Solutions Forums

PPI organizes and conducts regular AARP Solutions Forums to explore policy options on issues of major public interest and concern. If you would like to be invited, sign up for our regular newsletters.

Saving Jobs in a Recession: How Work Sharing Can Help

December 11, 2009

Work sharing helps employers avoid layoffs during a downturn by cutting work hours and spreading the remaining work among existing employees, who receive pro-rated unemployment benefits. This forum looked at what’s needed to create successful work sharing initiatives; what we can learn from national best practices and international models; and policy considerations at the state and federal level for promoting work sharing.

Speakers included: Neil Ridley, Senior Policy Analyst for Workforce Development, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Jon Messenger, Senior Research Officer, Conditions of Work and Employment Program, International Labor Organization (ILO); David Balducchi, Manager and Program Analyst, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; Bruce G. Herman, Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development, New York State Department of Labor; Marc Baldwin, Economic and Policy Analyst, AFL-CIO Working for America Institute; Markus Franz, Counselor, Labor and Social Affairs. Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Auto IRA: Strategies for Successful Implementation

October 26, 2009

President Obama has proposed and Congress is considering creating an Auto-IRA that would give millions of workers a new way to save for retirement. This forum looked at the impact of the Auto IRA—the contribution it can make to retirement security; what we can learn from programs with similar goals in New Zealand and the UK; and key implementation issues such as how to ensure the Auto IRA works well for workers, small business employers and financial industry stakeholders.  

Speakers included: Janet McCubbin, Director of Economic Security, AARP Public Policy Institute; Eric Toder, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute; Diana Crossan, Retirement Commissioner, New Zealand; Caroline Rookes, Director, Enabling Retirement Savings Programme, Department for Work and Pensions, UK; Brian Graff, Executive Director/CEO, American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries; Denise Farris, Esq., Farris Law Firm and Member, Women Impacting Public Policy; David John, Heritage Foundation; Managing Director, Retirement Security Project; and Michael Kiley, President and CEO, Plan Administrators, Inc.

Protecting Your Home, Car and Investment Savings: How consumers and Policy Makers Can Stop Financial Fraud

October 22, 2009   

Experts looked at how fraud impacts financial security, especially for older Americans and explored innovative solutions and policy options for combating these scams. Luncheon speaker SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro discussed the Commission’s priorities for fighting financial fraud.

Speakers included: Jeff Cruz, Senor Policy Advisor, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging; David Massey, President-elect, North American Securities Administrators Association; Chuck Harwood, Deputy Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission; Marietta Rodriguez, National Director, Homeownership Programs, NeighborWorks; Bill Gruhn, Chief, Consumer Protection Division, Office of the Attorney General, State of Maryland and Kathleen E. Keest,

Getting It Right: Smart Housing and Transportation Planning for Livable Communities

September 30

This forum featured release of “Preserving Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized Housing Opportunities near Transit and the 50+Population”. Authors of the report discussed how to coordinate housing, transportation and land use policy to develop livable communities. Speakers include: Rodney Harrell, AARP Public Policy Institute; Allison Brooks, Reconnecting America; Michael Bodaken, National Housing Trust; Scott Bernstein, Center for Neighborhood Technology; Don Chen, Ford Foundation; James Corless, Transportation for America.

What Happened to My Social Security Cola?

September 21

This forum discussed a range of issues related to the expectation that for the first time since 1975—when Social Security benefits were indexed to inflation—there will be no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) next year. The forum explored how the Social Security COLA works and how the Medicare Part B premium is affected; how inflation is measured for the COLA, and how the measure might be improved; the impact of no COLA’s on state budgets; and policy options to address the hardships Social Security beneficiaries may face. Speakers included: Stephen C. Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security Administration; Tricia Neuman, Vice President and Director of the Medicare Policy Project, Kaiser Family Foundation; Matt Salo, Director, Health and Human Services Committee, National Governors Association.

Making Your Nest Egg Last a Lifetime

September 14

PPI released a series of new reports by Tony Webb of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Webb offers a fresh look at financial decisions related to retirement, with a focus on what economic analysis suggests most people should do, versus what they actually do. Our second panel--featuring Pamela Perun of the Aspen Institute, Sandy Mackenzie and Lina Walker of PPI--examind why many people make poor choices and exploredhow to improve the options available to retirees.

Nursing Workforce Solutions for 21st Century Health Care: How Do We Get There?

June 12, 2009

This joint forum with the journal Health Affairs explored ways to ensure we have the nursing workforce to provide primary and preventive care, chronic care management, and care coordination for a more effective health care delivery system. It also presented evidence-based solutions for ensuring sufficient numbers of highly-skilled nurses. This event marked the publication of several papers in Health Affairs focusing on the nursing workforce and health care quality.

