BDN Reports on Bronson’s Healthcare Lecture
The Bangor Daily News covered a speech that Dr. David Bronson delivered titled “Healthcare Reform and the Bumpy Road to Universal Access” at Buchanan Alumni House.
Bronson, a 1969 graduate of UMaine and president of Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals, was on campus Nov. 20 to deliver the University of Maine 2013 Distinguished Honors Graduate. He said the less-than-successful launch of the Affordable Care Act and website doesn’t lessen the law’s importance to the future of U.S. healthcare.
Many of the 51 million uninsured Americans are poor, Bronson said, adding that an estimated 21 million to 31 million Americans will sign up for insurance with the Affordable Care Act. Bronson said it’s embarrassing that the U.S. spends nearly 18 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare but is ranked 27th (among countries) in healthcare quality by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.