Health Care- Overview
Health Care in America: Confronting the Future
The Challenge
Health care has become one of the most pressing public policy issues in California. Health care costs in the state amount to $150 billion in and account for 15 percent of its total output. Annual health insurance costs for a family of four now exceed $8,000.
Nationally, millions of people are uninsured. Health care is a critical issue for families, businesses, and policy makers at all levels of government.
The Solutions
Understanding such a complex issue and developing options to reform it require an analytical perspective beyond political rhetoric. This program addresses the following questions:
* What drives health care costs and health care premiums?
* Who has access to the health care system, and what are the consequences of lack of insurance?
* How can we improve the quality of health care?
* What are the realistic answers to these and other questions that will help Californians develop a better understanding of how the system operates, and what can be done to improve it (and at what cost).
* Who has access to the health care system, and what are the consequences of lack of insurance?
* How can we improve the quality of health care?
* What are the realistic answers to these and other questions that will help Californians develop a better understanding of how the system operates, and what can be done to improve it (and at what cost).
About the Project
Health Care in America: Confronting the Future
As part of the project, the RAND Corporation prepared a special resource book, which deals with health care costs, quality, and access.
Communication Institute health care programs focus on fundamental “cost-drivers” of health care, or why providing health care is so costly. In addition, programs aim to achieve the following:
* Provide participants with a better understanding of the issues and a more informed appreciation of options for improving the quality and availability of health care in featuring educational content presented by some of the best experts in the nation.
* Create an opportunity for an interactive discussion with leaders from all sectors of the community in the major regions of the state.
* Develop a list of critical issues that the state needs to address in creating better health care services for citizens.
* Help policy makers develop concepts for bipartisan legislative and executive branch initiatives.
* Create an opportunity for an interactive discussion with leaders from all sectors of the community in the major regions of the state.
* Develop a list of critical issues that the state needs to address in creating better health care services for citizens.
* Help policy makers develop concepts for bipartisan legislative and executive branch initiatives.