At a town hall in Derry, NH this afternoon, GOP presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich admitted that the Affordable Care Act — which he seeks to repeal — has been successful in extending coverage to young people who would have otherwise gone uninsured.

Pressed by an attendee about reports that at least 600,000 young adults are now obtaining coverage through their parents’ plans until they turn 26 as a result of the Affordable Care Act, Gingrich conceded that the ACA does include 200 pages of effective provisions. He insisted, however, that Congress should first repeal the law and “take the 200 pages and pass them later”:

Q: I just read this morning in Forbes, I think, that over 600,000 people newly insured in the first quarter of just 2011 and most of those were young people who previously had no insurance. So I’m just wondering, what’s bad about that?

GINGRICH: Look, if you take a 2,800 page bill, you can find 200 pages that are okay. The other 2,600 are a disaster. And the parts that are okay, we can look at after we repeal Obamacare and we can decide whether or not to pass them as free-standing legislation. But I would always insist on passing the entire bill, because I don’t trust the Washington bureaucracy to tell us which part of the bill they’re going to repeal.

Q: But this is the largest health insurance companies reporting this in just the first quarter.

GINGRICH: That’s right. That particular piece there is nothing wrong with. I didn’t say there is anything wrong with that. I’m happy to concede out of 2,800 pages, at least 200 are good. But the bill overall is a disaster and we’re better off to take the 200 pages and pass them later, separately, having gotten rid of Obamacare.

Watch it:

At the event, Gingrich also laid out his own vision for health care, but did not specifically say that he would maintain the above dependent coverage provision or any other consumer protection.

Instead, Gingrich reiterated a “free-market approach” to health care that sounds a lot like Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) failed campaign health care proposal. He promised to equalize the tax treatment of employer and non-group plans and provide tax credits for individuals and families to buy insurance on the individual market. Gingrich would allow employers to buy individual insurance for their workers “instead of non-portable group insurance” and “extend health savings accounts throughout the health care system.” Everyone in Medicare, Medicaid, and employer-sponsored coverage “should be able to choose a health care savings account as part of their coverage, if the want it,” he said.

With House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) Medicare privatization scheme essentially dead, policy wonks are worried that his draconian cuts to the Medicaid program could be seen as an area for bipartisan consensus. Recall that Ryan aims to repeal health reform’s expansion in Medicaid coverage and transform the program’s matching rate financing structure — under which the federal government pays 50 to 75 percent of each state’s Medicaid costs — into a block grant that would pay states less than projected costs. Federal spending on Medicaid would fall by $1.4 trillion from 2012 to 2021 and so states would be forced to either make-up the shortfall in funding or limit eligibility and benefits.

A Kaiser Family Foundation study recently found that up to 44 million Americans could potentially lose their health insurance and now a Kaiser poll discovers that the cuts also face steep public opposition:

About 60 percent of Americans want Congress to keep Medicaid in its current form with the federal government guaranteeing coverage and setting minimum benefits for states to follow, according to the survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Just over half said they didn’t want to see funds cut. [...]

The poll found public support for Medicaid was similar to that of Medicare and Social Security — two programs whose longstanding public support has made them nearly untouchable by politicians.

Just 13 percent of Americans say they would support major reductions in Medicaid spending as part of Congress’ efforts to reduce the deficit, the Kaiser survey found. That compares to 10 percent supporting major reductions in Medicare and Social Security.

Strong public support of Medicaid appears a dividend of many Americans either receiving assistance from the program or knowing a family member or friend who has. While 56 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid at one time, about 69 million are enrolled at some point during the year as people go in and out of the program.

Other polls have shown that Medicaid — which is still perceived as a program for the poor — usually ranks third in public support after Medicare and Social Security. But given the recession, Americans’ greater reliance on the program, and its increasing expenditures on seniors and people with disabilities, it could be on its way to achieving the kind of protected status that Medicare enjoys.