Public Health Service

The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research was established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C.A. § 299 et seq.). As the federal government's focal point for health services research, the agency produces and disseminates information about the quality, medical effectiveness, and cost of healthcare. The agency's research is geared toward producing useful and accurate data concerning the design and performance of the national healthcare system, data that can be used to help improve healthcare at the federal, state, and local levels.