Barbara Wynn

The California Commision on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation is recommending that the current fee schedule that determines the amount health care providers are paid be linked to Medicare fee schedules. This study examines issues arising from the two types of fee schedules.

This analysis determines how particular patient and facility characteristics influence Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system allocations to the Department of Veterans Affairs regional service networks and simplifies and refines the models created in earlier RAND research to reflect policy changes and more recent data. The Veterans Health Administration asked RAND to conduct a quantitative analysis of the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system, which allocates the congressionally appropriated medical care budget to the Veterans Integrated Service Networks. The study determines how particular patient and facility characteristics influence allocations to the service networks and simplifies and refines the models created in earlier RAND research to reflect policy changes and more recent data.

Examines Tricare for Life's potential benefits and costs for the Department of Defense, Medicare, beneficiaries, and taxpayers and summarizes issues and policy options for improving TFL in the future. 450-character abstract: Medicare-eligible military retirees enrolled in Medicare Part B are entitled to both Medicare and Tricare health care benefits--coverage referred to as Tricare for Life (TFL). This report examines the TFL benefit design and TFL's potential benefits and costs for the Department of Defense (DoD), Medicare, beneficiaries, and taxpayers. The authors summarize issues and policy options that were discussed in several briefings presented to the DoD for its consideration for improving TFL in the future.