Newt has played it very smart since leaving the House. He has concentrated on Health Care and The State Department.
Newt shapes Med conference
Former Speaker Gingrich injects ideas into debate
By Bob Cusack - The Hill
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), one of the most controversial figures in Medicare's annals, is playing a surprisingly significant role in congressional discussions to revamp the system.
As lawmakers struggle to craft a merged House-Senate prescription drug bill, Gingrich is lobbying for policies that were not included in either chamber's version.
There are signals that Gingrich is winning over initial skeptics and that some of his proposals will be included in the final draft.
Gingrich said he has been in regular communication with the White House and key players on Capitol Hill, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.).
Spokespeople for Frist and Thomas did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Joseph Antos, a healthcare expert and colleague of Gingrich at the American Enterprise Institute, said, ?He is talking to everybody, and he?s getting very important people to listen to him.?
Gingrich?s ultimate goal is to revolutionize the healthcare system. In the past decade, the defense, airline and banking industries have been restructured and made more efficient, he pointed out, but the healthcare system has lagged behind and as a result is riddled with both medical inefficiencies and escalating costs.
He wants an electronics-based system that stresses prevention, innovation and quality.
One idea that may have legs is to pay hospitals more money for enhanced patient care. Gingrich said it is ridiculous for the worst performing hospitals to be paid the most by Medicare. The notion of paying more for quality care is not contained in either the House or Senate bills but has since been embraced by the Bush administration.
While most in Washington were vacationing during the congressional recess, Gingrich was busy pushing his ideas.
He pitched his proposals to The Wall Street Journal and at several seminars, including one held in the Capitol last month. Those events coincided with the release of his new book, Saving Lives & Saving Money.
But Gingrich said he is trying to influence policy, not to sell books.
At the Aug. 18 Hill seminar, Gingrich told The Hill, ?This is not a PR event. I?m not doing this for fun.?
Asked why he waited so long to push his ideas, Gingrich said he was told to hold off until conference talks began.
Many healthcare experts expect many new provisions to come out of conference.
Antos agreed, saying it is better to be involved later than earlier.
Gingrich has been careful not to say which chamber?s legislation is better. However, he makes comments that suggest strongly that he believes neither bill by itself is the answer.
?It is virtually impossible to get a transformation of Medicare if the two bills are boundaries,? he said Aug. 18. He later added, ?There?s a chance to grow them into better bills.?
If lawmakers fumble on reforming Medicare, Gingrich said, the consequences would be dire. ?If we do this badly, we are going to guarantee a mess,? he said.
Gingrich is one of the most polarizing figures in recent political history. His battles with some within his own party and with President Clinton are part of Washington lore. He remains a lightning rod for controversy, and Democrats often invoke his name when they criticize Republican policies.
On Oct. 24, 1995, Gingrich uttered what may be the most controversial statement in Medicare's history. Democrats alleged that he said Medicare "should wither on the vine."
But Gingrich and other Republicans insisted that he said the government agency that runs Medicare should wither on the vine.
Even though the comment was made nearly eight years ago, Gingrich?s quote has been referred to more than 20 times on the House and Senate floor this year.
Gingrich's role could be an inviting target for congressional Democrats who are wary of the proposed prescription drug plans. Speculation has arisen in some informed quarters that it is only a matter of time before Democrats on the Medicare conference committee, who have already complained of not being included in every relevant meeting, walk out.
In an interview with The Hill last month, House Energy and Commerce ranking member John Dingell (D-Mich.) said, "I'll tell the truth in conference, or I'll tell the truth outside the conference."
Gingrich admitted he is a partisan Republican but said his ideas to transform Medicare are bipartisan. His Aug. 18 seminar on Capitol Hill was "held in cooperation" with House Republican Conference Chair Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio) and Sens. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).
The AARP, long regarded by Republicans as a liberal-leaning group, has said Gingrich's ideas are influencing how it thinks about its national role on health promotion and disease prevention. The senior citizens support and lobbying group said his ideas "are based on real-life examples of entrepreneurial changes people are making across the healthcare system throughout the country."
Gingrich has not shied away from challenging lawmakers or industry sectors. He has chided the insurance industry for how long it takes to pay claims and said the drug industry is on the wrong side of the argument on its high drug prices.
He has taken on conservatives for thinking they can change the Medicare system for current enrollees, a move that Gingrich dubs "not politically viable.: He also said the current Medicare bills "make no sense to normal people."
Although it is unclear which of his ideas will move forward, Gingrich is regarded as a player in the discussions that could lead to the greatest expansion of Medicare since its inception.
He said reforming Medicare would be the largest single domestic change since President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" of 1965.
"This could be a remarkable 60 to 90 days," he said.
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