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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.

Essay

How Private Health Care Providers Could Better Serve Veterans

Nov 7, 2018

Almost a third of U.S. veterans live 40 miles or more from the nearest VA medical center, so the VA is trying to make it easier for them to use private providers closer to home. But it will take significant efforts to better prepare civilian doctors to deliver high-quality care to veterans.
Report

Spending Estimates Under Medicare for All

Apr 10, 2019

Under a Medicare for All plan similar to some proposals being discussed in Congress, total health expenditures would be an estimated 1.8 percent higher in 2019, relative to the status quo. While this is a small change in national spending, the federal government's health spending would increase substantially, rising by an estimated 221 percent.

Explore Health Care Access

Journal Article

Journal Article

Growth and Distribution of Child Psychiatrists in the United States: 2007–2016

Despite the increased ratio of child psychiatrists per children over the past decade, a shortage remains, particularly in places with lower levels of income and education.

Nov 6, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Social Marketing of Mental Health Treatment: California's Mental Illness Stigma Reduction Campaign

The California campaign increased service use by leading more individuals to interpret symptoms of distress as indicating a need for treatment.

Oct 10, 2019
Journal Article

Access to Office-Based Buprenorphine Treatment in Areas With High Rates of Opioid-Related Mortality: An Audit Study

In the six jurisdictions with the highest rate of opioid-related mortality in 2016, the most prominent barrier to accessing buprenorphine treatment was the difficulty of finding clinicians.

Sep 23, 2019
Report

Report

Evaluation of California's Global Payment Program: Final Report

The Global Payment Program seeks to improve health care for California's uninsured by using federal funds to make prospective payments for inpatient, outpatient, and nontraditional services. This report presents the final evaluation of the program.

Aug 22, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Detecting and Reducing Post-Traumatic Stress Among Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: A Multi-Agency Early Intervention Program

This study examined the Child Trauma Response Team and its efforts to reduce PTSD symptoms among children exposed to domestic violence.

Aug 20, 2019
Report

Options for Improving Timely Access to Care Reporting in California

The state of California has developed standards for monitoring timely access to health care, but health plans face challenges in collecting and reporting the information. This report documents these challenges and identifies potential solutions.

Jul 8, 2019
News Release

Social Marketing Campaign to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma May Have Helped Those in Need

People who recalled seeing or hearing aspects of a social marketing campaign in California intended to reduce stigma about mental health issues were more likely to seek treatment for their symptoms of mental distress than those who did not recall the campaign.

Jun 26, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Rural-Urban Disparities in Access to Home- and Community-Based Services and Supports: Stakeholder Perspectives From 14 States

This paper presents findings from a qualitative study examining the impact of the Medicaid Balancing Incentive Program. The analysis in this paper examines factors associated with rural disparities in access to home and community-based services.

Jun 26, 2019
Report

Report

Access to Medical Treatment for Injured Workers in California: Year 3 Annual Report

The key objective of this third report in a three-part series is to describe access to medical care among injured workers in California using medical billing data from Version 2.0 of the Workers' Compensation Information System.

Jun 21, 2019
Report

Report

Understanding the societal impact of treatment of early breast cancer: What are the non-clinical outcomes associated with disease progression?

RAND Europe conducted a study on the societal impact of early breast cancer. This study was divided into three interconnected phases. This is the summary report of the cross-analysis of data gathered through the three phases.

Jun 11, 2019
Report

Report

A Review of the Research Landscape for Treatment of Early Breast Cancer: Implications for future research, policy and practice

RAND Europe conducted a study on the societal impact of early breast cancer. This study was divided into three interconnected phases. The first phase was a mapping review on the published literature on the impacts of treatment of early breast cancer.

Jun 11, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Community Health Workers as Focus Group Facilitators: A Participatory Action Research Method to Improve Behavioral Health Services for Farmworkers in a Primary Care Setting

Since 1965, Federally Qualified Health Centers have provided a safety net for the uninsured and major source of care to those enrolled in public health insurance programs. The distinguishing characteristic of the program is the concept of community governance in achieving the main objective to provide holistic, comprehensive, and culturally competent primary care to low-income and medically underserved areas.

Jun 11, 2019
Report

Report

Factors affecting access to treatment of early breast cancer: Case studies from Brazil, Canada, Italy, Spain and UK: Implications for future research, policy and practice

RAND Europe conducted a study on the societal impact of early breast cancer, divided into three interconnected phases. The third phase was a qualitative study assessing the factors affecting access and delivery of treatment for early breast cancer.

Jun 11, 2019
Report

Report

Findings from a systematic review to explore the patient and societal impacts of disease progression in women who were treated for early breast cancer: Implications for future research, policy and practice

RAND Europe conducted a study on the societal impact of early breast cancer. This study was divided into three connected phases. The second phase was a systematic review on non-clinical outcomes of recurrence after treatment of early breast cancer.

Jun 11, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Systematic Review: United States Workforce for Autism-Related Child Healthcare Services

The 33 studies reviewed identify multiple workforce-related challenges for families seeking treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder-including lack of primary care providers to serve these children, lack of specialty providers, and sociodemographic and geographic disparities in access to ASD services.

Jun 10, 2019
Report

Report

Addressing Social Determinants of Health Needs of Dually Enrolled Beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage Plans: Findings from Interviews and Case Studies

How are the needs of dually enrolled beneficiaries in Medicare and Medicaid met? This report presents ways that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and Medicare-Medicaid plans can meet the needs of dually enrolled beneficiaries.

Apr 12, 2019
Testimony

Ensuring Veterans' Access to Timely, High-Quality Health Care

Though the size of the U.S. veteran population has been decreasing over time, an influx of a new era of veterans with significant service-related health problems has increased VA health care enrollment to over 9 million. Insights from RAND research can help inform policymakers about the timeliness and quality of VA care.

Apr 10, 2019
Research Brief

The Ecology of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Newborns exposed to opioids before birth can experience withdrawal symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). From 2009 to 2015, the average NAS rate per 1,000 hospital births across eight states rose from about six to more than 25.

Mar 15, 2019
Report

Experiences of Medicaid Programs and Health Centers in Implementing Telehealth

Safety-net providers underuse telehealth due to a range of policy, organizational, and logistical barriers. Examining the use of telehealth by federal programs in seven states, researchers identified common themes and considerations for policymakers.

Mar 8, 2019
Report

Report

Evaluation of Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning and Capacity Building Models: Materials for a Report to Congress

This report examines the quality of evidence for the effectiveness of health care models that connect generalist providers with specialist teams via technology to provide additional training.

Mar 6, 2019

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RAND Topic:
Health Care Access

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