Reassembling Humpty Dumpty

September 17, 2009

By Newt Gingrich and David Merritt Politico

If health care reform had a name, it would be Humpty Dumpty. After all, President Barack Obama tried to put him back together again in his speech to Congress last week. On Wednesday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) did the same when he introduced his long-awaited plan. The problem is that Humpty Dumpty didn’t just fall off the wall — he was shoved off by the American people.

This summer, Americans turned against health reform because they saw a mad rush to enact a left-wing agenda with more government control and runaway spending. The latest Washington Post/ABC poll shows that two-thirds of Americans think reform would increase the federal deficit, something the Congressional Budget Office had already confirmed. Twice as many Americans think it will make their own care worse. Twice as many Americans think their costs will increase, while three times as many think their coverage will be worse.

But the president and congressional leaders continue to push the same agenda and approach. It’s as if the month of August never happened.

But it’s not too late. There is still an opportunity to get health care reform right. To truly reduce costs, improve quality and expand coverage, there is only one way: Slow down, listen to the American people and come up with sound, bipartisan solutions.

It starts with abandoning the HillaryCare approach of overhauling 17 percent of our economy in one gigantic bill. Let’s face it, the federal government could not get Cash for Clunkers right, and that formula was simple: 1) Buy a car, 2) file paperwork and 3) get paid. How can we expect Congress to understand 1,100-plus pages of health care legislation, let alone get it right?

Rather, policymakers should introduce five stand-alone, separate pieces of legislation.

First, a bill to improve the quality of medical care. Baucus should be applauded for focusing more closely on care delivery than any other committee leader. Researchers estimate that up to half of all health care spending — more than $1 trillion every year — is waste. Even worse, nearly 100,000 Americans are killed every year by preventable medical errors. We can save lives and money by focusing on wellness, coordinating care, streamlining processes and enacting payment reforms that reward quality.

Second, a bill to fix medical liability laws. The time for demonstrations is over. Establishing health courts, extending liability protection for following best practices and capping noneconomic damages (something two-thirds of Americans support) will save billions of dollars and free doctors from practicing wasteful and costly defensive medicine.

Third, a bill to improve the private insurance market and empower consumers. The president says he wants competition and choice. Then let’s break down the barriers that stifle competition and create a nationwide marketplace where all 1,300 insurers compete. Real competition is more than one new government plan or a co-op.

Fourth, a bill to save Medicare from bankruptcy. The Medicare trustees reported this spring that Medicare will be broke in eight years. Over the coming decades, we will need at least $36 trillion in new taxes or cuts to pay for the Medicare benefits we have promised future generations. Rather than spending new money, let’s root out the fraud that could save Medicare as much as $40 billion a year. Expanding the Centers of Excellence programs and incentivizing beneficiaries to seek out doctors and hospitals that deliver the highest-quality, lowest-cost care would also significantly transform the program.

Finally, a bill to unleash the power of science and innovation. We need to reform the Food and Drug Administration to break down barriers to inventing new devices and finding cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer. We should change the clinical trial process to expedite the movement of drugs, devices and new technologies to the market. Inexplicably, the Senate Finance Committee goes in the other direction. It would levy more than $70 billion in new innovation taxes on medical device makers, drug manufacturers and clinical laboratories while hammering technology companies that develop advanced imaging equipment. We should encourage these kinds of innovators, not punish them.

There is still time to change course on health reform. The president missed another opportunity last week to turn things around, but through thoughtful, bipartisan solutions, we can put health reform back together again.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) founded the Center for Health Transformation in 2003. David Merritt is vice president and national policy director at the center.

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