we are pushing forward now with the next hour of "cnn newsroom" with kyra phillips! >> tony, thanks so much. holy war in will low springs. small town north carolina allegedly underground to a terror cell. we're pushing forward on the charges and the suspects and one stunned community. and you don't have to be over 50 to care about health care, but if you are, you do. and you've got president obama's number. so, call him at his tele-town hall live at the aarp this hour. hello, everyone, i'm kyra phillips, live at the cnn headquarters in atlanta. you're live in the "cnn you're live in the "cnn newsroom." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com well, everybody gets sick and nobody wants to go broke getting well, but when it comes to so-called stakeholders in the health care debate, nobody's more invested than folks in their 50s, 60s, and beyond. thus, president obama's latest

town hall at the d.c. headquarters of the senior advocacy group aa rcrp. tomorrow he speaks in raleigh, north carolina, and later in bristol, virginia. but let's go ahead and start with the trip, of course, to washington, d.c. it's historic to the aarp. despite the group's well-known clout, no other sitting president has ever come by there. aarp members have expressed a lot of skepticism and fear in recent town halls. aarp is the most powerful lobby, 40 million members all across the u.s. you know, the members there are extremely concerned about skyrocketing medication costs and also pre-existing costs -- or pre-existing conditions. now, the next stop we told you about will be tomorrow morning. that's the town hall in broughton high school, in raleigh, north carolina. north carolina viewed as a key battleground in the state. moderate democrats could be persuaded.

major players in the health care industry are there, including glaxosmithkline. then tomorrow afternoon the president's going to actually head to bristol, virginia. he's going to have his health care town hall at the kroeger supermarket there, the united food and commercial workers international union backs the president and his call for the public health care insurance option. the union actually gave more than $1.8 million to democratic candidates back in 2008. now, today's event starts at 1:30 eastern, and you'll see it live right here on cnn. now, putting more cops on the streets, the obama administration is doling out $1 billion in federal stimulus money to help states and cities do just that. the announcement made just a short time ago in philly, by vice president joe biden and attorney general, eric holder. >> it's just astounding to me how much we take for granted what you do. and thankfully how much you take for granted what you do, because you just do it.

you get up and you do it every day. but i want to tell you something, every one of these governors here and the mayor here genuinely appreciates it. >> now, the grant money will go to about 1,000 cities, big and small, but four big ones, new york, houston, seattle, and pittsburgh, won't get a piece of that action. the justice department determined other places needed the money more. now, in just about an hour, the state of california should claw its way out of the red, four whole feeks into fiscal 2010. governor arnold schwarzenegger expected to sign a budget that makes up a $26 billion deficit, but not until he cuts a little deeper with his line item veto. the spending plan is a painful mix of cuts and offsets and affecting education, welt fair, health, prisons and parks. you saw it here live, an almost party line vote in the senate judiciary committee in favor of sonia sotomayor for the united states supreme court.

13-6. all 12 of the panel's democrats plus republican lindsey graham voting yea, and the other six republicans voting no. here's graham's rationale for bucking his party's opposition. >> we're 200 and something years old as a nation. this is the first latina woman in the history of the united states to be selected for the supreme court. now, that is a big deal. i would not have chosen her, but i understand why president obama did. i gladly give her my vote, because i think she meets the qualification test that was used in scalia and ginsburg. >> cnn's brianna keilar joins me now to push the nomination forward. brianna, why was graham the only republican to vote for sotomayor? >> reporter: well, you heard him say there, kyra, he wouldn't have chosen her, but he's been saying all along, elections have

consequences. now, what does that mean? well, he's saying that president obama won the presidential election, he gets to appoint whom he wants to the u.s. supreme court. but the other republicans, kyra, said they weren't convinced that sonia sotomayor isn't going to incorporate her personal feelings and opinions to the supreme court bench. boil it all down, and they are convinced when it comes to the ambiguous cases on the hot-button issues that he will come down on the side of abortion rights and against gun rights and so on. so, six of them opposed her nomination. democrats, for their part, as you can imagine, kyra, saying that's not how she will be. if you look at her record, it's very much in the mainstream, but this is certainly almost a total party-line vote, kyra. >> well, what's the next step? and how and when will this get to the full senate? >> reporter: we're expecting this goes to the full senate next week. so, we're expecting there to be a lot of debate. you'll hear a lot of senators weighing in. and then we're expecting there's

going to be a vote. certainly the anticipation here is, kyra, that sonia sotomayor will be confirmed, and she will be the first latina to sit on the supreme court. >> all right. brianna keilar, we'll follow it. thank you so much. the human costs of war, what the british military pays wounded soldiers who have lost body parts in iraq and afghanistan. we know why we're here. toto build tomorrow's technology iin amazing ways.@w and reshape the science of aerospace... forever. around the globe, the people of boeing... @w are working together -- for the dreams of generations to come. that's why we're here.

