pedro José Greer, Jr. channels his compassion for those in need into philanthropic support to help RAND address health issues and disparities. He has been involved in RAND's health policy work for nearly 30 years, serving in advisory and leadership roles.

Mar 27, 2017
Report

The Impact of Establishing a Full Scope of Practice for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in the State of Indiana

This report examines the literature related to the relationship between state APRN SOP regulations and health care delivery, and it estimates the effect on the state of Indiana if the legislature were to define a full SOP for APRNs.

Mar 22, 2017
Multimedia

Repeal, Replace, Repair, or Improve? The Future of the ACA

In this March 2017 congressional briefing, RAND senior economist, Christine Eibner, discusses how individuals and employers will respond to major health care policy changes as the new administration reassesses the Affordable Care Act.

Mar 17, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Leveraging Telehealth to Bring Volunteer Physicians Into Underserved Communities

Organizations that use telehealth to address safety net clinic needs by recruiting retired or semi-retired doctor volunteers can help improve access to physicians in underserved areas while enriching the professional lives of clinicians.

Mar 16, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Effect of Increasing the Supply of Skilled Health Providers on Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from the Midwives Service Scheme in Nigeria

This study highlights the complexity of improving maternal and child health outcomes in developing countries, and shows that scaling up supply of midwives may not be sufficient on its own.

Mar 15, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Persistent Barriers to Care: A Qualitative Study to Understand Women's Experiences in Areas Served by the Midwives Service Scheme in Nigeria

The Nigerian Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) is an ambitious human resources project created in 2009 to address supply side barriers to accessing care.

Mar 15, 2017

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RAND Topic:
Health Care Access

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