Hot Topics
Here we cover an expanded range topics that are currently in the news or relevant to the public policy debate. Each page provides further summaries and links to related RAND research and commentary.
Archived Hot Topics
Current Features
The Public Option: Sorting Rhetoric from Reality — Jun. 24, 2008
President Obama and several Congressional leaders have recently expressed support for the idea of allowing citizens to buy into a public insurance program as part of any health reform legislation. The intensity of the ensuing debate has been fascinating given the lack of specifics that have been offered by either side, writes Elizabeth A. McGlynn.
Commentary
Health and Health Care Research Area
Improve Health, Not the Health Care System — Jun. 23, 2009
One reason that health reform proposals always seem to fail is that proponents promise too much. Reformers declare they will improve quality, lower costs and increase access — all at the same time. This mantra is repeated so often that the public tends to believe it is possible, when really it isn't, writes Dana P. Goldman.
CommentaryHealth and Health Care Research Area
Iran's Real Winners: The Revolutionary Guards — Jun. 22, 2009
Despite the huge protests on the streets of Tehran, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has once again triumphed. A relative newcomer to Iranian politics, his re-election and subsequent crackdown on the demonstrators suggest that the Iranian political system is moving in a new and potentially dangerous direction, writes Alireza Nader.
CommentaryInternational Affairs Research Area
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