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well, you knew this was coming. veterans that might exposed to hiv because of va equipment, are looking to get some justice. better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways. to help me breathe better all day long. and it's not a steroid. announceit keeps my airways.

daniel patrick boyd, he's a drywall contractor. to the feds, he's a terrorist plotting to kill people abroad. at his lakeside home near raleigh, north carolina, boyd allegedly trained his two sons and four other men to carry out a violent jihad or holy war. all seven were arrested yesterday. the law is looking for the eighth. to join us is our affiliate from

wral. what can you tell us about the eighth person that is still out there? >> kyra, we have a little bit of information right now. federal prosecutors are looking for that eighth person. they have not released a name. but they say this person is a u.s. citizen who went to pakistan in october, to engage in violent jihad, meaning to murder, kidnap and maim others. daniel boyd, as you said, is named as the ringleader. he also goes by the same of saifullah. he along with his son and fourers this are already charged. they've traveled to georgia, israel and pakistan to support terrorist activities. they were heavily armed and trained this summer near the north carolina/virginia border. this morning the muslim american society read a statement on behalf of daniel boyd's wife, sabrina. >> charges have notsu

substantiated. just because something is said in the media does not make it so. i have been raised -- i have raised my sons to be good people and we are a good family. indictments always seem factual in their appearance, but to rush to judgment is not a part of the process. and we kindly ask for our right to defense on the charges alleged by my family. >> now, boyd had reportedly joined up with afghan fighters back in the late '80s, who were at war with the soviets at the time. his wife said in that statement, that her husband, she felt, was supporting the u.s. government which supported afghanistan in that war. daniel boyd and his brother, charles, were also working back in pakistan along with afghan refugees back in the early '90s. kyra? >> what more can you tell us about boyd? we understand there are charges against him in pakistan as well. >> there were, yes. back in the early '90s, there were a lot of newspaper articles and magazine articles written about daniel boyd and his

brother charles. they were convicted of robbing a bank for the equivalent of $400,000. and they were sentenced to have a hand and a foot severed as punishments until the verdict was overturned. their lawyers say the charges stem from a bank teller who promised to cash a check on the black market for a higher exchange rate, kyra? >> kelcey carlson, thanks so much. side stepping a tough question on the future of iraq. defense secretary, robert gates, did just that after arriving in baghdad today. nuri al maliki suggested last week that he might ask that some american troops stay beyond 2012 when all are scheduled to withdraw. gates' response, the u.s. will cross that bridge the next year or the year after. a major focus of his visit to see how american troops are handling the shift from combat to support now that the security is in iraqi hands. washington's main ally in iraq, britain, will withdraw its remaining forces by friday. but british troops are locked in a tough fight against the taliban in afghanistan.

a new poll shows that a majority of the british public is fed up with that war. cnn's paula newton is in london with the latest. paula? >> you know, kyra, the tide just turning on that. now a slight majority saying they want the withdrawal of british troops from afghanistan right now. and that changes from a poll just a few weeks ago, and there's really no mystery as to why, kyra, this has been the deadliest month for british forces in afghanistan since the campaign started eight years ago. 22 have now died. that brings the total to 191, a few more than were killed in the iraq campaign. we're turning today, today, kyra, four soldiers and, of course, all their personal stories are absolutely heartbreaking. one specific was corporal joseph etchles. people describe him as a born leader. absolutely fearless. he left a daughter whose name is kyra and a wife and what was incredible to me about this one,

kyra, he was 22. he had already served three tours of duty in afghanistan. he had served the majority of his adult life in afghanistan. and that is the kind of incredible dedication that you have from these very young, very competent soldiers, and he really took great pride in his contacts with the afghan people. according to a lot of the tributes left on a website. >> you know, you see that picture, you think 22 years old, and it's heart wrenching. you hear about the family. but there is one thing that they do in britain, and they do it very well, paula, and you've covered it for us before. they really have incredible homecomings for the fallen, and they use that expression, homecoming. i know it's usually a positive thing when people come home alive, but that is how they refer to it as they are coming home. they served their -- their country. and it's -- it's very different from what we see here in the u.s. i mean, the parades are remarkable. all the people that line up when they don't even know these young men. >> happened again today, kyra.

