Well, that’s a bold title! I’m not really going to list all academic literature pertaining to the RAND HIE (RAND maintains a very comprehensive list). However, in preparation for a 45-minute talk I’m going to give to students in public policy (not necessarily health) on the experiment, its strengths, limitations, and policy implications, I’m going to read and reread some important paper that relate to it. Below I list four, selected somewhat haphazardly and for reasons explained below (see italicized text associated with each paper in the reference section below).
Knowledgeable readers, if you are aware of other papers I should consider, please share. Keep in mind, however, that my goal is to inform students about the essential details of the RAND HIE and why it is important. There are many nuances I will have to put aside. If the students remember anything, it will be only the big ideas.
Also, if anyone out there has given a talk on the RAND HIE, whether part of a course or otherwise, and wishes to share some slides or notes (privately or for mention on the blog), feel free.
Some Papers of Relevance
Manning, Willard G., Joseph P. Newhouse, Naihua Duan, Emmett B. Keeler, and Arleen Leibowitz. 1987. “Health Insurance and the Demand for Medical Care: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment.” American Economic Review, 77(3): 251–77. One of the earliest papers on the HIE.
Newhouse, Joseph. 1993. Free for All: Lessons from the RAND Health Insurance Experiment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. A book.
Patient Cost-Sharing, Hospitalization Offsets, and the Design of Optimal Health Insurance for the Elderly, Amitabh Chandra, Jonathan Gruber, Robin McKnight. I just happened to read this recently. It is an NBER working paper version of a recent AER publication by the same authors. It has a nice literature review on the effect of co-payments on utilization. The paper itself studies a population not included in the RAND HIE, the elderly.
Katherine Baicker and Amitabh Chandra, “Myths and misconceptions about U.S. health insurance” Health Affairs, 2008. I described this paper yesterday. I also read this recently, not necessarily looking for stuff on the HIE. It briefly summarizes the findings of the RAND HIE and its implications.
