Healthcare Policy and Management

Health economics examines how money, incentives, and institutional design shape the way medical care is produced, distributed, and paid for — covering everything from what drives variation in Medicare spending across regions to how insurance market rules affect who gets covered and on what terms. Because health care absorbs a substantial share of national income while leaving gaps in access and persistent inefficiencies in delivery, understanding the mechanisms behind spending and utilization has direct consequences for policy. Researchers are actively debating whether payment reforms like accountable care organizations and the medical home model genuinely reduce costs without sacrificing quality, or whether measured savings partly reflect patient selection and shifting of costs elsewhere. A deeper open question concerns how to align welfare-economic goals — ensuring coverage is both affordable and allocatively efficient — with the political and market realities that shape insurance systems in practice.

Works

275,240

Total citations

1,668,502

Keywords

Health Care SpendingInsurance MarketsMedicare SpendingMedical Home ModelAccountable Care OrganizationsHealth Insurance Coverage