February 1-2, 2007
How should policymakers arrange America’s social contract to strengthen security for families, while fostering a vibrant, growing economy? Social insurance – Social Security and Medicare – pools risk broadly to ensure income and health security for older Americans. Yet, younger families face growing risks due to widely fluctuating incomes, rising health costs, and declining coverage. What mix of policies will strengthen economic security for all Americans, and how can we finance them in growth-enhancing ways?

Conference Co-Chairs:

Jacob Hacker, Professor of Political Science, Yale University

Regina Jefferson, Professor of Law, Catholic University, Columbus School of Law

Maya Rockeymoore, President/CEO,Global Policy Solutions, LLC and Adjunct Professor, American University

Conference Funders:

AARP, American's Health Insurance Plans, California HealthCare Foundation, Ford Foundation, Heinz Family Foundation, March of Dimes Foundation, Ovations-United HealthCare, Schering-Plough, Service Employees International Union, American Academy of Actuaries, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, and the Segal Company.

- AGENDA -

Day One: Thursday, February 1, 2007

8:30am Registration Opens

9:45am Co-Chairs Welcome

10:00am Opening Speaker

Social Insurance: Past, Present, and Future

David Moss, Professor, Harvard Business School

10:30am Session I. Revisiting the Ethical Basis for Social Insurance

Moderator: William Spriggs, Professor and Chair, Economics, Howard University

  • Social Insurance as Organized Altruism
    Deborah Stone, Professor, Dartmouth College
  • A New Social Contract
    William Galston, Senior Fellow/Governance Studies, Brookings Institution;
  • The Risks of Social Insurance
    Michael Barone, Senior Writer, U.S. News and World Report;
  • The Efficiency of Social Insurance
    Robert Kuttner, Co-Founder/Co-Editor, The American Prospect

12:00pm Break

12:30pm Lunch Served

1:00pm Lunch Speaker:

Selling Social Insurance

Paul Krugman, Professor, Princeton University; New York Times columnist

1:30pm Break

1:45pm Session II: Easing Insecurity for Working Families

Moderator: Maya Rockeymoore, President/CEO, Global Policy Solutions, LLC

  • The State of Working America
    Lawrence Mishel, President, Economic Policy Institute
  • Universal Health Insurance Coverage for Children: Social Insurance With A Twist
    Alan Weil, Executive Director, National Academy for State Health Policy
  • Employers Who Care: Adequacy and Equity in Paid Leave
    Vicky Lovell, Study Director, Institute for Women’s Policy Research
  • Catching Up With the Rest of the World: Meeting the Needs of Working Families
    Jody Heymann, Canada Research Chair, McGill University
  • Establishing a True Measure of Economic Security Across Generations: The Self-Sufficiency Standard
    Joan Kuriansky, Executive Director, Wider Opportunities for Women

3:15pm Break

3:30pm Session III. Facing the Retirement Security Challenge

Moderator: Regina Jefferson, Professor, Catholic University Columbus School of Law

  • The Retirement Security Challenge
    Dallas Salisbury, President/CEO Employee Benefits Research Institute;
  • Turning Perils into Opportunities: Perfecting Retirement Security in the 21st Century
    Nancy Altman, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Pension Rights Center
  • Improving Retirement Security in the Defined Contribution Era: From the Auto IRA to Social Security
    David John, Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
  • To Old to Work and Too Young to Die: The Future of Retirement For American Workers
    Ron Blackwell, Chief Economist, AFL-CIO
  • Public Policy, Employers, and the Weather
    Howard Fluhr, Chairman, The Segal Company

5:00pm Reception / Presentation of 2007 Heinz Dissertation Award

6:00pm Dinner—"Taking Policy to Politics: Report from the Campaign Trail," Judy Feder

Judy Feder is Professor and Dean of Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute. After nearly 30 years in policy and academe, she recently plunged into electoral politics by running to represent Virginia's 10th Congressional district. Her success in garnering 41% of the vote against a popular incumbent has served to whet her appetite for more. Her experience of the past year was filled with lessons -- some amusing, some serious, and many poignant—taught by her future constituents about what really matters to working families in America. Come listen to Judy reflect on the experience of crossing from theory to practice in American democracy.