four of them repatriated. i can tell you what happens in that town is they will -- that they will all line up yet again. i'm telling you, your heart -- your heart really skips a beat whenever you hear another soldier has been killed. because you know the people in the town no matter what the weather will be out there again. and what's been so affecting, kyra, when i was out there seeing the core dteges going through, they can hear people crying. and i think just the collective grief of this country has been so amplified by the recent casuallies, you wonder sometimes if the government is not able to pinpoint to really tell the people what the mission is about and what the exit strategy is to have a modicum of support for it. the majority of say they want a withdrawal, 60% say support more troops and resources going into

afghanistan. >> hmm. and then there's this issue, you know, about compensation, the compensation plan for injured soldiers. it's sort of -- you want to see it.m compensated -- compensated, and it is kind of a bizarre thing to read. >> it is absolutely bizarre. and i think a lot of the families have complained that they don't like it. but what happened today, we're just watching the very poignant pictures of the soldiers coming home in coffins and the government, the defense ministry today, in the highest court of the land, appealing a ruling that basically puts some compensation levels for two specific soldiers much higher than they were before, and they're appealing that. and, you know, a lot of the families are saying, look, this is car-crash politics, why are we doing? it but to boot, if you look at some of the levels, level 15, loss of a toe other than the big

toe and you get 1,900 bucks. level four -- there are 15 levels, by the way, i'm giving you a few of them. level four, the loss of both hands, you get $284,000 in compensation. and, of course, the one that you hope no family is affected by, is a brain injury with persistive vegetative state, and the payout is $939,000. and, you know, kyra, every country has their own formula, but the families are saying, look, whatever it is, some of them are generous and some are far too low. the ones that are far too low do not take into consideration what happens in later years to people who suffer these injuries. but i think it's the actual price tag. most countries -- and i know they do this in the united states as well in terms of looking at levels and trying to look at each individual case. now, the british government says, look, we do look at individual cases. in these two cases we felt the compensation was too high, so we're going to court to appeal it. but you can imagine what people are thinking out there, kyra, it's not like they have a lot of soldiers out there, that's why

the man we talked about earlier had to serve three tours of duty in afghanistan. they are saying, look, aren't these guys and their sacrifice worth more than just pinning a price tag on their injuries? it's a debate that will continue in this country for months to come. >> yeah, they should be given whatever they need to try and heal from whatever has impacted them and their lives. paula, appreciate it. thanks so much. well, movement on the story that we've been all over the last few months. thousands of veterans may be exposed to hiv and hepatitis thanks to va clinics that didn't sterilize their colonoscopy equipment properly. a lawyer in nashville now plans to ask the va to pay out disability benefits and damages to about 60 veterans who have tested positive for either or both diseases. he's also helping clients who went through emotional hell when their first test results came back positive, but ended up being wrong. and this is what the va told us in a statement. the department took aggressive action when a problem related to the reprocessing of the

equipment was discovered, and all potentially affected veterans, regardless of risk or cause of infection, have, and will, continue to be informed of their legal right to submit disability complaints on a count of va negligence. we deeply regret this incident occurred and continue to use this experience to improve our services and quality of care. that statement straight from the va. well, are cops closing in on michael jackson's doctor, the very latest on the investigation including searches going on right now at his vegas home and office.

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well, trying to beat the heat any way they can in portland, oregon. the temperature hit 102 there yesterday. and with air-conditioning in short supply, folks there headed outdoors to splash around, as you can see. the whole pacific northwest is actually sizzling in that heat wave. what about the temps? 103 in vancouver, washington, and 100 in walla walla. when will the heat end? >> there's a big ridge of high pressure in the west. that's where the temperatures are going to be the highest. it is hot.

the cold air is sinking into the midwest, but it is certainly not getting here into the parts of the upper areas of the pacific northwest. put it into motion here. what we'll have for you here, this red zone here is literally all the way from canada and vancouver all the way down into northern california. now, san francisco, you're not in. san francisco, you'll be 61 today, but you get inland, you get away from the water, you get into oakland and the east bay, it is going to be hot there as well. but 105 for a heat index, they just don't expect that kind of weather in pacific northwest. and, in fact, most people that i know there don't even have air-conditioning because you just don't need it. you don't need it 365 days a year, but you needed it for the past couple of days for sure. across the deep south, showers from florida all the way back down across new orleans and the big box right there. that is the tornado watch box. we had a tornado rotating earlier about 11:00 central time, but now that that's completely gone, not so worried about that. but there's going to be an area of heavy rainfall here and i'm talking about 5 to 7 inches of rainfall in places that can use the rain, but not all in 24 to

