Thanks Michael. I thought it was a well written article, as you'd expect from the LRB. But i couldn't really see a lot of discussion of the particular form that the new reforms will take, insofar as anyone can really understand them. As the article suggests, the current SoS seems to want to make an already well trodden path more secure. I never could understand why people viewed his ideas as all that radical. Silly yes, but not particularly radical. And the author's point about potential conflicts of interest is well taken. Afew weeks ago at the king's fund, for instance, patricia hewitt was again extolling the benefits of choice in a somewhat miselading/excessive/un-nuanced way, or so it seemed to me. I never really understand why think tanks, either in the uk or the US, who should know better, keep on putting particular people on a pedestal, when really they ought to be placing them down a well (metaphorically speaking). Perhaps the leaders of these think tanks should take a long, hard look at themselves, return to their missions, and stop cosying up to politicians so much.
Anyway, it would not be a waste of time, i hope, if at least some list members read kahneman's new book. It will become a classic in its field. There are interesting sections on the effects on people's behaviours when you merely ask them to think about money, or competition, etc.
Best,
Adam
On 19 Nov 2011, at 20:24, "Michael Gusmano" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear AAHPN,
>
> Adam Oliver, our colleague and energetic founder of this valuable network, has asked a small group of us to take over the management of AAHPN. I'm pleased to announce that P.G. Forest from the Trudeau Foundation, Tom Foubister from LSE, Colleen Grogan from the University of Chicago, David McDaid from LSE, Calum Paton from Keele University and I have agreed to share these duties. I'm sure you will all join me in thanking Adam for creating this group and keeping it going for such a long time. I hope it will continue to serve as a valuable source of information and exchange for all of us interested in the UK, US -- and thanks to the addition of P.G. -- Canadian health systems.
>
> To help restart our discussions, I thought I would share with all of you the following essay by Meek in the London Review of Books. I found it to be a helpful update on current NHS politics and would enjoy hearing your reactions to it.
>
> http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n18/james-meek/its-already-happened
>
> All the best,
> Michael Gusmano
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