Medicaid/Medicare

Eye of Newt

Ever wonder what Newt Gingrich is up to?  You may be surprised to learn that he’s working to change healthcare in the U.S.  Mr. Gingrich has founded the Center for Health Transformation.  On the Consumer Health World Blog, Gingrich proposes dividing Medicaid into 3 different programs.

  1. Capabilities Program – This program would help both Americans with disabilities and those with work-related or other injuries lead the fullest possible lives. The program should provide incentives to people with disabilities to be productive, rather than threatening them with a loss in benefits if they get a job.”
  2. Program for the Healthy Poor – Poor individuals should be offered vouchers for health savings accounts that sensitize them to the benefits of prevention, wellness and early detection.”
  3. Elderly care – Gingrich proposes legislation would create a program to serve the elderly that reintegrates the family back into their care. The current system, for example, prevents a daughter whose mother is in an assisted-living facility from contributing financially to her mother’s care without losing all Medicaid coverage. This either-or mentality is anti-family and leaves the recipient with a lower quality of life.