Pulling It Together: Moving Away From Employer Based Coverage: Don’t Forget Public Opinion June 25, 2008 Perspective One of the underlying big issues in the unfolding health reform debate is whether most Americans should continue to get insurance through work where they get it today, or purchase it themselves in the individual private health insurance marketplace. Senator McCain promotes moving to individual insurance and having individuals rather…
Pulling It Together: Critical Path To Health Reform: Stage Three March 27, 2008 Perspective If there is a debate in the new Congress in 2009 about comprehensive health reform legislation, a major question is: Will there be an appetite for a bipartisan, centrist deal? No matter who is in the White House or what the margins are in the Senate, it is very unlikely…
Pulling it Together: Separating the Forest from the Trees in the Health Reform Debate February 19, 2008 Perspective The good news for those who care about health care is that the issue is rising again on the national agenda. If we have a big debate about health in the presidential campaign and if it is a factor at the polls in 2008, it will help create a mandate…
Pulling it Together: What We Know about Making the Case to the Public for Global Health May 3, 2012 Perspective Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who is a member of our Board, recently published a column making the case very effectively for continued investments in global health. Today we released our latest national survey on attitudes towards global health, which uncovered important nuances about the argument for foreign aid…
Pulling it Together: The Media’s Challenge In Health Reform September 28, 2009 Perspective For many years now the news media has served as the public’s number one source of information on important issues like health reform. People rely on the news media to help them wade through claims and counter claims, understand how policy options will affect them and come to judgment on…
Pulling it Together: As The International AIDS Conference Convenes, Some Positive News About Public Opinion and HIV July 19, 2012 Perspective The American people are busy trying to make ends meet and take care of their families and they are constantly bombarded by messaging and spin. They rarely have a full understanding of policy issues and debates. Often it is their strongly held beliefs, whether based on accurate or inaccurate perceptions,…
Pulling it Together: About Kaiser Health News May 1, 2009 Perspective There is lots of apocalyptic talk these days about the collapse of the newspaper industry and the challenges facing news organizations. There is even talk of the unimaginable, my hometown paper The Boston Globe shutting down. Surely they know that Red Sox Nation cannot exist without the Globe Sports pages.…
Pulling It Together: The “R” Word Is Back December 9, 2008 Perspective Longer ago than I care to admit, I got my start in health policy at M.I.T. when I wrote a book about health care regulation. The book was about a long forgotten attempt to rationalize the health care system through an elaborate health planning program set up in the seventies under the National…
Pulling It Together: Perspectives on State Health Reform June 9, 2008 Perspective This Pulling It Together column is the fourth in my new series. All four so far have dealt with different dimensions of health reform. This time I write about one of my favorite topics, the states. As a former head of an umbrella health and social services agency in a…
Pulling It Together: Critical Path To Health Reform: Conclusion March 27, 2008 Perspective Finally, it bears mentioning for organizations like Kaiser that do research and analysis and are committed to public education on complex health policy issues, that the kinds of activities that will be most useful will vary depending on what stage we are at on the “critical path.” At this early…
