Econ 20400 Economics of Health Care

KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) is a nonprofit organization focusing on national health issues, as well as the U.S. role in global health policy. KFF develops and runs its own policy analysis, journalism and communications programs, sometimes in partnership with major news organizations.

Financing the efficient delivery of medical services while reducing costs for consumers as well as health care providers is among the most challenging domestic policy problems many countries face. RAND addresses health economics issues through innovative, high-profile research in an effort to improve the efficiency of health care organizations, reduce costs for providers and consumers, and improve financing in health care markets.

Use the FastStats feature to find data on how people use health services: hospital utilization statistics by diagnosis and procedure, ambulatory care, nursing home care, ER visits, hospice services, etc. Also is a source of stats on diseases and conditions.

Data & Statistics by Topic

For more than 20 years, the Dartmouth Atlas Project has documented glaring variations in how medical resources are distributed and used in the United States. The project uses Medicare and Medicaid data to provide information and analysis about national, regional, and local markets, as well as hospitals and their affiliated physicians.

Historical spending measures annual health spending in the U.S. by type of good or service delivered (hospital care, physician and clinical services, retail prescription drugs, etc.), source of funding for those services (private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, out-of-pocket spending, etc.) and by sponsor (businesses, households and governments).
Projections are based on the National Health Expenditures and are estimates of spending for health care in the U.S. over the next decade. Projections are presented by type of good or service delivered (hospital care, physician and clinical services, retail prescription drugs, etc.) and by source of funding for those services (private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, out-of-pocket spending, etc.).

How Healthy is Your Community?
The annual Rankings provide a revealing snapshot of how health is influenced by where we live, learn, work, and play. They provide a starting point for change in communities.