health care spending

Vanderbilt study explores how dual-eligible beneficiaries spend

While there has been much effort to control spending for individuals eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare in the United States, for the first time a team of Vanderbilt health policy researchers have analyzed spending trends for this population over a multiyear period in order to gain a much clearer understanding of exactly how much is being spent and by whom.

Buntin visits the Hill

Melinda Buntin, PhD, Mike Curb Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policy, recently testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chaired by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander.

Employer Roundtable explores prescription drug spending

Some employers have called prescription drug benefits the “black hole” of company-backed health plans, with costs escalating despite years of efforts to bring them in check.

Jost set for Sept. 10 Discovery Lecture

The Flexner Discovery Lecture Series kicks off this fall with a discussion of health care cost control. Timothy Jost, J.D., emeritus professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, will speak on Thursday, Sept. 10.

elderly man in wheelchair in skilled nursing facility

Study links post-acute care costs with lower survival rates

A nationwide study, “Uncovering Waste in U.S. Healthcare,” from authors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, finds that spending on post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) provides a key signal of inefficiency in the health care system, leading to higher spending and lower patient survival.