Gingrich in 2006: Romneycare is 'Exciting' and 'Has Tremendous Potential'
By: Avik Roy, Forbes Magazine
Lest you think that Ron Paul is the only Republican Presidential candidate with newsletter problems, Brody Mullins and Janet Adamy of the Wall Street Journal have unearthed one by Newt Gingrich, also flagged by Andrew Kaczynski. The since-redacted April 2006 newsletter from Newt Gingrich's Center for Health Transformation contains a section called "Newt Notes," in which Gingrich writes that "the most exciting development of the past few weeks is what has been happening up in Massachusetts. The health bill that Governor Romney signed into law this month has tremendous potential to effect major change in the American health system."
Gingrich writes that he and his colleagues "agree entirely with Governor Romney and Massachusetts legislators that our goal should be 100% insurance coverage for all Americans." He strongly endorses the individual mandate: "The individual mandate requires those who earn enough to afford insurance to purchase coverage, and subsidies will be made available to those individuals who cannot afford insurance on their own. We agree strongly with this principle."...
... However, Gingrich expressed enthusiasm for the overall concept of Romneycare. "While the Commonwealth's plan will naturally endure tremendous scrutiny from those who assert that the law will not work as intended, Massachusetts leaders are to be commended for this bipartisan proposal to tackle the enormous challenge of finding real solutions for creating a sustainable health system."...
