Guest Blog: Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC)
Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council is pleased to provide a sneak peak of its informative winter line-up of discussions on current foreign policy issues and international affairs.
On December 15 at 6 pm at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme (and also offered via Zoom), Gery Barry, Retired Health Care Management Executive will discuss Healthcare Policy Insights from Around the Globe. Gery is a senior advisor specializing in healthcare management and health insurance. He will discuss the performance issues of our healthcare system and evaluate our system’s performance relative to other countries.
“Few if any policy issues in the US are as rancorous and intractable as those related to healthcare,” remarked Mr. Barry. “Every policy maker and policy advisor, and indeed each of us as patients, is aware to some degree of the exceptionally high cost of our healthcare, the inconsistent quality of the care delivered, and the disparities in the level of care received by different demographic groups. Yet, reaching a consensus on how to move from where we are to something better remains as contentious as ever.”
“Breaking through this political paralysis starts with an objective, comprehensive understanding of the performance issues of our healthcare system. To this end it is most helpful to evaluate dispassionately our system’s performance relative to other countries, while avoiding the temptation to make political presumptions of the desirability of policy changes which simply mimic them. It also requires a healthy appreciation for why changes in healthcare policy everywhere in the world are intrinsically difficult.”
In 2022, SECWAC will kick off the new year in January with Arne Westad, Professor of History and Global Affairs, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University. Arne will discuss “A New Cold War between the US and China?” based on his Foreign Affairs article “The Sources of Chinese Conduct,” Sept/Oct 2019. In February, Karolin Machtans, Associate Professor of German Studies, Connecticut College will discuss The Representation of Asylum Interviews in Contemporary Literature and Film of Refuge.” Then in March, Ada Ferrer, Professor of History and Latin American and Caribbean History will discuss Cuba, based on her new book “Cuba: An American History” (2021).
SECWAC has been providing a forum for nonpartisan, non-advocacy dialogue with US policymakers and other experts on foreign relations for over 20 years. If you’re up for impartial debates and desire to learn more about timely issues that affect America’s global interests, SECWAC features at least 10 discussions throughout each season from September – June.
COST: $35 for young professionals under 35; FREE for students and educators; reach out for prorated membership rates. Attendance at discussions is free for members; $20 for non-members. Registration is required in advance.