The Trojan Horse That’s Killing Healthcare Reform
by Newt Gingrich
07/01/2009


President Obama said something at his White House healthcare event last week that offers a disturbing hint of our future under his vision of health reform.

He suggested one way to save costs is not to spend on procedures that “evidence shows [are] not necessarily going to improve care” for the sick and the dying.

“Maybe you’re better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller,” the President said.


Maybe. But the question is, who decides?

A Bureaucrat’s Concern Isn’t You, It’s the Government’s Bottom Line

Who decides if those extra dollars will or will not be spent on your care or the care of someone you love? Under the plan advocated by President Obama and his allies, that someone will be a government bureaucrat.

And even if that bureaucrat has the best of intentions, and even if he does his job well -- especially if he does his job well -- his main concern won’t be you or your loved one.

His only concern, if he’s doing his job right, will be for the government’s bottom line.

It’s his choice, not yours. Surgery costs too much. Make do with the painkiller.

Instead of Figuring Out What Can Be Done, We’re Debating the Government Option

What’s most tragic about the health reform options being debated today is that it doesn’t have to be this way.

I have spent the past six years since founding the Center for Health Transformation studying our healthcare system, and finding out what works and what doesn’t work.

I’ve spoken to literally thousands of doctors, patients, hospital administrators and other health professionals. There is widespread agreement over steps we could take now to deliver more choices of greater quality at lower cost to every American.

But instead of focusing on creating a bipartisan consensus, President Obama and his allies have introduced the Trojan Horse of a “public option” in health reform.

Think Government Will Create a Level Playing Field in Healthcare? Look at the Auto Industry

Supporters of the public plan option say it would be just one choice among many; a government plan to “compete” with private health insurance plans.

But if you think for a moment that the Democratic establishment in Washington is going to create a government healthcare plan that competes on a level playing field with private insurance, just take a look at what they did with the auto industry.

They rigged the game. They gave their union allies 55 percent of Chrysler and cheated the retired teachers and police officers who had invested in the company. Then they gave $50 billion in the taxpayers’ money to GM to prop it up. Meanwhile, the third of the once-Big Three, Ford, is left to fend for itself. Is that a level playing field?

The Public Option as a Strategy to Achieve Nationalized Healthcare

The main argument for a government option is that private insurance is too expensive. To expand coverage, Americans need an affordable alternative.

But in order to offer an affordable alternative, the government has to dramatically underprice private plans. Of course, government, unlike a private company that must meet its budget in order to stay in business, can endlessly subsidize its plan.

And the result? Depending on how great the government subsidy, the Lewin Group, a healthcare policy research firm, estimated that as many as 119 million currently insured Americans would drop private coverage and enroll in the government plan.

The private insurance market would gradually disappear. And if you think this is an irrational fear, listen to Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a supporter of the public option. Rep. Schakowsky proudly says that private insurers “have every reason to be frightened” by a government plan, because it is a “strategy for getting [to a single-payer system], and I believe we will.”

So Far, $22 Million Has Been Spent On TV Ads. And What Do We Have To Show For It?

Americans are justifiably dissatisfied with our healthcare system. Healthcare is too expensive. Millions of Americans can’t get health insurance. And too often what we can get doesn’t promote better health and doesn’t deliver the best possible care.

So far, groups on both sides of this debate have spent $22 million on television commercials -- more than was spent in the entire battle over Clinton healthcare reform in the 1990s.

We’re spending lots of money, but the focus on the government plan has kept us from finding agreement in areas where we can make a real difference for Americans.

Democrats and Republicans Can Agree On Modernizing the System and Ending Healthcare Fraud

There is widespread agreement, for instance, that electronic medical records are the future. President Obama and I both share this view. They will be the primary method of record keeping in the future, and the faster we get to that future the more lives we will save, the more efficient our health system will be and the cheaper it will be.

Another area in which Democrats and Republicans should easily be able to find common ground is in fighting healthcare fraud.

And if you think this is just tinkering around the edges of healthcare reform, you’re wrong. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a doctor, believes that fully one-third of all health spending is wasted on defensive medicine, red tape and outright fraud. In a system that will spend $2.5 trillion this year, that means that more than $800 billion will go to unnecessary, unproductive and fully preventable spending.

For more information on how we can improve our healthcare by eliminating fraud, look for my book with Center For Health Transformation Vice President, Director of State Policy Jim Frogue entitled Stop Paying the Crooks: Solutions to End the Fraud That Threatens Your Healthcare due out later this summer.

Command-and-Control Doesn’t Work. Competition and Choice Do.

I’m a conservative who believes that America desperately needs real change in our health system. But we will never get to that if we can’t get beyond this endless debate over government-run healthcare.

The fact is, command-and-control from Washington doesn’t work. Competition, choice and individual control will produce the health system we want.

To truly bring down costs and expand coverage we need to build a bipartisan agreement focused on four things:

1) Improving individual health by incentivizing prevention, wellness and early health.

2) Giving doctors and hospitals incentives to deliver high-quality care through fair and proper payments.

3) Reforming public programs like Medicare and Medicaid to root out fraud, cut waste and reward quality.

4) Empowering individuals with the information and financial resources they need to be better, more-informed consumers.

The Center for Health Transformation has developed an approach that will improve individual health, lower costs and deliver the best possible care. Tell your representative that any health reform bill must have these basic principles.

President Obama Has a Choice to Make

If we can make these changes, not only will we have better health, lower costs and higher quality care, the savings they generate could be used to insure every American.

President Obama has a choice to make. Does he want to have a highly partisan, government bill? Or does he want to take a genuinely bipartisan approach that accomplishes real reform?

