2018

Health Insurance Cost Sharing
commentary
Medicare for All: Sounds Good, but What Does It Mean?
David Anderson, Jodi L. Liu @jodilliu, Mark W. Friedberg
Nov 19, 2018
Health Affairs Blog
Traditional Medicare is popular and therefore can lend a good brand name to coverage expansion proposals, but its limits can be significant for some patients. Those proposing and evaluating “Medicare for All” proposals should consider whether and how these limits are addressed.
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Adolescent Health
blog
Mental Health, Gun Policy, Teen Vaping: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 16, 2018
This weekly recap focuses on helping kids cope with trauma, a new research initiative on guns in America, increasing mental health awareness in L.A., and more.
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Wargaming
commentary
Building a Pipeline of Wargaming Talent: A Two-Track Solution
Elizabeth M. Bartels @elliebartels
Nov 15, 2018
War on the Rocks
How does the Department of Defense imagine the future of war and make long-term investments to confront the challenges ahead? On issues ranging from potential conflicts with Russia to the future of transportation and logistics, senior leaders have increasingly turned to wargames to imagine potential futures.
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Migrants
commentary
Berlin Protests Highlight Need for Sound Employment Discrimination Laws in Germany
Laura Kupe
Nov 15, 2018
American Institute for Contemporary German Studies
Germany has a legal tradition and a strong constitution that promotes equality for all those living within its borders. That tradition could end up being a factor as German policymakers consider whether it is advantageous for the nation as a whole that the newest members of its society should have the necessary legal protections to succeed socially and economically.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Could America Use Its Leverage to Alter the Saudis' Behavior?
Ariane M. Tabatabai, Becca Wasser
Nov 15, 2018
Newsweek
As the Saudis' chief political and military partner and the undisputed security guarantor in the Middle East, the United States has considerable influence it can wield over Saudi decisionmaking. The Trump administration could consider using its influence to encourage Saudi leadership to moderate its assertive and damaging policies abroad.
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Gun Violence
commentary
How U.S. Gun Laws Allow Mass Shooters to Slip Through
Benjamin Bahney
Nov 15, 2018
Los Angeles Times
The three most lethal domestic terrorist attacks since 9/11 were carried out with high-capacity semiautomatic weapons. None of the attackers were under 21 or were stoppable through criminal background checks. Restrictions on sales of semiautomatics would make it much harder for terrorists to obtain their most effective means of killing.
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Counterterrorism
blog
Reflecting on the Past to Counter Future Terrorism
Nov 14, 2018
One Night with RAND brought together leaders in business, government, academia, and philanthropy to pay tribute to Brian Michael Jenkins and mark his 50-year affiliation with RAND and his substantial body of research on terrorism. Jenkins and other experts discussed the evolution of terrorism and strategies for countering it in the future.
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commentary
What Does America's Political Polarization Mean for Competition with China?
Timothy R. Heath
Nov 9, 2018
The Hill
Political polarization in the United States potentially carries significant implications for America's strategic competition with China. Leaders in Washington will need to work to mitigate the effects of polarization and manage competition with China in a stable, effective manner.
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Veterans Health Care
blog
Veterans, Infrastructure, Middle East: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 9, 2018
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges facing veterans and their loved ones, a chance for bipartisan infrastructure policy, realignment in the Middle East, and more.
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Workforce Development
commentary
The Case for Investing in a More Healthy and Engaged Health Workforce
Christian Van Stolk, Marco Hafner
Nov 8, 2018
The RAND Blog
Improving staff engagement leads to a variety of positive benefits. But defining and measuring engagement is not straightforward, and different demographic factors are associated with different levels of engagement. The National Health Service in England is looking at ways to increase engagement in its staff.
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Social and Emotional Learning
commentary
Finding the Right Assessment Tool: Another Resource for Educators and Researchers
Laura S. Hamilton, Brian M. Stecher
Nov 7, 2018
The Measuring SEL Blog
To teach something effectively, educators need to determine whether their instructional approaches are working, and make adjustments to those approaches as needed. The Assessment Work Group and RAND have developed tools to assist educators in finding and using assessments to measure social and emotional learning and higher-order cognitive competencies.
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Veterans Health Care
essay
How Private Health Care Providers Could Better Serve Veterans
Nov 7, 2018
Almost a third of U.S. veterans live 40 miles or more from the nearest VA medical center, so the VA is trying to make it easier for them to use private providers closer to home. But it will take significant efforts to better prepare civilian doctors to deliver high-quality care to veterans.
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Nurses and Nursing
commentary
On Nurse Staffing Ballot Measure, Massachusetts Voters Should Look to Evidence from California
Mahshid Abir, Jason E. Goldstick, Rosalie Malsberger, Claude Messan Setodji
Nov 2, 2018
Health Affairs Blog
Massachusetts residents will soon vote on the Patient Safety Act, a mandate to increase nurse-to-patient ratios in acute care facilities. Evaluating existing data on the impact of a similar nurse staffing law implemented in California in 2004 may help inform voters as they head to the polls.
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Transportation Safety
commentary
The New AV Challenge: Creating a Universal Safety Framework
Marjory S. Blumenthal @MarjorySB
Nov 2, 2018
Axios
Autonomous vehicle developers are pursuing different safety strategies and technologies, making different claims, in different ways, about their systems. A universal framework could provide a more consistent and transparent view of progress in AV safety within and across the industry, better informing the public and policymakers.
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International Diplomacy
blog
Tree of Life, Social Media, Korea: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 2, 2018
This weekly recap focuses on the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, countering Russian social media influence, how Korea could unify, and more.
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