The article reviews the developments and outcomes of the reform of the role of aid societies, which culminated in the approval of law 152/2001 which gave these bodies a new centrality in the protection and promotion of social rights in the logics of the development of the welfare state. The text of the law is the outcome of a long reflection on the nature and function of aid societies, the exclusive nature of the role, the characteristics and requisites of the organizing bodies, and the definition of the new functions to be added to the traditional ones. It underlines how law 152 assigns the aid societies an important role as social secretariat.only subscribers can see the full article

Reform of the health service was one of the most debated subjects in the presidential campaign of 2008, and it now appears as one of the priorities of the newly elected President Obama. The article explains how the American health service is organized, bringing out the logics of how it functions and its main malfunctions. This means that particular attention is given to Obama’s reform proposal in the election campaign and to the first measures adopted by the President when he arrived at the White House.only subscribers can see the full article