Gingrich defends memo on healthcare law: 'The idea didn't work'

The Hill ^ | 12/27/2011 | Daniel Strauss

[TBBT]

Gingrich defends memo on healthcare law: 'The idea didn't work' By Daniel Strauss - 12/27/11 05:48 PM ET Newt Gingrich on Tuesday defended a memo he wrote in 2006 expressing total agreement with the healthcare law that then-governor Mitt Romney (R) put in place in Massachusetts.

In the memo, first reported Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal, Gingrich praised the healthcare law in Massachusetts as having "tremendous potential to effect major change in the American health system.”

"We agree entirely with Gov. Romney and Massachusetts legislators that our goal should be 100 percent insurance coverage for all Americans," said the newsletter published by the former House Speaker's Center for Health Transformation.

But Gingrich said he now sees there are aspects of the law that are “unacceptable” and has had the courage to say so — unlike Romney, he said, who stands by it despite its flaws.

"Where Romney and I are different is, he concluded it doesn't work," Gingrich said Tuesday on CNN after the memo was reported. "There are a lot of details of ‘Romneycare’ that are unacceptable. And the difference between me and Romney is I've concluded — and I'm prepared to say publicly — I've concluded, just as the Heritage Foundation did, that the idea didn't work." "Romney's still defending the mandate that he passed," Gingrich said, referring to the requirement in Massachusetts to have insurance.

[mamelukesabre]

bla bla bla. you and newt are wearing me out.

[RealImmigrant]

Lessee here...

Newt, at first, was denying his publication/web site supported RomneyCare...it did. Then, it became “well I didn’t write that”

Of course, Newt has been attacking Ron Paul for the racist comments in his newsletters...which he did not write or edit

The big diff here is:

Ron Paul is not really a racist (in fact, some of what he said is true...it is just liberals are offended by it)

Newt Gingrich supports Socialized Medicine. Always has...and probably always will

[BigBobber]

Paying for your own health care is socialized medicine?

[stickywillie]

Noot writes a lot. I wonder if he has refuted his support for Romney, in his writings, since ‘06. Noot’s tough to get excited about.

[bert]

You are a liar!!!

Newt said the goal was for insuring 100% of Americans. That is not support of Romney care.

Go peddle your drivel somewhere else

[TheBattman]

I don’t understand why there is any surprise at Newt’s waffling on the facts. He is a POLITICIAN, a CONSUMMATE career politician. His views are 100% predictable by the audience his is speaking to and/or the latest political fad. Add to that his horrid back for diving off the high-dive into the pool without even looking to see if the pool was filled (AKA - his swallowing “man-made global warming”.

Newt is every bit as wrong for this country as Romney. IF “our” candidate come November is either one of these demons, the country is beyond screwed.

[JediJones]

What Newt pontificated about in an article years ago is a lot different than what he’s doing as a serious policy proposal now. Read up on his plan here:

http://www.newt.org/solutions/healthcare

[JediJones]

Was it predictable that Newt would oppose Bush Sr.’s tax hikes? Bush and company sure seemed pretty shocked by it. You may not agree with every position Newt holds but he is not someone who flip flops with the political winds. If Reagan can change his mind on abortion than Newt can change his mind on a much less sacrosanct issue like health care policy. Newt has had far less changes of position over a very long career than Romney and many other politicians during much shorter careers.

[sirchtruth]

The idea that a government would force it's citizens to buy health insurance or penalize them if they don't is pure totalism. So yes, Newt was wrong, but how come he didn't notice this was a major flaw of the plan before hand, everyone else did.

This is where Newt acts just like a democrat, he thinks he's smart while throwing all wisdom into the wind.

Newt would still make a better President than Romney and he is much more conservative.

[kabar]

Gingrich Says He Doesn't Regret Supporting Medicare Drug Plan Which Is Now a $7.2 Trillion Unfunded Liability

Former House Speaker New Gingrich (R-Ga.), a likely 2012 presidential candidate, told CNSNews.com today that he does not regret supporting the enactment of the Medicare prescription drug plan which now presents the federal government with a $7.2 trillion unfunded liability.

An unfunded liability is a benefit the federal government has promised to pay that is not matched by tax revenue to fund it and thus represents an anticipated increase in the national debt.

Watch the video and see how a big government RINO rationalizes the largest expansion of the welfare state since the 1965 Medicare bill.

[NoPrisoners]

As always, the memo's contents have been edited for effect. What is NOT being noted is that even back in '06, Newt knew that:

"Gingrich said the state's many regulations prohibited insurers from offering cheaper plans that would make coverage affordable..."

[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/27/national/a074603S50.DTL#ixzz1hmS1WwNx]

Thus, Newt's support was for a plan that people payed for themselves, not via the government.

[kabar]

>Paying for your own health care is socialized medicine?

