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Commentary
The Importance of Getting the Affordable Part of the Affordable Care Act Right
The ACA's expansion of Medicaid and the marketplaces that sell subsidized policies have helped decrease the uninsured rate. Research on being underinsured shows that affordability at the point of care is central to keeping people healthy. For example, a new study found a significant relationship between having health insurance and better asthma control.
Jun 17, 2022
Report
How the Dobbs v. Jackson Ruling Could Affect U.S. National Security
Women are an integral part of the U.S. military and DoD civilian workforce. Limiting their access to legal abortion services will affect their health and could decrease force readiness. It could also raise health care, child care, and education costs, and affect recruitment and retention.
Sep 13, 2022

Explore Health Legislation

Commentary
Your Health Insurance May Not Be As Good As Your State Requires—and It's Perfectly Legal
Massachusetts has a law to ensure ease of access to birth control pills, saying there should be no copays and women can fill a 12-month prescription at once. Infertility care has similar protections. But many health plans don't have to comply with state laws because they are “self-insured.”
Jun 9, 2023
Commentary
Can the Health Insurance System Handle Massive Medicaid Reductions?
For many who have or will soon lose Medicaid as monthly redeterminations restart, and for millions more who could lose insurance due to other factors like job loss, three recent policy developments might increase the chances that they find new health care coverage.
May 12, 2023
Journal Article
Prior Authorization Restrictions on Medications for Opioid Use Disorder: Trends in State Laws from 2005 to 2019
Researchers conducted a review of U.S. regulations and statutes between 2005 and 2019 related to medications for opioid use disorder to identify the frequency and types of prior authorization prohibitions in state laws.
Feb 9, 2023
Commentary
Medicare Drug Price Negotiation: Key Decisions to Reach a 'Fair Price'
Government negotiation of Medicare drug prices—even for a small set of older, single-source drugs—is a remarkable policy development. But how exactly will the government do it?
Nov 7, 2022
Journal Article
The Impact of the Affordable Care Act Insurance Expansions on Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits
We leverage ACA coverage expansions to study the impact of health insurance on opioid-related emergency department visits while accounting for potentially confounding changes in relevant state-level policies.
Oct 27, 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
News Release
Landmark Women's Reproductive Health Survey Shows Need for Improvements in DoD Reproductive Health Care
Improvements to reproductive health care services provided by the U.S. Department of Defense would allow DoD to better meet the needs of female service members and address the high rate of unintended pregnancies among active-duty service women.
Sep 13, 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
Linking State Health Care Data to Inform Policymaking: Opportunities and Challenges
This report provides additional detail on the objectives of and use cases for APCDs, the current APCD landscape, and implementation challenges that constrain the use of APCDs for some valuable applications.
Jun 29, 2022
Journal Article
Trends in Missing Race and Ethnicity Information After Imputation in HealthCare.gov Marketplace Enrollment Data, 2015–2021
More than 30% of HealthCare.gov enrollees do not report race and ethnicity. We used modified Bayesian Improved First Name Surname geocoding imputations to describe enrollment data and assess patterns of missing enrollee race and ethnicity.
Jun 24, 2022
Research Brief
COVID-19's Impacts on California's Workers' Compensation System: Evaluating the Effects of Senate Bill 1159
The authors evaluated the effects of COVID-19 claims on the California workers' compensation system and on the payment of workers' compensation benefits, noting patterns created by the presumptions established by Senate Bill 1159.
May 26, 2022
Journal Article
Beyond State Scope of Practice Laws for Advanced Practitioners: Additional Supervision Requirements for Buprenorphine Prescribing
This study of state laws governing buprenorphine prescribing found that these vary; nurse practitioner and physician assistant supervision should include state non-scope of practice laws.
Mar 31, 2022
Journal Article
Section 1332 Waiver Evaluation Report: Evaluating the Minnesota Reinsurance Program
This report documents findings from the evaluation of Minnesota's waiver, through which the state implemented the Minnesota Premium Security Plan.
Mar 29, 2022
Journal Article
Section 1332 Waiver Evaluation Report: Evaluating the Oregon Reinsurance Program
This report documents findings from the evaluation of Oregon's waiver, through which the state implemented the Oregon Reinsurance Program (ORP).
Mar 29, 2022
Journal Article
Section 1332 Waiver Evaluation Report: Evaluating the Alaska Reinsurance Program
This report documents findings from the evaluation of Alaska's waiver, through which the state implemented the Alaska Reinsurance Program (ARP).
Mar 29, 2022
Journal Article
Projected Coverage and Subsidy Impacts If the American Rescue Plan's Marketplace Provisions Sunset in 2023
An estimated 3 million people currently insured in the individual market would lose coverage and become uninsured if the American Rescue Plan's premium tax credit provisions are not extended beyond 2022.
Mar 29, 2022
Journal Article
Access to High-Cost Medications After a Cap on Monthly Out-of-Pocket Spending in California
This cross-sectional study evaluates the association of a cap on monthly out-of-pocket spending on high-cost drugs with use of these drugs and out-of-pocket spending in California in 2015 and 2016.
Mar 4, 2022

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RAND Topic:
Health Legislation

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Preethi Rao

Health Economist

Preethi Rao (she/her) is a health economist at the RAND Corporation. Her research focuses on topics related to health policy. In particular, she is interested in policy issues related to the Affordable Care Act, prescription drug costs, access to health care, and quality measurement in health…
Erin Audrey Taylor

Senior Policy Researcher

Erin Taylor (she/her) is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research addresses a broad range of health care insurance, prescription drug, and care quality issues, including the impact of insurance benefit design on use of opioids and specialty drugs. Taylor is currently…

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