Mission Statement

The mission of the National Institute for Health Care Reform is to conduct high-quality, objective research and policy analyses of the organization, financing and delivery of health care in the United States. The Institute works to identify key health policy issues, explore policy options, and assess the advantages and disadvantages of policy options to help inform policy makers and other decision makers about how to expand access to high-quality, affordable health care to all Americans.

What's New

State Health Reform Dominates Boston Health Care Market
Sept. 2, 2010
Massachusetts’ 2006 landmark health reform law has reverberated throughout the Boston health care market as providers, insurers, employers and consumers adjust and adapt to a post-reform world of nearly universal health insurance coverage, according to a new Community Report released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). Boston is one of 12 communities across the country tracked intensively as part of the Community Tracking Study site visits, which are jointly funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute for Health Care Reform.

Boston Community Report
News Release

Detroit: Motor City to Medical Mecca?
Aug. 26, 2010
Despite a weak economic outlook, Detroit area hospital systems plan to spend more than $1.3 billion in the coming years on capital improvements, leading some to hope that medical care can help revitalize the area’s economy, according to a new Community Report released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) and the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Institute for Health Care Reform (NIHCR).

Detroit Community Report
News Release

Employer Wellness Initiatives Grow Rapidly, but Effectiveness Varies Widely
July 29, 2010
While employer wellness programs have spread rapidly in recent years, few firms implement comprehensive programs likely to make a meaningful difference in employees’ health, according to a new study conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) for the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Institute for Health Care Reform (NIHCR).

Research Brief No. 1
News Release

Health Coverage for the High-Risk Uninsured: Policy Options for Design of the Temporary High-Risk Pool
May 27, 2010
While 5.6-million to 7-million Americans may qualify for health coverage through the new temporary national high-risk pool program, the $5 billion allocated until 2014 will cover only a small fraction of those in need, according to a new Policy Analysis from the National Institute for Health Care Reform (NIHCR). Policy makers will face hard choices to stretch the funding to cover uninsured people with pre-existing medical conditions, and the analysis reviews key issues that must be resolved as the high-risk program is implemented.

Policy Analysis No. 2
News Release

Ginsburg Testifies Before Joint Senate and House Committees in Maryland on Hospital Rate Setting
March 22, 2010
Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., HSC President and research director of the National Institute for Health Care Reform, testified before a joint hearing of the Maryland Senate Finance Committee and House Health and Government Operations Committee on hospital rate setting.

Click Here for Ginsburg's testimony. (.pdf)

Ginsburg Testifies Before the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy
March 18, 2010
Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., HSC president and research director of the National Institute for Health Care Reform, testified before the Massachusetts Office of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, on health care spending trends.

Click Here for Ginsburg's testimony. (.pdf)

Episode-Based Payments: Charting a Course for Health Care Payment Reform
Policy Analysis Explores Key Considerations in Moving Away from Fee-for-Service Payment
Jan. 14, 2010
As consensus grows that true reform of the U.S. health care system requires a move away from fee-for-service payments, designing alternative payment methods, including episode-based payments, has emerged as a high priority for policy makers, according to a new Policy Analysis from the National Institute for Health Care Reform.

Policy Analysis No. 1
Media Advisory

Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) President Paul B. Ginsburg Named Research Director of the National Institute for Health Care Reform
Union-Automaker-Backed Institute Will Fund Health Policy Research and Analyses
December 10, 2009
HSC President Paul B. Ginsburg will serve as research director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Institute for Health Care Reform—an initiative of the International Union, UAW; Chrysler Group LLC; Ford Motor Company; and General Motors to conduct high-quality, objective health policy research and analyses to improve the organization, financing and delivery of U.S. health care.

News Release

Policy Perspective: Affordable Health Coverage for Near-Elderly Americans
Sept. 30, 2009
Among the policy options to expand health coverage for Americans aged 55 to 64—the near elderly—comprehensive reform of the individual insurance market, coupled with a Medicaid expansion for those with very low incomes, would be the most effective and far-reaching approach, according to a new Policy Perspective from HSC.

Policy Perspective
Media Advisory