Do you understand how Romneycare and Obamacare work? The government pays for or subsidizes those who can't afford health insurance. Obamacare will add 18 million to Medicaid. The costs of Romneycare are hitting MA hard with increased costs to the taxpayer, higher health care premiums, and decreased access to care. Paying for your own health care with taxpayer money is not exactly capitalism.

[JediJones]

That’s $7.2 trillion OVER 75 YEARS. Why they picked 75 years to calculate against, I don’t know. How they could even know we won’t all be heads in jars by then and not need any prescription drugs, I don’t know.

As usual, the one redeeming line in any hit piece where the attacked party gets to defend himself is the very last line in the article:

“If all you do is count the cost of insulin, then it’s an increase,” he said. “If you count the ability to avoid or defer kidney dialysis, it’s an enormous improvement—and I think we have to look at the system from that standpoint.”

Newt has a plan to reform Medicare and make it solvent. He’s done it before and he can do it again.

Which presidential candidate has said they are going to repeal the Medicare prescription drug plan?

[TomGuy]

"We agree entirely with Gov. Romney and Massachusetts legislators that our goal should be 100 percent insurance coverage for all Americans,"

That was the old Gingrich, so that doesn’t count.

But Gingrich said he now sees there are aspects of the law that are “unacceptable”

Now, we have the new, improved, revised, updated Gingrich 2.0, so all is right with the world.

[/s]

[If that were John Kerry, we would claiming he is a flipflopper.]

[onyx]

IBTZ

[Fester Chugabrew]

. . . our goal should be 100 percent insurance coverage for all Americans."

Newt may disagree with the result, but he has not abandoned the premise, or goal. In the interest of smaller government, no thank you. Please let Americans make insurance coverage a goal of their own if they so choose. Then get the h8ll out of the way while they pursue it.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“Of course, Newt has been attacking Ron Paul for the racist comments in his newsletters...which he did not write or edit”

His name and picture were all over them. So what's your point? Would you let someone publish something with your name and picture if you disagreed with the content?

[kabar]

That’s $7.2 trillion OVER 75 YEARS. Why they picked 75 years to calculate against, I don’t know. How they could even know we won’t all be heads in jars by then and not need any prescription drugs, I don’t know.

This is same methodology used by SS Trustees. Medicare Part D, the prescription drug program, like Part B gets 75% of its costs funded by the General Fund. Only 25% of the costs are covered by the premiums. With 10,000 people a day retiring every day for the next 20 years, the costs of Medicare will go up and Parts B and D will consume more and more of the non-entitlement portion of the federal budget. By 2030 one in five Americans will be 65 or older, twice what it is now and there will only be two workers for every retiree.

According to the 2011 Trustees' report 200 billion was spent from the General Fund supporting Medicare Parts B and D in 2010.

“If all you do is count the cost of insulin, then it’s an increase,” he said. “If you count the ability to avoid or defer kidney dialysis, it’s an enormous improvement—and I think we have to look at the system from that standpoint.”

This is the same kind of rationalization used to defend the entitlement programs, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. The problem is that no matter how good the intentions are, we can't afford these programs. They are unsustainable. They will consume the entire federal budget if not reformed. You don't need huge government one size fits all programs to address the problems associated with diabetes and dialysis. You could means test such programs or push the responsibility down to the states to solve it whatever the way they see fit.

What is happening in Europe will soon happen here, i.e., the collapse of the welfare state. We can't continue to spend much more than have. The Greeks, Italians, Portuguese, Spanish, etc. are having to undergo austerity programs that will cut the size and scope of government. Pensions and benefits are being cut. We will have to do the same because we have a $60 trillion unfunded liability (over a 75 year period) represented by the entitlement programs.

Newt has a plan to reform Medicare and make it solvent. He’s done it before and he can do it again.

Medicare was never solvent anymore than SS was. They are actuarily unsound just like any Ponzi scheme. What is happening now has been predicted for decades. The prescription drug programs just exacerbated the problem. Ryan's Medicare premium support plan passed as part of the House budget helps contain costs pushing the cost curve down after a decade or so, but we still be adding over $8 trillion to the national debt. Once interest rates return to their historic norms, we could approach $1 trillion a year in just debt servicing costs in a decade. Anyone who thinks that reforming Medicare will be easy is a fool. If it were simple, it would have been done a long time ago.

Which presidential candidate has said they are going to repeal the Medicare prescription drug plan?

None. That's the problem. Once these programs get started, it is difficult to get rid of them even if they bankrupt the country. This is why unless Obamacare is killed in the next administration, it will survive once people start getting the benefits. The politicians know that the public will not give up its free stuff voluntarily. And no one wants to stick his head out and get it chopped off by suggesting cut backs. The culture of dependency will be very difficult to reverse. And Newt is not the person to do it. He is a panderer and snake oil salesman who tells people what they want to hear.

We don't need frugal socialists to get us out of this mess.

[hinckley buzzard]

Yeah. Facts are stubborn things, ain't they boy.