The major goal of this project is to improve understanding of the causes and consequences of regional variations in health care intensity, which could have important implications for the health and well–being of the elderly, for addressing health disparities and for the financial health of the Medicare trust funds. In the next project period, Skinner and colleagues will seek to shed light on the following key clinical and policy questions:
1. Who can reasonably be held accountable for the care of high–need patients?
2. Can the value of pharmaceutical treatments in Medicare Part D be improved?
3. Is better surgical quality more costly?
4. How can we identify efficient health care providers — and are Canadian providers less efficient than those in the U.S?
5. Can we measure health outcomes reliably enough to use in rewarding efficient providers?