Panelists included: PPI Director Susan Reinhard, AARP; Linda Aiken, Director, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing; Peter Buerhaus, Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Brenda Cleary, Director, Center to Champion Nursing in America; Robin Newhouse, Assistant Dean, University of Maryland School of Nursing; Jonathan Weiner, Professor, Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health; and key congressional aides.

Fixing Chronic Care in America

March 23. 2009

As the nation considers health reform, national experts came together to discuss problems facing millions of Americans with multiple chronic conditions—and looked at potential solutions highlighted in a new PPI publication, Chronic Care: a Call to Action for Health Reform.

Panelists included Susan Reinhard, AARP; Chad Boult, Director, Center for Integrated Health Care, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health; Carol Levine, Director, Families and Health Care Project, United Hospital Fund; Mary D. Naylor, Director, Center for Transitions and Health, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing; John Rother; Mark Bayer, Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director, Representative Ed Markey (D-MA); Dan Elling, Health Subcommittee Staff Director, House Ways and Means Committee, Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI); Mark Hayes, Health Policy Director and Chief Health Counsel, Senate Finance Committee, Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA); Ashley Ridlon, Legislative Assistant, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR); Neera Tanden, HHS, Counselor for Health Reform to the Secretary; Debra Ness, President, National Partnership for Women & Families.

Holding Down Medicare Costs

Authors of a new PPI report, “Cost Containment in Medicare. What Works?,” discussed major efforts to control Medicare costs since the program’s inception. The first panel featured experts from the Urban Institute and Health Policy alternatives, including two former high-ranking CMS officials (Robert Berenson and Michael Hash), who contributed to the report. A second panel--Mark Miller of MedPAC; Joseph Antos of AEI, and key congressional committee staff-- discussed approaches for controlling costs that might be incorporated into health care reform.

Comparative Effectiveness: What Consumers Have to Gain

Held jointly with Consumers Union, this forum examined 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 included: 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. George Washington University; and Gail Shearer, Director, Consumers Union.

Impact of the Foreclosure Crisis on Older Adults

Experts addressed options to deal with the current foreclosure crisis and discussed findings of a new PPI report, “A First Look at Older Americans and the Mortgage Crisis,” that shows older Americans have been hit hard. Panelists included: Rep. Barney Frank, Chairman, House Committee on Financial Services; William Apgar, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies; Michael Barr, the Brookings Institution; Martin J. Gruenberg, Vice Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); David G. Kittle, Chairman Elect, Mortgage Bankers Association; Alison Shelton, AARP; and Diane Thompson, National Consumer Law Center.

Medicaid Coverage for Low-Income Adults

Held jointly with the Alliance for Health Reform, experts discussed policy options in a new AARP Public Policy Institute report, “Millions of Poor Americans Can’t Get Medicaid; What Can Be Done?” Panelists included: Stan Dorn, Urban Institute author of the report; Barbara Coulter Edwards of Health Management Associates; Nina Owcharenko of the Heritage Foundation; Gary Ferguson of American Viewpoint; Susan Reinhard of AARP and Ed Howard of the Alliance.

Presidential Candidate Advisors on Tax and Fiscal Policy

Advisors explained the economic proposals of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama—and experts looked at how well their numbers add up. Moderated by David Wessel, Economics Editor of the Wall Street Journal, the panel included: Douglas Holtz-Eakin, advisor to the McCain campaign; Jeffrey Liebman, advisor to the Obama campaign; Diane Lim Rogers, Chief Economist, Concord Coalition; and John Rother, AARP.

Long-term Care: State Progress in Shifting Resources to HCBS

This forum discussed a new AARP Public Policy Institute Report, "A Balancing Act: State Long-Term Care Reform" that showed how effectively individual states are refocusing Medicaid to provide home and community-based services to older people. Panelists: Susan Reinhard, Senior VP, AARP Public Policy Institute; Dennis W. Streets, Director, North Carolina Division of Aging Services; Tara Larson, Chief Clinical Operations Officer, Medicaid Division, North Carolina; Leslie Clement, Medicaid Administrator, Idaho; and John Rother, Executive VP, AARP.

Presidential Candidate Advisors on Health Care

McCain and Obama advisors examined what's driving health care costs and discussed cost containment proposals. Moderated by Julie Rovner of National Public Radio, the panel included: John Rother, AARP; Obama advisor David Cutler, Professor of Economics, Harvard University; and McCain advisor Thomas Miller, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Promoting Individual Retirement Saving

With the U.S. personal savings rate in the red, the future is increasingly uncertain for many middle- and low-income households. Panelists explored the merits and costs of leading proposals to facilitate saving, including a Guaranteed Retirement Account, Universal 401(k), and Automatic IRAs. Moderated by Mark Iwry of the Brookings Institution, panelists included Teresa Ghilarducci of the New School for Social Research; Gene Sperling of the Center for American Progress; and David John of the Heritage Foundation.  Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute and Janet McCubbin of AARP's Public Policy Institute served as expert discussants.