This opinion piece critiques the large body of geographic variations research, finding much of it flawed or uninformative for policy. The author posits that wide geographic variation in fee-for-service Medicare spending and care delivery could be mitigated by reforming the payment system to...

This opinion piece critiques the large body of geographic variations research, finding much of it flawed or uninformative for policy. The author posits that wide geographic variation in fee-for-service Medicare spending and care delivery could be mitigated by reforming the payment system to...

Addresses the suitability of some commonly used statistical software packages for analyzing the Community Tracking Study surveys of households and physicians, to help data users make informed choices about the software they use. Because of the complexity of the CTS survey designs, SUDAAN is the...

This article investigates nationwide geographic variation in utilization of Medicare-covered services by service category. Variation in the use of home health care and durable medical equipment across sites was the major driver of geographic variation in total service use for Medicare...

This issue brief finds that when episodes of care involving hospitalizations, similar to Model 2 of the ongoing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Bundled Payment for Care Improvement demonstration, are applied to privately insured patients, inpatient prices drive the bulk of...

This issue brief evaluates the effects of a permanent 10 percent increase in Medicare fees for primary care ambulatory visits on Medicare costs. Using a simulation model with real-world parameters, the study found that, in spite of raising the overall cost of primary care visits, such a fee...

A study examining the relationship between hospital characteristics and hospital prices can help inform the debate on controlling health care costs.