Provides objective research and policy analysis of the U.S health care system.

Department staff include experts in economics, sociology, statistics, public health, and public policy who conduct a broad range of studies to provide important information to policymakers about the impact of changes in health care markets on patients, providers, and the communities in which they live and work. Staff in the Health Policy and Evaluation Department have served in the Executive Branch of government and as staff to Congressional Commissions, and offer a broad perspective on the national health agenda.

Research topics

Examples include:

• Medicare program and Medicare provider payment,
• Rural health care,
• Access to care for vulnerable populations,
• Public health infrastructure and emergency preparedness,
• Health information technology,
• Prescription drug use and expenditures, formulary design and risk adjustment under Part D, and
• Survey evaluation and health data policy.

Illustrative Projects

The following studies illustrate the range of the department's research interests and capabilities.  To see more departmental projects, view NORC Projects By Division. 

• AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology
• Assessment of the Healthy People Objective-Setting Framework and Process
• Emergency Preparedness Planning: Modeling the Impact of Urban Evacuation on Surrounding and Rural Communities
• Evaluation of the Use of Clinical Preventive Services and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Recommendations
• Medicare Analyses
• National Evaluation of the Healthy Communities Access Program (HCAP)

Special Capabilities

In addition to NORC's core capabilities, the department has particular expertise in analyzing health care claims and in working with a large number of national health-related survey data sets.  To assist our clients in better understanding a range of health policy issues, the department also regularly conducts environmental scans involving semi-structured interviews, focus groups, expert panels, and site visits.

A related program is:

• The Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis

Contact

For additional information about the Health Policy and Evaluation Department at NORC, please contact Dan Gaylin at (301) 634-9714 or gaylin-dan@norc.org.