RAND Health Insurance Experiment

The RAND Health Insurance Experiment (RAND HIE) was an experimental study of health care costs, utilization and outcomes in the United States, which assigned people randomly to different kinds of plans and followed their behavior, from 1974 to 1982. As a result, it provided stronger evidence than studies that examine people afterwards who were not randomly assigned. It concluded that cost sharing reduced "inappropriate or unnecessary" medical care (overutilization), but also reduced "appropriate or needed" medical care. It did not have enough statistical power to tell whether people who got less appropriate or needed care were more likely to die as a result.

Read more about RAND Health Insurance Experiment:  Methods, Findings, Criticisms and Legacy, Oregon Health Study

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