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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.

Report
How Available and Accessible Are Mental Health Services in NYC?
Across the United States and in New York City in particular, the use of mental health services is low and care is not equitably distributed. Non-Hispanic white individuals are more likely to seek care than non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic individuals. Provider shortages and a lack of integration across service settings are two barriers, and COVID-19 exacerbated these challenges.
Jun 22, 2022
Report
Hyper-Local Strategies Are Working to Promote Vaccination Equity
The Equity-First Vaccination Initiative, launched in summer 2021, has already made progress in reducing racial/ethnic disparities in U.S. COVID-19 vaccination rates. Hyper-local, community-led strategies are helping to increase vaccine confidence and access for communities that identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
Jan 28, 2022

Explore Health Care Access

Commentary
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.
Nov 21, 2022
Research Brief
How Does Telehealth Affect Health Care Quality, Access, Equity, and Costs?
Early in the pandemic, health care providers pivoted to telehealth out of necessity. But as policymakers begin to look beyond the pandemic, concerns about telehealth's effects on health care spending and quality will arise again.
Nov 15, 2022
Journal Article
Paying for PrEP: A Qualitative Study of Cost Factors That Impact Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Uptake in the US
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.
Nov 11, 2022
News Release
Americans' Willingness to Use Video Telehealth Has Risen During COVID-19 Pandemic
Americans' use and willingness to use video telehealth has increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising most sharply among Black Americans and people with less education.
Nov 7, 2022
Q&A
Abortion After the Dobbs Decision: Q&A with RAND Researchers
The overturning of Roe v. Wade is likely to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including U.S. service women and pregnant women with substance use disorders. And abortion misinformation will likely increase. RAND researchers discuss these issues and potential policy responses.
Oct 25, 2022
Journal Article
Expert Views on State-Level Naloxone Access Laws: A Qualitative Analysis of an Online Modified-Delphi Process
This qualitative study conducted a three-round modified-Delphi process using the online ExpertLens platform. Researchers identified and summarized the views of experts on state-level naloxone access laws.
Oct 7, 2022
Report
Health Care Consolidation: What Does the Evidence Say?
Hospital horizontal consolidation is associated with higher prices paid to providers. And there is some evidence of the same for vertical consolidation of hospitals and physician practices. What effect might the No Surprises Act—created to protect consumers from surprise medical bills—have on consolidation trends?
Sep 30, 2022
Journal Article
Economic Evaluation of Patient Direct Access to NHS Physiotherapy Services
Our aim was to undertake an economic evaluation of patient direct access to physiotherapy in the UK NHS by comparing the number of patients treated, waiting time, cost and health gain from a direct access pathway versus traditional GP-referral to NHS physiotherapy.
Sep 23, 2022
Multimedia
Wait Times for Veterans Scheduling Health Care Appointments
An overview of testimony by Carrie M. Farmer presentedbefore the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on September 21, 2022.
Sep 21, 2022
Testimony
Wait Times for Veterans Scheduling Health Care Appointments
There are no national standards for how long is too long for a patient to wait for a health care appointment. Better data about the timeliness and quality of VA Community Care are needed to help veterans make better-informed decisions. What are some recommended approaches to improve data collection and reporting?
Sep 21, 2022
Testimony
Women Veterans' Access to Reproductive Health Care
The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade could have a direct impact on women veterans’ health since abortion can be medically necessary. To meet women's fundamental health care needs, it is important for VA to be able to provide the full spectrum of reproductive health care.
Sep 15, 2022
Journal Article
Enhancing Access to and Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials Through a Financial Reimbursement Program: Protocol to Evaluate a Novel Program
We implemented a financial reimbursement and outreach program designed to increase the number and diversity of participants in cancer clinical trials at centers in Dallas, Houston, and Philadelphia.
Sep 15, 2022
Journal Article
Barriers to Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) Therapies in Clinical Practice
The barriers to the use of CAR-T therapy include complex logistics, manufacturing limitations, toxicity concerns, and financial burden. This review discusses solutions to overcome these barriers to make this therapy widely accessible.
Sep 15, 2022
Report
Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorder Bed Capacity, Need, and Shortage Estimates in California: Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Counties
In California, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus Counties sought to understand the gap between capacity and need for behavioral health beds. This report estimates bed shortages by triangulating estimates through multiple modeling methodologies.
Aug 26, 2022
Journal Article
Effects of Medicaid Automatic Enrollment on Disparities in Insurance Coverage and Caregiver Burden for Children with Special Health Care Needs
We analyze how Medicaid automatic enrollment policies for children with special health care needs who are enrolled in Supplemental Security Income reduce disparities in health insurance coverage and caregiving burden.
Aug 23, 2022
Commentary
Telemedicine Abortion? It's Not as Easy as It Sounds
The Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has providers and health advocates strategizing about how to provide more abortions where it is still legal. Expanding virtual medical visits is one popular idea. Policymakers and clinics could take steps to make telemedicine better understood, easier to use, and more equitable.
Aug 19, 2022
Journal Article
Impact of Telephone Triage on Access to Primary Care for People Living with Multiple Long-Term Health Conditions: Rapid Evaluation
We aimed to evaluate whether or not the increased use of telephone triage would affect access to primary care differently for people living with multimorbidity than for other patients.
Aug 12, 2022
Commentary
In Search of an Equity Lens: A Physician's Journey
Patient health outcomes, communication with providers, and overall patient satisfaction improve when patients and providers share a similar background. Further, diverse work environments may positively impact health care provider job satisfaction. Increasing diversity in health care work settings is a first important step that could help to increase equity and inclusion in these environments.
Aug 11, 2022
Multimedia
988 Mental Health Hotline: Connecting People to Care
RAND researchers Stephanie Brooks Holliday and Ryan K. McBain describe findings from their recent work that examined how prepared states and counties are for the launch of 988, the new mental health emergency hotline.
Jul 15, 2022
Commentary
Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in Health Care Innovation
For health care innovations to have the fairest and broadest possible benefit to society, efforts could be made to attend to all stages of the innovation pathway to identify opportunities to mitigate biases through diversity, equality, and inclusion.
Jul 6, 2022

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RAND Topic:
Health Care Access

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