Gingrich to join McDonnell in Richmond to talk about health care

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich will join Gov. Bob McDonnell, a fellow Republican, in Richmond next Friday to talk about "Creating a 21st Century Intelligent Health System in Virginia."

The event will be sponsored by the Center for Health Transformation, launched in 2003 as a project of Gingrich's consulting firm. It will take place at MeadWestvaco, a top contributor to McDonnell, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, a non-partisan tracker of money in politics.

This spring, McDonnell signed a bill that will make it illegal for the state to require citizens to purchase health care. Later, the state challenged the constitutionality of the federal health-care law.

Gingrich was a strong supporter of McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) during the election, helping them raise hundreds of thousands of dollars at fundraisers.