Public Policy Institute
AARP Public Policy Institute Events
The AARP Public Policy Institute hosts Solutions Forums and other events throughout the year. To receive alerts on events and recent PPI publications, please subscribe to our email list.
AARP Solutions Forums:
AARP's Solutions Forums bring together experts, stakeholders and policymakers with different perspectives not simply to debate each other. Our goal is to go beyond ideological differences and conflicting interests to find common ground on key issues and explore how to work together more effectively on solutions to problems we all face.
COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS: WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR CONSUMERS?
October 8, 2008
Leaders of the nation's largest consumer organizations and health care experts discuss how consumers might benefit from the establishment of a national effort to determine the comparative effectiveness of various treatment options for medical conditions. The forum examines why comparative effectiveness is important to consumers; the role consumers might play in a system that includes comparative effectiveness; and how clinicians can use comparative effectiveness information in shared decision-making with patients? Panelists include:
- Jennie Chin Hanson, President, AARP
- Jim Guest, President and CEO, Consumers Union
- Jack Fowler, President, Foundation for Informed Decision Making
- Marge Ginsburg, Executive Director, Sacramento Healthcare Decisions
- Art Levin, Director, Center for Medical Consumers
- Perry Payne, Professor of Health Policy, George Washington University
- Gail Shearer, Director, Health Policy Analysis, Consumers Union (Moderator)
THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS AND OLDER AMERICANS
Friday, September 19, 2008
PPI released a new report showing that the foreclosure crisis has had a significant impact on older Americans. Experts at the forum who addressed the current crisis and options to prevent recurrence included: Representative Barney Frank, Chairman, House Committee on Financial Services; Dr. William Apgar, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies; Michael Barr, University of Michigan Law School & the Brookings Institution; Martin J. Gruenberg, Vice Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); David G. Kittle, Chairman Elect, Mortgage Bankers Association; Alison Shelton, Senior Policy Advisor, AARP; and Diane Thompson, National Consumer Law Center.
HOW WILL THE NEXT PRESIDENT PAY THE NATION’S BILLS?
July 14, 2008
Our next president will inherit a substantial budget deficit and an economy weakened by depressed housing, financial and job markets. What should the next Administration and Congress do to put the economy back on track? In the longer-term, which policies will best assure Social Security solvency, hold down soaring health care costs, foster economic growth and protect the most vulnerable Americans? This forum explores the assumptions and thinking behind the economic proposals of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama—and provides perspective on how their numbers add up.
The panel, moderated by David Wessel, Economics Editor of the Wall Street Journal, includes:
- Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Senior Policy Advisor to the John McCain campaign, is former director of the Congressional Budget Office and Chief Economist for the Council of Economic Advisors.
- Jeffrey Liebman, Policy Advisor for the Barack Obama campaign, is former Special Assistant to President Clinton for economic policy.
- Diane Lim Rogers, Chief Economist at the Concord Coalition, is former Chief Economist of the House Budget Committee and Clinton Administration Senior Economist for Tax and Budget Policy.
- John Rother, Executive Vice President, AARP
Highlights from the Forum:
- Webcast —You will need the latest version of Adobe Flash Player to view this video
- Transcript
- Video Clips
- Major Economic Challenges Ahead
- To Balance the Budget or Not
- Social Security Policy
- Medicare Policy
- Diane Lim Rogers Looks at Both Candidate’s Plans
- John Rother Discusses Economic Proposals
TRANSITIONING TO HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SERVICES: HOW ARE STATES DOING?
July 11, 2008
This forum showcases a new AARP Public Policy Institute Report, "A Balancing Act: State Long-Term Care Reform." Using groundbreaking data analysis, the report shows the progress-or lack of progress-individual states are making in refocusing Medicaid to provide home and community-based services to older people. It also looks at trends for the nation as a whole and highlights promising programs and practices in states that are succeeding.
Panelists:
- Susan Reinhard, Senior Vice President, AARP Public Policy Institute
- Dennis W. Streets, Director, North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services
- Tara Larson, Chief Clinical Operations Officer, Medicaid Division, North Carolina
- Leslie Clement, Administrator, Medicaid Division, Idaho
- Leslie Clement, Administrator, Medicaid Division, Idaho
- John Rother, Executive Vice President, Policy and Strategy, AARP
Highlights from the Forum:
WHAT SHOULD OUR NEXT PRESIDENT DO ABOUT HEALTH CARE COSTS?
June 13, 2008
There is broad consensus that the pace of health care price inflation is not sustainable. Rising health care expenditures—now 16 percent of GDP—put increasing pressure on Medicare and Medicaid, make health care unaffordable for millions of Americans and serve as a growing drag on the competitiveness of American business. How should the next administration address this challenge? Leading health care experts and presidential candidate advisors look at what's driving these costs, discuss cost containment proposals and provide insight on how they may impact health care reform.
The panel, moderated by Julie Rovner of National Public Radio, includes:
- John Rother, Director of Policy and Strategy, AARP
- David Cutler, Professor of Economics, Harvard University, is an advisor on health policy issues for the Obama campaign.
- Thomas Miller, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former senior health economist for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, is an advisor on health policy for the McCain campaign.
Highlights from the Forum:
PROMOTING INDIVIDUAL SAVINGS FOR RETIREMENT
April 29, 2009
What should be done to encourage and help Americans actively save for retirement? This forum featured in-depth consideration of proposals to facilitate saving, including a Guaranteed Retirement Account, Universal 401(k), and Automatic IRAs. Presenters included:
- Mark Iwry of the Brookings Institution and Retirement Security Project
- Teresa Ghilarducci of the New School for Social Research
- Gene Sperling of the Center for American Progress
- David C. John of the Heritage Foundation and Retirement Security Project
- Kevin Hassett, Director of Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
- Janet McCubbin, Director, Economic Issues, AARP Public Policy Institute.
Highlights from the Forum:
- Webcast
- Transcript
- Comparison of Savings Options