CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo (KMOX) -- Two of the biggest names in partisan politics squared off over national health care reform in southern Missouri last night.
But former GOP house speaker Newt Gingrich says there are some areas of agreement, between himself and his opponent, former Democratic party chairman Howard Dean. "I think the current system is a mess, I think it is ridiculously expensive," Gingrich told the audience of about 2,000 at Southeast Missouri State University last night. "I think it is ridiculous to have this many people without insurance."
For his part, Dean said he does not think that the so-called public option for health insurance, should be forced on anyone or any state."But I am making the argument, that Americans who have a different view of the government than the Speaker has, should be able to choose a government program if they have more confidence in it," Dean said in his opening remarks.
And while they agreed that health care reform must occur, they differed sharply over how that change should be accomplished. Gingrich told the crowd that the government's current attempts at providing health care have been rife with corruption and lax oversight. "Our estimate was that in Medicaid and Medicare combined, there is between $70 and $120 billion in theft," Gingrich said. "It's stealing."
But Dean pointed the finger of blame and doubt in a different direction, and he didn't have to look far for an example. "I don't buy the idea that government is composed of incompetent bureaucrats who simply run up all kinds of bills," Dean said. "And, look, who were the people who caused the greatest financial meltdown since the Great Depression? They weren't government bureaucrats . It was the people on Wall Street who were crooks."
Dean said that the focus on the public option in health care reform, while important, masks the larger economic issues. "There's a lot more to this than the uninsured," Dean said. "This is about hard working people who can't afford to get sick. 61-percent of all the bankruptcies in the United States, have health care as a contributing factor."
Gingrich was quick to say that he wasn't going to defend the Bush administration or the current Republican party leadership, who he says failed to come up with a viable alternative plan. But he cautioned that the saving promised by Democratic leaders in their reform bill were of the smoke-and-mirrors variety. "Governor Dean cites how inexpensive Medicare is, in terms of its administrative costs, which is absolutely true," Gingrich said. "The reason it is so inexpensive is that it doesn't administer anything, it just pays checks."
Listen to Newt Gingrich's opening statement at SEMO debate (6:27/mp3)
Listen to Howard Dean's defense of public option (3:36/mp3)
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