Newt Lays Out 3 Initiatives to Transform Healthcare

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October 1, 2008
By Chris Ceplenski

Newt Gingrich wants to transform health care in America. And the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has three initiatives for fundamental reform that he shared with an audience of HR and benefits professionals last week in his keynote address at the 21st Annual Benefits Forum & Expo in National Harbor, Maryland (Washington DC Metro Area). His proposals include the collection and implementation of best practices, a transition to electronic health records, and an investment in new technologies.

Gingrich is the founder of the Center of Health Transformation, "a high-impact collaboration of private and public sector leaders committed to creating a 21st Century Intelligent Health System that saves lives and saves money for all Americans." According to its website, the Center operates under the premise that "[s]mall changes or reactionary fixes to separate pieces of the current system have not and will not work. We need a system-wide transformation."

In his keynote address, Gingrich first explained that in order to bring about change, we must start with engaging the individual. Gingrich notes, for example, that a doctor or nurse can never manage diabetes or obesity--the individual must be engaged in terms of his/her own health as a first step.

Gingrich attests that data supports the idea that people who are happier are healthier. If an individual is optimistic, his/her immune system is stronger. Smiling releases endorphins that have positive effects on one's health. This is just one reason why Gingrich believes that when it comes to changes regarding their health care, individuals should be incentivized and empowered--never punished.

What are some ways to accomplish this? Gingrich emphasized great strides in technological advancements, noting that next-generation cell phones will have more programming capability than laptops that were made 3 years ago and that HR take advantage of such technology. He says that information, reminders and incentives can and should be delivered via cell phones. Cell phones could be used to schedule check-ups or issue doctor's appointment reminders, as examples. Gingrich wants HR professionals to ask "What can I do in this world [of technology] that I never would have dreamed of under traditional models?"

Here are the three public policy initiatives Gingrich recommends for transforming health care:

1) Recreate the health debate around health-based health reform. By this he means that we go around the country and find best practices--those that are reducing medical errors and infection rates for example.

Gingrich says that the current health care delivery system is "very decentralized" and, notably, is paper-based. The results are "very high costs with huge deficiencies" he says. He believes that as other industries--such as manufacturing--have long-since accomplished, hospitals and doctor's offices should implement established best practices/set of patterns.

The federal government should insist that lower-performing hospitals/doctor's offices implement a set of patterns/best practices based on this research in a relatively short time Gingrich used the example of hospital infections--he says the government should incentivize worst-performing hospitals to implement established/proven best practices to reduce them.

2) Propose a National Defense Electronic Health System Act, under which the federal government would finance the transition to a paperless health system (by December 2012). With a paperless system, Gingrich says, fraud (often perpetrated by doctors) can be identified in real time, whereas with paper-based systems "you never catch up with the crooks."

He says that research shows that billions of dollars per year could be saved by reducing fraud rates under an electronic system. And he projects that we would have a surplus within 2 years of making the change--meaning the savings will more than offset the initial costs. (Currently, Gingrich says, some hospitals are making a gradual move to electronic systems, but overall health insurance companies are not really making a concerted effort to do so.)

3) Create the Investment-Based Budget Act, which would fund changes in health care from an investment perspective vs. a cost perspective. Gingrich recalled a recent meeting with Fred Smith, founder and CEO of FedEx who explained that if FedEx was being created now and asked the government to fund it, the response would be to fund the cost of the trucks for delivery, but not for equipment related IT (computers, etc.), as the government would question the necessity of such equipment. As a result, FedEx would have never succeeded because the government would only be addressing immediately necessary costs versus making investments for future progress. Gingrich pointed audience members toward a related YouTube video called "FedEx vs. government bureaucracy," available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=15D3ElV1Jzw. (The video also includes some poignant talking points and a joke Gingrich made in his keynote address).

Now, thanks to investments in technology, FedEx (as well as UPS and others) can allow individuals to track their moving packages online. Why then, Gingrich asks, can't individuals have access to their unique electronic health records that are updated in real time? He says that his proposed Act could help make this concept a reality.

For more information on Gingrich's proposals, see the Center's website at Center of Health Transformation.

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By jsharar @ Friday, October 17, 2008 12:54 PM

In the old days, the patient had to review & approve the bill before the insurance company would process it. The insurance company could offer rewards as a percentage of savings that the patient finds as incentive to really look at the statements.

By Alana @ Wednesday, October 08, 2008 3:49 AM

Newt, here in HI we have most likely the best health program in America. Employers do have to participate, but our choice of care of excellent. Kaiser here is phenomenal providing prevention measures, healthy living, and electronic medical records...it's is so successful and communication is simple via their site. They have mastered the doctor/patient relationship.

Bill and Hillary came here with the Gores so Hillary could study our health system but it went right her head. Told a reporter that our system could never work in the mainland. We don't practice socialism here. That's the trip when Gore took the bike tour down from Mt. Haleakala, fell off his bike and landed in the hospital...

Your solution is a winner!!!!

By mweisser @ Saturday, October 04, 2008 7:04 AM

If you take the 13 southern states out of the picture (including Newts Georgia)the population that lives in the remaining 37 states has the best health of any population in the world. By any measure, the non-southern US population is far healthier than Scandinavia, Japan, and all those other countries that have "better" health than us.

We don't have a national health crisis; we have a regional health crisis, and until someone is honest enough to look at the numbers and admit that something needs tyo be done about the behavior of the 32% of the US population that lives in these southern states, we will be carrying on a meaningless debate.

In addition to the regional problem we have a behavioral problem. Curreently one-third of all hospital beds are occupied by geriatric patients of whom 40% are being treated for illness resulting from smoking, drinking or both.

Never mind what's going to happen to health care costs when the under-30 crowd, of whom 30% are now nmorbidly obese, reach their 50s (if they live that long.)

I know, I know. As good conswervatives we can't use thre government to "force" people to do anything, right? Wrong.

Why should I subsidize the costs of someone else's behavior? You can create all the paperless systems in the world, you can let everyone purchase their own health insurance, but the truth is that until or unless we create a system that stops rewarding people who want to eat, smoke and drink to excess, we won't really solve anything.

By walterrichard @ Wednesday, October 01, 2008 4:23 PM

Good idea re electronic medical records accessible by the patient and any health care providers.

A more fundamental change would be to get rid of employer and government-paid health insurance. When people get subsidized health insurance, just like when they get anything for nothing, they use more of it and they don't shop for price and quality nearly as much as if they had to pay for it.

As a result, there's far too little competition among health care providers and insurance companies and far too little scrutiny of insurance companies and providers by health care consumers.

Let employers provide a lump sum health insurance payroll supplement for a few years and then discontinue it altogether and pay whatever the competitive market demands in overall salary and wages.

Fold health care compensation into salary and force individual employees to shop for their own health care, even through employer negotiations with carriers if necessary. But make employees understand that it is THEIR money they are spending and that they really CAN get more for it if they put out a little effort.

Likewise with government. Give Medicare recipients a lump sum that they must use to procure health insurance and gradually phase out Medicare for new entrants over, say, a 20 year period.

Make people responsible for their own retirement health care and make them actually have to be responsible for their own lives instead of blindly being dependent upon an ungodly costly, and ultimately bankrupt, federal system.

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