Focus on Alabama
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Leland Speed, Advisory Board Chair
The RAND Gulf States Advisory Board met in Point Clear, Alabama in October to discuss opportunities for RAND to expand its work in this state and the region. RAND President and CEO, Jim Thomson, reiterated RAND's commitment to the Gulf States at a dinner that engaged community and business leaders from across the Gulf States. In Alabama, RAND Gulf States is developing research that focuses on children, education, and health issues.
"The Gulf States region needs a strong policy resource," said Leland Speed, Advisory Board Chair, "and RAND Gulf States is highly qualified to fill that role. RAND is focused on working with local experts, community leaders, and policymakers to strategically address the region's more pressing issues."
Debra Knopman, Vice-President and Director of RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment, said, "RAND's biggest challenge nationally is overcoming the mindset of having no time for analysis, but plenty of time to live with the consequences of poorly thought-out decisions." RAND Gulf States is working with local community leaders and state policymakers to demonstrate that fact-based decisionmaking can support long-term success.
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Adding Clarity to the Health Care Debate
On October 13th in Alabama, RAND Health researcher Peter Hussey briefed community and business leaders from across the region about RAND's COMPARE project—a transparent, evidence-based approach to providing information and tools to help policymakers, the media, and other interested parties understand, design, and evaluate health policies.
COMPARE's centerpiece is an online policy options "dashboard" that offers both a snapshot and in-depth look at the implications of various policy changes on a range of outcomes like costs to government and others, quality of care, access to care, as well as the ease with which changes could be implemented.
 Visit the COMPARE Web site
Read the News Release
Louisiana Department of Transportation Welcomes RAND Transportation Expert
The efficient movement of freight throughout the United States is critical to the U.S. economy. One of the key questions facing Louisiana is how to ensure that the system continues to meet the state's needs.
RAND senior researcher Dick Hillestad shared the findings of a RAND study at a Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) conference in New Orleans in September. The study made recommendations that would foster economic development: increasing effective capacity, reducing the system's vulnerability to disruption, achieving growth and green objectives, and ensuring sustained funding.
Read the Research Brief
Read the Full Report
Read the News Release
Interview: Peter Hussey on COMPARE
Peter Hussey is a policy researcher in RAND Health. In addition to his work on COMPARE, his research has included evaluations of socioeconomic disparities in health care quality, disease management programs, and mechanisms to control health care spending. Read more about Peter Hussey >>
Is COMPARE an acronym?
Yes, it stands for Comprehensive Assessment of Reform Efforts. We call it a global positioning system for health care policy. Our assessment work tells us where we are and where the new proposals will take us in health care reform. Results are communicated through a web site and online, interactive tool.
What's behind the web tool—what was involved in RAND's comprehensive assessment?
The COMPARE team gathered facts and figures about the current state of the U.S. health care system and about policy options for changing it. We took inventory of prominent federal, state, and private health care reform proposals and we reviewed health care literature to understand what prior experience has been with the various policy options. We developed a new microsimulation model that simulates behaviors of a virtual U.S. population and estimates the effects of policy changes on health care spending, consumer financial risk, coverage, and health. And of course we developed the web site to capture all of that and to be user friendly and flexible.
What stands out for you in the research?
The magnitude of the problem: U.S. health care costs are more than $2.5 trillion a year. Americans get only 55% of recommended care. Approximately 50 million people lack health insurance. The fact that there is no magic solution--every proposal will contain inevitable trade-offs among costs, quality, insurance coverage, and health outcomes. And that knowledge and data can really help by clarifying and differentiating the choices.
Health policy is a moving target—can COMPARE keep up?
Yes. It's built to last with a modular, flexible design that allows for expanded modeling and other updates.
How will you know if it really makes a difference?
When we see that public and private decisionmakers are using COMPARE to assess and compare policy options. Whatever the outcome of health reform legislation might be, we feel that COMPARE will continue to make a difference as we address the problems in our health care system.
How can COMPARE help people and organizations in the Gulf States?
While much of the focus on health reform is at the federal level, ultimately states will bear much of the responsibility for implementing the policies that are enacted. COMPARE can help Gulf States people and organizations understand the effects of different reform options and the implications for the region going forward.
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About the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute
http://www.rand.org/gulf-states/about.html
Advisory Board
http://www.rand.org/gulf-states/contacts/board.html
Contacts
Melissa Flournoy, Director
Sally Sleeper, Director of Programs
Pauline Zalkin, Development
Staff
http://www.rand.org/gulf-states/contacts/staff.html
We invite your suggestions for researchers, projects, centers, and funding or collaboration opportunities to highlight in future issues. Write to us at RGSPI_News@rand.org.
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Researcher Profile
Richard J. Hillestad, PhD
Hillestad is a RAND senior researcher and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He recently published a report that reviewed the U.S. supply chain infrastructure, identified the issues and policy challenges associated with freight transportation, and made recommendations for not only improving infrastructure but also ensuring that the existing infrastructure is used efficiently. Read more about Richard
Hillestad >>
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New Orleans
650 Poydras Street
Suite 1430
New Orleans, LA 70130
Telephone: 504-558-1975
Fax: 504-299-3471
Jackson
PO Box 3788
Jackson, MS 39207-3788
Telephone: 601-979-2449
Fax: 601-354-3444
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If you would like more information about the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute, please contact Melissa Flournoy at Melissa_Flournoy@rand.org or call 504-299-3472.
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