Commentaries

Paul Francis

Nov 12

It Is Always Darkest Before the Dawn

At the outset of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Chairman Mao reportedly said, “It is always darkest before it becomes totally black.”

Year Two for the Step Two Policy Project

Paul Francis

Nov 4

Commentaries

Year Two for the Step Two Policy Project

We have begun Year Two of the Step Two Policy Project. ...

Paul Francis

Oct 4

Commentaries

Rural Healthcare in New York

To be successful, New York’s health policies need to support the unique needs of rural communities.

The Dog That Didn’t Bark: the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic

Paul Francis

Sep 16

Commentaries

The Dog That Didn’t Bark: the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic

This Commentary builds on two others regarding the controversy about the Cuomo administration’s nursing home policies during Covid-19.

Debunking the Empire Center Analysis Attributing Nursing Home Covid-19 Deaths to DOH Policy

Paul Francis

Sep 7

Commentaries

Debunking the Empire Center Analysis Attributing Nursing Home Covid-19 Deaths to DOH Policy

There are two important facts that help account for why these transfers did not measurably increase deaths of nursing home residents ...

Re-Examining the Cuomo Administration’s Nursing Home Policies During Covid-19

Paul Francis

Sep 4

Commentaries

Re-Examining the Cuomo Administration’s Nursing Home Policies During Covid-19

Four-and-a-half years after the Covid-19 pandemic began, people are still reckoning with nursing home policy decisions made by NYS officials

The Medical Indemnity Fund and the Price of Good Intentions

Paul Francis

Aug 7

Commentaries

The Medical Indemnity Fund and the Price of Good Intentions

The principal focus of this paper is the Medical Indemnity Fund , which was created in 2011 as part of the Medicaid Redesign Team...

Fiscal Frameworks for New York State Government

Paul Francis

May 7

Commentaries

Fiscal Frameworks for New York State Government

By “fiscal frameworks,” I’m referring to two different types of frameworks...

Transparency and Openness in Government and Public Policy

Paul Francis

Apr 7

Commentaries

Transparency and Openness in Government and Public Policy

...this Commentary is more of a rumination about the challenges of creating not only transparency but “openness”...

California Dreaming and the MCO Tax - Addendum

Paul Francis

Mar 25

Commentaries

California Dreaming and the MCO Tax - Addendum

The purposes of this Addendum to my March 19 Commentary titled California Dreaming and the MCO Tax are to ...

Paul Francis

Mar 18

Commentaries

California Dreaming and the MCO Tax

The Health section of the one-house budgets the Senate and Assembly released last week upended the usual pattern.

Paul Francis

Feb 21

Commentaries

Analyzing Complex Public Policy Issues

I want to use the analysis of this proposal as an example to describe the process of analyzing complex public policy issues.

The Dynamics of the New York State Budget Process

Paul Francis

Feb 6

Commentaries

The Dynamics of the New York State Budget Process

What I want to talk about today is the dynamics of the Budget process...

Paul Francis

Jan 31

Commentaries

Over-Engineering Against Risk

Governor Kathy Hochul presented the FY 25 Executive Budget for State fiscal year 2024-25 on Tuesday in Albany.

Commentary #5: Week of January 15th, 2024

Paul Francis

Jan 19

Commentaries

Commentary #5: Week of January 15th, 2024

Governor Kathy Hochul presented the FY 25 Executive Budget for State fiscal year 2024-25 on Tuesday in Albany.

Commentary #4: Week of January 8th, 2024

Paul Francis

Jan 12

Commentaries

Commentary #4: Week of January 8th, 2024

In the Health sector, the most significant announcement in the SOS was that the State has received approval from CMS of its 1115 waiver...

Commentary #3: Week of December 25th, 2023

Paul Francis

Dec 29, 2023

Commentaries

Commentary #3: Week of December 25th, 2023

We think it’s important to understand the background of the increasing numbers of financially distressed hospitals in New York...

Commentary #2: Week of December 18th, 2023

Paul Francis

Dec 21, 2023

Commentaries

Commentary #2: Week of December 18th, 2023

Here is a preview of our theory of the case, which we will set forth in a fair amount of depth next week.

Commentary #1: Week of December 11th, 2023

Paul Francis

Dec 14, 2023

Commentaries

Commentary #1: Week of December 11th, 2023

This is the first of what I hope will become more frequent updates on issues of interest to the Step Two Policy Project (S2P) readership.