It’s not yet clear which way the President will go. What is clear is that our ability to choose care for ourselves and our loved ones depends a great deal on his choice.

If the President chooses to preserve and strengthen our control over our health, we can get a lot accomplished. If he chooses to take it away, it’s going to be a long summer.

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http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=32526

"Who decides if those extra dollars will or will not be spent on your care or the care of someone you love?"

The Insurance companies are doing just that right now!!!!So its ok for them to do so?

Oh ya, we can certainly trust the Insurance companies can't we... Anyone who thinks that must not know anyone seriously ill.

What people don't realize is that what they fear with socialized coverage is already happening in the private sector...

Limits on What they pay and cover.....Happening right now and we are paying for it!!!!!!

I have never said I was for socialization...But if you dig out your policies and read the yearly revisions your fears are already happening and certainly only get worse!!!

SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN!!!!

I would be all for public healthcare if they would actually fix the problem. Our healthcare system is out of control and needs to be fixed.

Drug and insurance companies run our healthcare system now and need to be stopped, but Obama and the rest of our government haven't got the nads to stop it because they would lose half their income.

Why does it take a specialist, to be paid separately, for every procedure done now when a general practitionist used to do it themselves?

Greed.

And that is what is bringing our country down.

Your absolutely right. Most of the policies are expensive and still don't cover you if something really bad happens. And the worst is that you don't find out until it's too late that you are not covered.

newt is wrong. you could pay for health care easy. stop dropping bombs on innocent people. think how much money we could save then.

I don't know why we think our presidents have any real control of the health industry. Right now the industry has us by the short hairs and frankly they want to keep it that way. I believe it's the health industry and the insurance companies fighting this the most.

Its a mess only going to get worse and eventually collaspe!

All you hear is lets get rid of medicare...

MOST of the private plans require you to go on medicare when you become social security age and your private plan becomes the secondary payer...Doing away with medicare will only drive prices higher as now your private plan has to pay it all and well that cuts into their profits...Someone has to absord the costs and it wont be them!!!!!

Got any other GREAT ideas!!!!!

I don't know if Newt is right or wrong.

I do know that WE cannot support a national health care system.

Do the math.

there arn't enough taxpayers to just take care of the medical needs of the TAXPAYERS themselves let alone all the other folks that don't pay taxes.

See here's the problem...WE ARE ALREADY PAYING FOR IT!!!!

UNTIL you want to let someone decide( WHO???????) to deny medical care because of someones ability to pay that is just the way it is!!!!

Who is gonna make that call...You???????????? The government???? Under what conditions??????

Mine already limits what it pays...Should I be allowed to die because my insurance wont pay the full bill?????

THATS NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!!!! or is it already happening and who is making that call!!!

well first we closed down guantanamo bay. then we stop attacking innocent countries, we stop supporting the murder government of israel.that will save enough to pay for health care.

Dude you could shut down an entire branch of the military and not put a dent in the debt we are about to take on as a nation.

Get real... Health care is not a viable GOVERNMENTAL function... There is NO way to keep the funds flowing out from overloading the funds coming in... and still run other parts of the government which it IS supposed to be responsible for.

Health care is and should be a community action... It should be a State and not a Federal item and congress should not even be considering it.

see here is where we disagree. for this suppose to be the best country in the world. we don't take care of the sick. if not for my job i would be like it USA to be. i had a heart attack 6 years ago. i could not even afford my medicine. we have people sleeping on the streets. some of our fellow brothers we fought beside. we have to share the wealth. i no as a nation. we can not be that col hearted. yes will cost a lot. but we must help our fellow man.

Aye we must as a nation help our fellow man.

If you help in your state I'll help in mine.

Federal is not the answer. (it will bankrupt this nation... The necessary employees alone to monitor and control such a system are staggering not to mention the cost of treatments, the new czar that will be needed, the expected offset from fraud (and the cost of rooting it out)... get the picture.

The only thing the Fed should do is set some guidelines for the states.

well since we come from different parties we are never going to agree. you say it will bankrupt us. i say the war in Iraq has wasted enough money we could have had health care.

I do not come from a party. I vote for a person based on their record, reguardless of party.

We HAVE health care... It ain't perfect and could use some adjustments but we have health care.

I am not sure of the exact cost of the Iraq war.

I do know it ain't nowere near the cost of this trojan horse...
(In order to get this bill passed congress will have to 'sweeten' it by allowing members to attach sneaky things that would never have made it on their own - some for very good reason).

well again if our government would stop dropping bombs on innocent iraq people, think of the money we could save. i work in Iraq driving an oil tanker. i,m on leave, had to have my right knee replaced. our government waste more money. still no wall up on Mexican border, all we get from our government is talk. nothing more.

I am curious. What are states doing about it. It seems to me that states are just allowing the insurance companies to do as they please too. The private sector certainly doesn't want much change and they see this is taking money away from them, the heck with the sick either way.

I think we should do as some folks have done, and save up our tranquilizers and when we get that disease our insurance and government folks won't cover, end it...

Geezuz, we really don't give a crap about each other do we?

Too bad everything that happens to one person isn't felt be all, that might teach us that we aren't alone here in the world, and maybe our selfishness really does end up hurting ourselves in the long run.

Ya, Let's just keep things the way they are, after all the alternative requires compassion and effort.

Aye but lets put this in perspective... If your car breaks and it will cost 10 years worth of income to fix it...

Do you fix it or take the bus.

Health care for all is a noble concept... but unless the ecomony is stable it is nothing more than the focus for stupidity.

OUR ECONOMY IS NOT CLOSE TO STABLE...

we can not afford to address this issue until we address the ecomony...