The Century Foundation - Taking Note

Advice to Hospitals in a Downturn: �Market the High-Margin Service�

Maggie Mahar, The Century Foundation, 3/12/2010
One might think that hospitals would be recession-proof. After all, hospital care is a necessity. But one would be wrong. When times are tough, people put off elective surgery, and even avoid going to the hospital in an emergency. Although they may have insurance, often they can�t afford the co-pays that accompany hospital care. As for the uninsured, not long ago a study showed that uninsured patients suffering from gunshot wounds often leave the ER, voluntarily, without being admitted to the hospital.

The Platform: What Would Peter Jennings Do?

Peter Osnos, The Century Foundation, 3/10/2010
At a mid-town Manhattan Japanese restaurant on the rainy night of September 10, 2001, Peter Jennings, then at the pinnacle of ABC News, joined a small group of us to toss around ideas about the radical reinvention of the nightly news. A good deal of sak� was consumed, and the evening ended with agreement to continue the discussion. The next morning, the World Trade Center was attacked, and that day--the coverage of which Jennings brilliantly anchored--and the continuing focus on terrorism, homeland security, and war overwhelmed any further consideration of what might be changed.

Some Iraqi Odds and Ends

Michael Wahid Hanna, The Century Foundation, 3/10/2010

Sunday was a good day for Iraq but it is unwise to draw overly broad conclusions based on this one day. And I am holding off on commenting about the government formation process until we get official results from the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq (IHEC). But I did want to comment on two very important points because they have often shaped and warped the nature of commentary and analysis on last Sunday�s elections.

The Only Way Out Of Afghanistan Is With A Withdrawal Deadline

Stephen Schlesinger, The Century Foundation, 3/10/2010

Let me start by citing President Obama�s exact words on his much-publicized July 2011 deadline for American forces to start leaving Afghanistan. Obama stated at West Point on December 1, 2009, that �taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July 2011. Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground.�

Peggy Noonan vs. the New England Journal of Medicine

Maggie Mahar, The Century Foundation, 3/9/2010
Let’s put to rest, once and for all, the idea—or rather, the notion (it’s not even an idea, just a vague impression, based on hearsay)—that the health reform legislation now under discussion includes no plans for containing health care spending. The reform proposal now being debated in Washington would put a brake on health care inflation. As an eye-opening essay in the most recent (March 4) issue of the New England Journal of Medicine explains, Medicare would, at last, have the power it needs to lead the way, not by cutting benefits, but by restructuring how it does business.