Gingrich encourages health-care overhaul

~ The former House speaker compared the state's planning to a stage coach operator who saves money by not feeding the horses.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich encouraged Missouri senators Wednesday to overhaul the state's health system by taking a long-term approach that focuses on healthy habits and preventative care instead of crisis treatment.

The leader of the Republican takeover of the House in 1994, Gingrich spoke Wednesday in his role as founder of the Center for Health Transformation, which advocates more individual responsibility, technology and the availability of health-care coverage to all.

Republican legislators and Gov. Matt Blunt are exploring a similar revamping for Missouri's Medicaid program for the poor and the state's health care system in general.

Gingrich was invited to speak from the Senate dais -- a somewhat unusual move -- by Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, R-Kirkwood.

Gingrich encouraged lawmakers to consider a new model of health care that gives patients greater power to choose their own care, focuses on preventing health problems and managing chronic diseases, and reduces the use of paper in favor of electronic records.

Doing so should save lives, improve the quality of life for others and ultimately cost less money, he said.

Gingrich also suggested lawmakers analyze the costs and benefits of the state's health-care expenditures on a five- to 10-year budget cycle. Annual budgeting tends to lead to decisions that cost less in the short term but more in the long run, he said.

"The current model is stunningly stupid," said Gingrich, comparing it to a stage coach operator who saves money by not feeding the horses. "Every year we do what's technically smart for one year but is stupid in the long run."

As an example of the need for a health-care system focused on improving individuals' health habits, Gingrich pointed to a "cultural epidemic" of childhood obesity, which can lead to early onset of diabetes and a lifetime of expensive treatments.

"This is an epidemic caused by just two things: eating too much of the wrong food and not exercising," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman, D-St. Louis, stood alongside Gingrich and Gibbons at a post-speech news conference, indicating her general support for his proposals.

"I was impressed," she said, citing his ideas for the disabled and his goal of eliminating disparities in health care for minorities. But Coleman was less impressed with some of his arguments for switching to an electronic record system. She said it was likely to result in savings for medical providers, but not necessarily for patients.