Takeoff: Three Steps to the Green Book

Takeoff: Three Steps to the Green Book

The last 10 days have been a hectic period. All five subcommittees held their first and second meetings. Many members have submitted observations, ideas, and suggestions. To standardize this outpouring of input, the Secretariat has introduced a template: a form that contains "Three Steps to the Green Book": the current situation in Macedonia; possible solutions; and a space for comments - all three backed up by sources and bibliography.

We have a new Web Coordinator, Lidija. The entire eDocuments section has been revamped and now is updated in real time. You can find the latest correspondence, submissions, literature, and documents on our spiffy Website! The eLibrary has also grown handsomely. From now on, every month, we will post a collection of articles about healthcare reform throughout the world. The first such anthology is already online.

On July 21, we had the most unusual event, organized by the WHO. The members of the Plenum plus all the members of the Financing Subcommittee conversed, for three straight hours, via video-link, with one of the world's leading authorities on healthcare financing, Dr. Joseph ("Joe") Kutzin. Dr. Nora Markova, an WHO advisor who has helped design the matrix of activities of the various subcommittees, was present, too.

We covered a lot of ground with Dr. Kutzin: privatization; medical savings accounts; voucher systems; hospital management, purchasing, and contracting; earmarked (hypothecated) tax revenues; tax-based systems vs. social insurance systems; and a myriad other subjects. The whole event has been taped and will be distributed to the members on a DVD.

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