Health care researchers, economists, providers, and journalists gathered at the RAND Corporation’s Santa Monica headquarters to grapple with the billion-dollar question that Health Affairs posed in its September theme issue, “California: Leading the Way?”

Not since a special issue in spring 1996 has Health Affairs done such a deep dive into a specific state or region. The briefing featured 20 journal authors, who presented five-minute summaries of their respective articles. California Health Secretary Michael Wilkening gave the opening remarks before journal authors presented on the following topics:

• Delivery System Innovation
• Markets and Regulation
• Access to Services
• The Search for Universal Coverage
• California’s Evolving Demographics

A recap of the event can be found on The CHCF Blog, and a downloadable audio recording on the Health Affairs website. The slides from all the author presentations at the briefing have been consolidated into a single downloadable file (PDF). The California theme issue and the briefing were funded by CHCF, the Blue Shield of California Foundation, The California Endowment, and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California.