In 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created the Beta-MAX data system to improve the timeliness of Medicaid Analytic Extract (MAX) data while retaining many of the benefits of MAX data for research. This report compares Beta-MAX data with MAX data for 2009 for 32 states with...

This article examines the lessons and limits of Medicare Advantage, private health plans, and market competition as proposed solutions to traditional Medicare's rising costs and growing eligibility rolls. Gold reviews Medicare's 30-year experience with voluntary private-plan...

Patients with complex health needs require both medical and social services and support from multiple providers and caregivers, and the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) offers a promising model for providing them comprehensive, coordinated care. Smaller practices, however, face challenges in...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service asked the National Academies' Committee on National Statistics and Food and Nutrition Board to convene a panel of experts to estimate the number of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. The panel, chaired by...

This article is the eighth in a series exploring the importance of research design, statistical analysis, and epidemiology in nutrition and dietetics research. It is the second article in that series focused on multivariate statistical analytical techniques. This review examines the statistical...

This "methods to policy" piece outlines the evolution of comparative effectiveness research to patient-centered outcomes research in U.S. policy circles. It also addresses the real-world implications of this work for health care researchers, patients, providers, and other stakeholders.

This article presents findings from the largest experimental evaluation to date of school-based mandatory-random student drug testing (MRSDT) and its effectiveness in reducing substance use among high school students. The study found that students who were subject to MRSDT reported less...

Under current law, most Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries are not eligible for Medicare until 29 months after the Social Security Administration confirms the onset of their disability. During this waiting period, more than one in five beneficiaries lacks health insurance....