Stephen L. Isaacs, J.D., is the president of Health Policy Associates in San Francisco. A former professor of public health at Columbia University and founding director of its Development Law and Policy Program, he has written extensively for professional and popular audiences. His book The Consumerís Legal Guide to Todayís Health Care was reviewed as ìthe single best guide to the health care system in print today;î his articles have been widely syndicated and have appeared in law reviews and health policy journals. He also provides technical assistance internationally on health law, civil society, and social policy. A graduate of Brown University and Columbia Law School, Mr. Isaacs served as vice president of International Planned Parenthoodís Latin American division, practiced health law, and spent four years in Thailand as a program officer for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

James R. Knickman, Ph.D., is vice president for research and evaluation at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He oversees a range of grants and national programs supporting research and policy analysis to better understand forces that can improve health status and the delivery of health care. In addition, he is in charge of developing formal evaluations of national programs supported by the Foundation. He has also played a leadership role in developing grant-making strategy in the areas of chronic illness, long-term care, and population health during his nine years at the Foundation. During the 1999ñ2000 academic year, he held a Regentsí Lectureship at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, Dr. Knickman was on the faculty of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. Currently, he is vice-chair of the board of trustees of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. He completed his undergraduate work at Fordham University and received his doctorate in public policy analysis from the University of Pennsylvania.