Newt Gingrich headlines healthcare seminar

KSDK -- A former speaker of the House was in St. Louis talking to lawmakers, touring local hospitals and addressing healthcare professionals about health care reform.

Republican Newt Gingrich started focusing on healthcare reform after he retired from Congress.

Gingrich said he believes change is necessary, but President Obama's plan won't work. He thinks one of the biggest problems with the current system is the amount of fraud. He said the government wastes between $70 and $120 billion a year on Medicare and Medicaid fraud. If that could be cut out, Gingrich believes the system would already be in better shape.

The other key point Gingrich emphasized was the importance of wellness and prevention. The seminar was at Delta Dental of Missouri, so he also focused on the importance of dental health in the future system.

Gingrich does not think Congress will pass the current bill before lawmakers leave for summer break, but if they want to take step forward, he said both sides have to work together.

During the speech, Gingrich was asked to point out a country that already has a good model of national healthcare. He said none of the current systems are ideal and American health care is already superior in some ways to Canada and European systems, but there's room for improvement.

NewsChannel 5's Kasey Joyce spoke with Gingrich after his speech, click on the video link to the right to watch the entire interview. Topics discussed include: healthcare, who may represent the Republican party in the 2012 election and if President Obama a U.S. citizen?