Health Policy

KEY POINTSAnnual growth in the number of kidney transplants began to accelerate in 2019.

The Kidney Care National Plan highlights the continued commitment of HHS to advance kidney care and identifies opportunities for policy reform and improvement across the Department’s efforts. The relative lack of innovation in kidney care is the structural outcome of anti-competitive and burdensome actions that have maintained the national crisis of kidney disease and kidney failure.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYMedicare reimbursement is administered, but it is not insulated from markets for provider labor, capital, facilities, and technology. Traditional Medicare payment formulas incorporate market-basket input prices, geographic wage indexes, case mix, and quality adjustments; total spending also depends on utilization.

ASPE’s Office of Health Policy has developed an Issue Brief modeling the key determinants of rural hospital closure or conversion as well as an interactive Rural Hospital Dashboard to highlight key characteristics and trends among rural hospitals.

Children, youth, and families have unique health needs, which set the foundation for health across the life course; chronic conditions now affect nearly one in three U.S. children, with disproportionate prevalence in those enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.

We evaluated both the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center (CMS Innovation Center) models and the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and found that they have generated gross savings for all beneficiaries in the Traditional Medicare program while demonstrating positive impacts on selected quality measures.

This Issue Brief investigates how health insurance coverage, as well as healthcare access and affordability, has changed in recent years, with an emphasis on policies implemented from 2021 to 2024. Over 300 million Americans now have health insurance coverage. The U.S. uninsured rate has fallen significantly over the past four years.

To explore whether and how the NSA has affected insurer-provider dynamics, contract negotiations, and payment rates, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) asked RAND to conduct discussions with stakeholders. In this report, RAND summarizes the approach exploring these topics, the themes that emerged from our discussions, and areas for additional inquiry.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) changes the way Medicare pays for prescription drugs. These changes will impact various stakeholders, including Medicare, Medicare enrollees, drug manufacturers, and others.