Gingrich, Dean split on public option for health care reform but find other points of agreement

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean gives his opening remarks to a large crowd Wednesday evening during the health care debate with former House speaker Newt Gingrich at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. (Kit Doyle) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Two politicians with opposite ideas about health care reform agreed on a few points Wednesday night.

Howard Dean and Newt Gingrich faced off in a debate in front of a crowd of about 2,000 at the Show Me Center. The event was part of Southeast Missouri State University's Speaker Series. The politicians were collectively paid $85,450 for the appearance, which was funded by the student activity fee.

Gingrich, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was critical of politicians working on health care legislation in Washington, D.C. He called it the most irresponsible legislative process in his lifetime while talking to reporters before the debate.

"I am absolutely opposed to legislating in secret and making proposals that nobody understands," Gingrich said in his opening statement. He said current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hold news conferences to rehash old reform ideas.

Allowing states to opt into a public option, which was proposed by Reid earlier this week, will cause states to go bankrupt, Gingrich said.

Gingrich also criticized the current government-run systems, Medicaid and Medicare, saying they were corrupt.

Eliciting laughs from the crowd, he recalled a story about a doctor who filed paperwork for four colonoscopies on one patient in one day.

"To which I replied, 'I hope that's fraud,'" he said.

Dean, a strong supporter of a public option, said it will be necessary in any health care reform.

"There's a lot more to this than the uninsured," he said during his opening statement. "This is about hard-working Americans that can't afford to get sick."

He talked about the health care reform that occurred in Vermont while he was governor. He said 96 percent of children have health insurance there today.

"We're a lot like everyone else, and it works," said Dean, a doctor who also served as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

He said he is confident Congress will pass legislation that will include a public option. People will be comfortable with it because it will resemble Medicare and it will be available "fairly soon," he said.

"Whatever gets passed this time is going to be the very tip of the reform," Dean said.

Before the debate, Dean told reporters he did not advocate prescription drug reform that would allow importation. He said there are too many problems with manufacturing practices in other countries.

"I think that would be a hard sell to the American people," he said.

The event was moderated by Erik Peterson, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The debate started with opening statements from each politician. Peterson covered topics from questions submitted beforehand, including ideas about the public option, affordability and rural health care.

Both politicians agreed there should be more incentives to increase the number of primary care providers.

"Expand what is primary care to make sure nurse practitioners can set up their own practice," Dean said to a cheering crowd.

Gingrich suggested paying medical school loans of doctors who commit a decade of service in underserved areas.

On the issue of tort reform, Dean said it should be left up to the states.

Gingrich said he agreed tort reform should be left to the states only if the federal government stops micromanaging other issues. Both also expressed a need to convert to a wellness-based system that gives incentives for better behaviors.

Aside from ideas regarding a public option, Gingrich said the two could come up with several ways to reform the current system, which he described as a mess and unnecessarily expensive.

"I think we'd come up with 20 or 30 breakthrough ideas," he said.

Students, faculty and staff were not charged admission for the event. It was open to the public at $8 a ticket. The proceeds will go to the University Foundation to provide financial assistance to students.

abusch@semissourian.com

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