Newt Gingrich Addresses U.S. Health Care System Reform in Oregon

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 30 Apr 2005 - 1:00 PDT

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga) on Thursday said that the implementation of a national electronic health records system and other reforms to the U.S. health care system could improve patient care and reduce Medicaid costs, the... Oregonian reports. In an interview before a breakfast in Portland, Ore., Gingrich said, "A centralized-command bureaucracy, third-party-payer, acute-care-provider-centered system that uses paper is hopeless." Gingrich has recommended a larger focus on "prevention and wellness education" and less use of "crisis care" in the health care system, according to the Oregonian. In addition, Gingrich has said that the implementation of a national EHR system could improve communication among health care providers and health insurers. Luis Machuca -- CEO of Kryptiq, an Oregon-based company that manufacturers an electronic communications system for health care providers, health insurers and patients -- said that a national EHR system could reduce annual U.S. health care costs by $80 billion or more. Kryptiq, one of the sponsors of the breakfast, is a member of the Center for Health Transformation, a think tank founded by Gingrich (Hogan, Oregonian, 4/22).

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