2010

Books, lectures, meetings, etc.

• In February, we celebrated our new books that came out late 2009 and early 2010. The first one "Comparative Studies & The Politics of Modern Medical Care" is the results of over ten years annual international conferences discussing the changes in health care in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK and The Netherlands. The book also contains chapters that focus on specific health sectors, including hospital care, primary care, pharmaceutical care and the regulation of private health insurance. The other book "Six Countries, Six Reform Models" is about the health reform of six small and medium-sized countries across the globe, that are usually not included in comparative studies. The two book complement each other. It is nice to see a few year's hard work in cover.
• We also published a short commentary in the Dutch NRC daily on parallels between the over-optimistic plans for cost control of President Obama's health plan and the recent policy changes in The Netherlands.
• Some lecturing in different places: Washington DC, Calgary, Edmonton, The Hague and Leuven. Because of the Iceland vulcano eruption, our visit to the UK was canceled--but better than being stranded at an airport as some of our friends...
• In May vacation in Europe: one week biking trough Holland, one week hiking in the south of France.
• In June we both went to Montreal to participate in one of the modules of an executive policy program for health care managers from different countries.
• Late July we left for a 6,500 mile road trip that took us largely via the 'blue highways' to Pennsylvania, Chicago, Omaha Nebraska, Rocky Mountains, Minneapolis and Northern Minnesota.
• The last weekend of August we went to Washington DC for the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association where my co-author Michael Gusmano and I presented out paper in the making "The Bright Side of Aging" that challenges much of the conventional wisdom about the unaffordability of aging. Is is based on research both of us did before. We now are working to turn the paper into a publication somewhere.
• Fall 2010: two weeks in the UK and 2 weeks in Germany to lecture and work with friends and colleagues. We stayed in Heidelberg for 2 weeks to commute to Mannheim where prof Claus Wendt is heading a small research group engaged in international comparison of health care systems and health care policy change. German wines are getting better all the time! For me, the trip included a brief visit to Holland to give a lecture at the Council of State about the Governing manifesto of the new coalition government, and one day teaching in Leuven for a group of international students of social security.
• After a few weeks back home, is is time to pack our bags again, another long trip via London and Oxford and Amsterdam to Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The final destination it Otaga University on the South Island of New Zealand, to visit with prof Robin Gauld. But the trip will also allow us to do some hiking and fly fishing down there.
• Early January, back to Europe and ski in Chamonix before heading back to New York to start the Spring 2011 teaching again.
  

Spring 2009

Another busy Spring term....

• I am getting used to my new life in New York. In February, Ted regained his title as national hardball squash champion. I am impressed. With a colleague of NYU, I started art classes; and we continue to go to the opera at the Lincoln Centre regularly. If you are willing to sit near the rafters, tickets are only 15 to 25 dollars. Acoustics are fine, and bringing my bird watching binoculars helps to see the stage well.
• I returned to New York University for the Community Health, Health care and Health Politics course, one of the basic mandatory courses in the health policy and management program of NYU.
• I also started a new course for the Nurse Leadership Program: The Politics of Nurses. This course explores the policy environment for nurses who are keen to better understand the world of health care and health politics.
• Agreed with prof Will White in Ithaca, to come back this Fall to teach another mini-course on International Comparison if Health Politics. Started the course with showing the film Sicko of Michael Moore to discuss the health care systems of different countries including the United States.
• My research projects include the final editing of the "Four Country book", now labeled Comparative Studies in Modern Medicine" (but it may get another title) as well as the last editing of the "Six Country book" that is also almost ready for printing. I was lucky to find a good editing assistant for this latter project. Next, I intend to return to my interest in health manpower. I found a young medical student who is keen to work with me on this project.
• Our summer plans include an extended visit to Europe (Amsterdam, Paris) to discuss possibilities for teaching in Europe next year.
• In September and October, I will visit Sikkim with my cousin Sjoke from Amsterdam. We will work as volunteer teachers in a primary school in a very poor part of the country. Another friend of ours has been involved with this school for over a decade, the Himalayan Academy (It has a nice website). We booked tickets to fly to Kolkota (aka Calcutta), take the train to Darjeeing and from there travel per jeep and buses. More about that later ...  

2008

Busy year......

• During the Spring Semester of 2008, I returned to New York Unievrsity to teach the basic course Community Health,  Health Care and Health Politics.
• Invited by prof Will White, I developed and taught a new mini-course on International Comparison of Health Politics at Cornell University, Ithaca.
• Rene McDonaldo invited me to ocme to Auburn, Alabama to give several lectures: one to the Life Long learning group on current health care issues in the US, one class at Auburn university; one lecture for the Women's Leadership Institue and one for the Democratic Causus about the 2008 Presidential Elections.
• Presenting a paper on the Dutch health care reforms of 2006 at the Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI--see website www.nasi.org). That paper will also appear in a publication in 2009.
• Return to Montreal to give a lecture at McGill University for students of an international program for health care managers and policy-makers.
• As to research: with my co-editors Ted Marmor and Richard Freeman, we almost finished the "Four Country"book, and sent it to Yale University Press for the last round of editing. That book will come out in 2009.
• With a group of 7 co-autors, and myself as main editor, we wrote an article for the International Journal of Comparative Policy Amnalysis about the health care reform experience in seven small democracies: New Zealdn, Singapore, Taiwan, Switzerland, Israel, Chile and The Netherlands (to be published in 2009).
• That contribution also was the base for a book chapter for another publictaion. Next, we found a publisher in Singapore (World Scientific Publishers) interested in turning the article into a book format. Within one year, all our co-autors helped to extend their texts into book chapter length, and with my co-editor of the book, Luca Crivelli from Lugano, I finished writing the Introduction and Conclusions. The unusual selection of countries led to interesting findings: the countries have faced similar challenges in their health care systems; they have discussed and considered similar reform options but in the end, they each choose a very different refrom pathway.
• In September, I went with husband Ted Marmor to Bellagio at Lake Como in the north of Italy to spend a month at the splendid resort of the Rockefeller Foudation, a sort of upscale hostel for academics who need a quiet place for finishing art or writing projects.
• The Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law published my extended analysis of recent commentary on recent health care reforms in The Netherlands.

September 2007

Working at several research projects...

• The book reviews of Frank and Glied's recent book on mental health care in the US appeared in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.
• Finished wriring two book chapters in our 'four country ' book, one on recent change in Dutch health insurance, one international comparative chapter on hospital care in the US, UK, Germany, Canada and The Netherlands
• With Ted Marmor and Richard Freeman, the editing of the above book, including the preface and introductory chaptyer
• An article for the Journal on Comparative Policy Analysis, analyzing the recent health reform experience of seven small/midsized industrial countries: New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Israel, Switzerland, Chile and The Netherlands (six countries usually "under the radarscreen").
• Based on this artcile, a comparative book of those experiences. to be published by World Scientific Publishers in Singapore (the one that did a great job with Ted's last book).
• Star of research on the changing positions of health professionals ion primary care: general internal medicine, family practitioners, nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants; plans for several publications.