Day Two: Friday, February 2, 2007

8:00am NASI Members Breakfast and Annual Meeting

9:00am Roundtable Discussions – Concurrent Sessions: What's ahead on social insurance for the new Congress and state policymakers in 2007 and beyond? Come listen and exchange ideas at special roundtable discussions with NASI board members:

  • Health Policy – Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance coverage, and health disparities: A discussion led by NASI Board members Kathleen Buto of Johnson & Johnson and Janet Shikles, health policy consultant.
  • Social Security and Retirement Policy: A discussion led by NASI Board members Joseph Quinn of Boston College, Margaret Simms of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and Lawrence Thompson of the Urban Institute.
  • Long-term Care Policy: A discussion led by NASI Board members Jennie Chin Hansen of AARP and Marilyn Moon of the American Institutes of Research.
  • Labor Market Policy – Unemployment and/or wage insurance: A discussion led by NASI Board members Richard Hobbie of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and William Spriggs of Howard University.
  • Disability Insurance and Workers’ Compensation: A discussion led by NASI Board members John Burton Jr. of Rutgers University, Patricia Owens of Patricia Owens Consultations, and Jerry Mashaw of Yale University.

10:00am Break

10:15am Opening Speaker

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund: Private Pain and Public Compensation

Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master, 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund

10:45am Session IV. American Health Coverage at a Crossroads

Moderator: Kathleen Buto, Vice President Health Policy/Government Affairs, Johnson & Johnson

  • Budget Crisis, Entitlement Crisis, or Healthcare Financing Problem: Which Is It?
    Henry Aaron, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
  • Can Markets Give Us the Health Care System We Want?
    Thomas Rice, Professor, Department of Health Services, UCLA
  • Realistic Health Reform: Spanning the Ideological Divide
    Joseph Antos, Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
  • Insights into the Public's Views about Health Insurance: Challenges and Opportunities for Would-Be Reformers
    Mollyann Brodie, Vice President/Director of Public Opinion, Kaiser Family Foundation
  • The Business Perspective on Health Care: The Time for Action Is Now
    Maria Ghazal, Director of Public Policy, Business Roundtable

12:15pm Break

12:45pm Lunch Served

1:15pm Lunch Speaker

Mark B. McClellan, Senior Fellow, AEI-Brookings Joint Center; former CMS Administrator

1:45pm Break

2:15pm Session V. Do We Need a New Social Contract? How Would We Pay for It?

Moderator: Lawrence Thompson, Urban Institute

  • The Social Contract and Retirement Security
    Regina Jefferson, Catholic University, Columbus School of Law
  • Political Perspectives on the Financing of Social Benefits
    Kimberly Morgan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, George Washington University
  • Funding the Social Contract
    Michael Graetz, Professor of Law, Yale University
  • Breaking Out of Our Present Mindset: The Idea of Freedom As the Way Forward
    John Schwarz, University of Arizona
  • Providing Security to Expand Opportunity
    Jacob Hacker, Professor of Political Science, Yale University

Student Scholarships: Support to NASI is provided from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation for scholarships for students covering the full conference registration fee. For more information, contact Jackie Sanchez at (202) 452-8097.

Refund Policy: Any refund requests must be made in writing and postmarked no later than January 15, 2007. All refunds are paid by check and assessed a $30 cancellation fee.

When
February 1st, 2007 8:30 AM to February 2nd, 2007 4:00 PM
Location
National Press Club
529 14th Street, NW
Ballroom
Washington, DC 20045
United States
Topics
Topics Social Security, Medicare and Health Policy, Long-Term Care, Workers Compensation, Disability, Unemployment Insurance, Workforce Issues and Employee Benefits, Poverty and Income Assistance
Contact
Contact Name Johanna Gray
Contact Email jgray@nasi.org