VIDEO
Henry J. Aaron, May 14, 2009
The latest report on the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds reveals that these entitlement programs will likely run out of money sooner than expected. Senior Fellow Henry Aaron assesses the future of these two programs.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Henry J. Aaron, February 04, 2009, Real Clear Politics
Congress quickly passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program in its opening days, but the Obama administration and congressional leaders want to do far more to extend health insurance coverage and reform the delivery of care. While obstacles that have frustrated prior reform efforts remain powerful, Henry Aaron says that the key for Obama will be to identify specific reforms that will move toward his long-term vision. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, January 16, 2009
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Washington, DC
Almost 50 million Americans are uninsured, the cost of public and private health insurance is rising and the quality of care is uneven at best. On January 16, Henry Aaron offered a public memo to President-elect Obama with recommendations on how to deal with the challenges that will confront him in reforming health care. The memo is the twelfth of 12 Brookings memos on the most crucial public policy priorities facing the new president. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Alan Berube, December 28, 2008, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Alan Berube urges policy-makers to evaluate short-term opportunities and set long-term strategies in order to help Cleveland’s next generation of residents overcome the challenges of concentrated poverty. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Washington, DC
A day-long public workshop on FDA's Sentinel Initiative was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration and the eHealth Initiative Foundation and convened by the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Rebecca M. Blank and Mark H. Greenberg, December 08, 2008, Hamilton Project Discussion Paper
Rebecca Blank and Mark Greenberg recommend the adoption of a new poverty measure, along the lines recommended by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), in order to provide a more accurate measure of economic need in the United States. Read More
VIDEO
Joshua M. Epstein, December 02, 2008
Brookings’s Center on Social and Economic Dynamics has pioneered a model that forecasts how infectious diseases like the flu spread. Center director Joshua Epstein says the Obama administration should use modeling to avert pandemic outbreaks and restore faith in the public health system.
BOOK
Henry J. Aaron and Leonard E. Burman, December 01, 2008
Contributors examine the role taxes currently play, the likely effects of recently introduced health savings accounts, the challenges of administering major subsidies for health insurance through the tax system, and options for using the tax system to expand health insurance coverage. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Rebecca M. Blank, November 24, 2008, The Brookings Institution
A major economic slowdown adds to the problems of lower-income Americans, who have not shared in the economic growth of the last decade. Greater investments in economic mobility and opportunity are needed. Rebecca Blank offers policy solutions and priorities for the president-elect to make greater investments in economic mobility and opportunity. Read More
PAST EVENT
Monday, November 17, 2008
8:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Washington, DC
With health care spending continuing to rise and an economy in crisis, what are the most promising ways forward to lower health care costs, improve care and provide sustainable coverage? How will health care reform efforts unfold with the new administration and Congress? To address these and other questions, Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings, brought experts and policy-makers together to discuss the prospects for reforming our nation’s health care system. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) gave opening remarks. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Isabel V. Sawhill, Robert L. Bixby and Stuart Butler, November 17, 2008, The Washington Times
“Washington may bail out Wall Street. But who will bail out Washington?” The Fiscal Wake-Up Tour group, Robert Bixby, Stuart Butler and Isabel Sawhill, discusses the importance of fundamentally recasting Medicare versus solely focusing on immediate health care reform. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
November 17, 2008, The Brookings Institution
From the standpoint of presidential and congressional leadership heading into 2009, one thing is clear: Now is the time for action on a different vision for health care reform.
Read MorePAST EVENT
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
8:30 AM to 3:00 PM
Washington, DC
Reducing the number of people without insurance coverage remains an important policy priority at both the state and federal levels. However, current financial challenges and budget shortfalls mean that in addition to expanding affordable coverage options, policymakers must continue to seek ways to improve the delivery of care – and at lower costs. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Henry J. Aaron, September 29, 2008, The New Republic
Many Democrats see a return to the White House a call to resume the fight for full-blown national health insurance. Henry Aaron argues, a more modest, step-by-step approach carries a greater chance of success and—even more important—a smaller chance of devastating failure. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Ron Haskins, September 15, 2008, First Focus
Ron Haskins offers ways policymakers could create an entitlement to housing assistance that would more fairly distribute housing benefits and convert housing into a more effective element in the nation’s work support system. The goal of reform would be to get the most out of the resources now devoted to housing by providing at least some benefit to all eligible families that want a housing subsidy. Read More