Health Care Access and Quality
Selected Research, Commentary and Congressional Testimony
Innovation in Health Care Means More Than Something New — Oct. 9, 2009
If comparative effectiveness reviews lead to better decisions about how to allocate limited resources they might improve the health of the population. But the most likely outcome is that we will have more information but no system capable of using that information well, writes Elizabeth McGlynn.
Commentary
Health and Health Care Research Area
Finally, Presidential Support for the Individual Mandate — Sep. 9, 2009
RAND's latest analysis of options for reducing the number of uninsured shows that among all the options included in the House tri-committee bill, the Senate HELP bill, and the proposal released by Senator Max Baucus, the individual mandate would have the greatest impact, writes Elizabeth McGlynn.
CommentaryHealth and Health Care Research Area
Q-DART: Innovative Solutions to Target Gaps in Health Care Quality and Health Outcomes — Aug. 24, 2009
The Q-DART project uses innovative approaches to highlight gaps in quality of care and health outcomes in diverse populations in order to help health plans, public health organizations, and others concerned about improving the care that people receive allocate scarce resources more wisely.
Read MoreHealth and Health Care Research Area
Co-Ops: A Very Tall Order — Aug. 19, 2009
Cooperatives are a very tall order: a new type of organization, never before tested on a large scale, meant to fix the apparently intractable problems of high and rising costs, barriers to access and poor quality care, writes Elizabeth McGlynn.
CommentaryHealth and Health Care Research Area
Alabama's Challenge: Better Prepared Workforce — Jul. 14, 2009
Alabama has made significant economic progress in recent decades, attracting car manufacturers and new industrial development. The state now has an opportunity to address some systemic challenges in education, health care, and workforce development to be competitive in a global economy, writes Melissa Flournoy.
CommentaryWorkforce and Workplace Research Area
The Reliability of Provider Profiling: A Tutorial — Jul. 3, 2009
Although hospitals and managed care facilities have used performance measurement for some time, the focus on doctor profiling by purchasers and health plans is relatively new, bringing to the fore the limitations of available physician data and proving the need for reliability measures in physician profiling.
Full DocumentHealth and Health Care Research Area
Strategies and Models for Promoting Adolescent Vaccination for Low-Income Populations — Jun. 15, 2009
Since 2005, three new vaccines for teenagers have been licensed in the U.S. Although the majority of 13-17-year-olds have received recommended vaccines, rates remain below 2010 targets, and the coverage rates for low-income adolescents and minority youth are likely to be lower.
Full DocumentHealth and Health Care Research Area
Limiting Treatment to Those Who Need It — Apr. 29, 2009
The ever-increasing share of U.S. national output going to health care is the source of much hand-wringing by policy makers. They worry that we cannot afford to spend so much, and that our national output will suffer as a result. They have it backwards, writes Dana P. Goldman.
CommentaryHealth and Health Care Research Area
Creating Health ID Numbers Could Improve Patient Privacy — Oct. 30, 2008
As it considers ways to improve the efficiency and quality of U.S. health care, one issue that a new Congress should reconsider is the longstanding roadblock that has stalled efforts to create a system of unique patient identification numbers for every person in the United States, writes Richard Hillestad.
Commentary
War's Invisible Wounds: Our Veterans Are Not Getting the Care They Need, Deserve — Sep. 28, 2008
Nearly 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan service veterans who have returned home -- about one in five -- may suffer from combat-stress-related mental health problems. Our veterans ought to get the best available treatments our nation can offer, but they don't, write authors Terry Schell, Terri Tanielian and Lisa Jaycox.
CommentaryHealth and Health Care Research Area
Health Insurance Market Rating Practices — Sep. 23, 2008
In testimony presented before the Senate Finance Committee, John Bertko discusses the methods used by private health insurers in setting premium rates.
Full DocumentHealth and Health Care Research Area
Potential Benefits and Costs of Increased Adoption of Health Information Technology — Jul. 17, 2008
In testimony presented before the Senate Finance Committee, Richard Hillestead discusses the need for increased HIT adoption in order to improve quality of care and to reduce long-term health system costs, as well as likely barriers to adoption that government policy can help overcome.
Full DocumentHealth and Health Care Research Area
The Case for Keeping Quality on the Health Reform Agenda — Jun. 3, 2008
In testimony presented before the Senate Committee on Finance, Elizabeth McGlynn discusses the substantial gap that exists between what is known to work and what is actually provided in the U.S. health care system.
Full DocumentHealth and Health Care Research Area
RAND Review, Spring 2008: Baby Steps — Apr. 30, 2008
The Spring 2008 issue of RAND Review compares neonatal services across the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Sweden, discusses water resources management, U.S. policies in Asia, and political polarization.
Full DocumentRAND Review Home
A Better Way to Pay for Prescriptions — Apr. 19, 2008
The pricing plans most people choose for their cell phones are simple: Pay one price and talk as much as you want. What if paying for your prescription drugs were as easy and appealing?, writes Dana P. Goldman.
CommentaryHealth and Health Care Research Area
Effective State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Policy — Jul. 19, 2007
In a policy forum hosted by the Promising Practices Network and Kansas Action for Children, top experts from around the country shared research and practice knowledge related to federal and state SCHIP policy. Video of the event is available online.
Read MoreChild Policy Research Area
Prison Health Care — Jul. 12, 2007
California's ill and aging prison population needs improved health care – not just as a matter of compassion, but to protect the health and safety of the rest of us, writes Lois M. Davis.
Commentary
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