The best dataset on American health care will be harder to access

Prachi SanghaviCMSCMS, a health-policy researcher at the University of Chicago, studies whether ambulances that provide medical care at the site of the emergency are better than basic ones that simply rush a patient to the hospital. (They are not.) She also studies whether the federal government’s rating system for nursing home quality is any good. (That’s a no, too). Her research helps Americans evaluate the country’s health-care practices. Unfortunately her work is now at risk.Dr Sanghavi’s research uses data provided by the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (), the federal health-care agency that administers America’s public-health insurance. announced plans in February to change its data-sharing practices. The proposal raises the fees for data and makes access less convenient. Nearly 400 researchers, including Dr Sanghavi, from over 75 institutions across America have signed a letter in protest. They claim that the new restrictions will jeopardise ground-breaking research.