Needed: Better Way to Compare Health Plans

National health reform will rely on consumer choice and competition to control costs whether or not there is a public insurance option, according to this Institute report. Rational consumer choice, however, is difficult without standardizing health insurance plans, so that value can be easily compared. States may have to play a key role in such standardization.
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A Tribute to Richard P. Nathan's Leadership

Richard P. Nathan has retired from the Rockefeller Institute, after 20 years of leadership. He brought to the Institute a rich background in policy and politics, and as Acting Director Thomas Gais writes in this message, he left the organization with a distinctive mission and method of conducting research.
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Disparities Widen in States' School Funding

States are spending more on schools, but differences in education funding have also been growing since the 2001 recession. The current economic downturn could widen those gaps, according to this Institute report. The result could be a growing mismatch between funding levels and student need, say the authors. Further, they state, in our federal system, there is no simple mechanism to remedy these interstate disparities.
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Pre-Recession, Cities Already in Decline

America's cities and suburbs are mired in the deepest recession in more than a generation. Less understood is that conditions in the nation's metro areas were worsening before the recession hit. This Institute report details how, and which areas suffered most.
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From Our Experts...

A Downward Slide, Before Things Grew Worse

By David J. Wright
There was a decidedly negative turn in the condition of central cities and metro areas since 2000 — even before the hardening recession took hold in 2008. And the slide was steepest in areas of the country that previously led the way in economic growth.

Out-of-State Students: Problem or Solution?

By David Shaffer
The idea of saving New Yorkers some tax money by charging much higher tuition for out-of-state students at the State University may seem tempting. But with upstate’s population stagnant at best, maybe New York needs those young out-of-staters at least as much as they need SUNY.