Senior Fellow Newt Gingrich

There is but one force that can stop politicians from going over the cliff on health reform, and that's the American people. Poll after poll has shown that the more the American people learn about the emerging plans in Washington, the more they dislike them. And rightfully so. Every bill under discussion spends too much, creates ever more bureaucracy, raises taxes, and limits individual choice.

Yes, there are foundational problems with our health-care system. That's the reason I founded the Center for Health Transformation in 2003. We need a system that delivers more choices of greater quality at lower costs to every American. But more government is not the answer. The Center has developed solutions that empower individuals, introduce real competition and choice, and improve the way medical care is delivered.

The American people have long demanded reforms, but they demand the right reforms. Ones that save money, not spend more of it; changes that create more choices, not fewer; improvements that lower costs, not raise them. Democrats would be wise to listen to the American people. That may take time. It did with the debate in the late 1980s over Medicare catastrophic coverage and its ultimate repeal. Perhaps a similar kind of outcome may occur if the Democratic plans are as egregious as they look now. Whatever the outcome, Democratic leaders will fail to listen to the American people at their own peril.

Newt Gingrich is a senior fellow at AEI.