Gingrich criticizes Dirigo Health plan

SOUTH PORTLAND - Former Georgia Republican congressman Newt Gingrich on Wednesday likened the state's Dirigo Health program to a car with three flat tires, saying if it isn't fixed, the program, like the car, can't go forward.

Speaking at a fundraiser attended by more than 200 people at the Sable Oaks Marriott, Gingrich said the state is pumping taxpayer money into a failed program and needs to find a replacement.

"Look at its cost, look how many people it's covering, look at the fact that you have actually had a larger increase in the uninsured than most states," Gingrich said.

The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives was in Maine to speak at the Maine Heritage Policy Center's Freedom and Opportunity Luncheon.

Gingrich's criticism of Democratic Gov. John Baldacci's Dirigo Health program drew applause from the crowd. Conservatives have regularly criticized the program, designed to provide health insurance to the state's 130,000 uninsured and cut Maine's health care costs.

Gingrich, whose name often appears among potential Republican presidential candidates, spoke on topics ranging from health care reform and economic policy to an insider's view on party politics.

Gingrich said he is in favor of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a measure on Maine's Nov. 7 ballot that would limit spending at the local and state levels by tying increases to specific growth rates like inflation and population change.

"I think it is such a good idea that I hope we can actually get a parallel bill introduced in Washington next year, to create an American Taxpayer Bill of Rights, to put a straitjacket on the federal government's (economic) growth," Gingrich said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Chandler Woodcock and Mary Adams, the Garland activist who spearheaded the referendum drive for TABOR, attended the speech.

Under TABOR, spending and fee hikes over the set limit would require a two-thirds approval from a governing body, such as a city council. The increases would then need the approval of a majority of voters. The proposal's language was originally drafted by the Maine Heritage Policy Center.

Gingrich served in Congress 20 years and was one of the creators of the so-called "Contract with America," which helped Republicans gain a majority in the U.S. House in 1994.

Jon Crasnick, executive director of Democracy Maine, said in a prepared statement that Gingrich does not share Maine's values. The nonprofit group opposes TABOR. "Maine has a tradition of sending moderate, compassionate leaders to Washington, people who are thoughtful and fair," it said.

Hilary Schneider, policy director for the advocacy group Consumers for Affordable Health Care, characterized Gingrich's remarks as "misleading and misusing data just for political purposes."

Michael Solomon said he supports Gingrich's idea of a free-market approach to health care. "If someone else is paying the bill, people tend to be cavalier and irresponsible," Solomon said.

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