48 hours. that may be the problem. if comes down too fast across mississippi and alabama, the arklatex, we could see flash flooding tonight here, kyra. >> thanks, chad. what's happening in las vegas may push forward the investigation into michael jackson's death. police and federal agents on the scene at dr. conrad murray's home. another team is at his home in vegas. he was his personal physician and the one that found him unconscious the day that he died. let's get the latest from cnn's ted rowlands. he's been working the story for us. he joins us live from las vegas. ted, what do you know? go ahead, ted. >> reporter: well, kyra, we're outside of dr. murray's las vegas home, and inside right there right now there are dea agents, yeah, kyra, we are outside dr. murray's home right now. and inside right now are dea agents, police and local police

and then also los angeles police. they've served a search warrant here. and as you mentioned, also another search warrant on dr. conrad murray's clinic in las vegas. this comes on the heels of last week's search warrants which they served at conrad murray's houston clinic. in that search warrant, when it came back and was filed with the court, it said that they were looking for materials that would support a manslaughter case. and that is what we expect is going on right now at these two locations, as well, according to a source familiar with the investigation, that they are looking for documents and other information pertaining to the ongoing investigation into michael jackson's death. now, we're still waiting for the los angeles coroner to issue that final report. we're expecting that that could happen at some time late this week. and when that happens and a cause of death is -- is designated by the coroner, at that point you may see the investigation move forward on this side of it as well.

yesterday we reported that conrad murray, according to a source close to the investigation, did provide michael jackson with propofol, that very powerful drug that is normally used only inside a hospital and a clinic. and now what you're seeing here in las vegas is an extension of that ongoing investigation, with agents inside his home now. >> all right, we'll follow the investigation. ted rowlands there in las vegas, nevada, thank you so much. meanwhile live pictures, once again, once again, from washington, d.c.,. as you know, we're waiting for the president of the united states to step up to the podium there for another health care town hall at the aarp headquarters. this is the first sitting president to visit aarp headquarters. you know how powerful this lobby is, 40 million members. and extremely concerned about skyrocketing medication costs and pre-existing conditions coverage. we will take the q and a as soon as it starts.

president obama about to make his latest pitch for health care reform, this time to a very special interest, that would be americans age 50 and older, a group with deep pockets and deep concerns. the president is holding what's called a tele-town hall,

answering phoned-in or e-mailed questions in to the washington headquarters of the aarp. on capitol hill, the conservative democrats, the so-called blue dogs, are mulling a proposal from house leaders that speaks to their complaints about costs. on the senate side, a bipartisan group from the finance committee is said to be inching toward an agreement but isn't there yet. both chambers are due to start a monthlong recess next week. once again we're waiting for president obama's town hall, we'll let you know as soon as it starts. taking down the temperature with a heated controversy with some cold beers. the white house said the big sit-down between president obama, professor henry gates and sergeant james crowley will happen thursday evening. the white cambridge cop arrested the black harvard scholar nearly two weeks ago setting off claims of racial bias. president obama, of course, fanning theflames. now they'll chill at a picnic table at the oval office, family and friends invited as well.

the massacre two years ago at virginia tech is being amended to correct factual errors. that after families of the victims asked tim kaine to reopen the claims. the counseling center recently found mental records of the shooter seung-hui cho at his home. the staff that wrote the report is already investigating that issue. cho committed suicide after killing 32 students and faculty members in a dormitory and classroom building. the victims' family say they'll still be dealing with too much bureaucracy, quote, in their simple quest for answers. the anti-abortion activist charged of killing the abortion doctor is entering a guilty plea today. scott roeder is charged with killing tiller in the church where he served as an usher. the first usher was the first to testify at the preliminary hearing. he said he saw roeder before the

murder and described the point-blank hit. dr. tiller was one first u.s. providers that provided late-term abortions. he'd been getting death threats for decades. another set of revelations today from outside buffalo, new york. the caulk voice transcripts showed the copilot of the colgan air flight complained about being six. details from allan chernoff. >> reporter: as colgan air flight's 3407 prepared for takeoff from newark, copilot rebecca shaw sniffed in the cockpit telling marvin renslow, i'm ready to be in the hotel room. shaw had thrown as a passenger throughout the night from seattle to newark, new jersey, for the flight from buffalo. if i felt like this when i was home, there's no way i would have come all the way out here, but now as well that i'm out here -- >> you might as well, he responded. >> reporter: there's no evidence that shaw's illness caused the crash and air safety experts say there's no way to know for sure

whether shaw was unfit to fly. >> every pilot has the right and the obligation to exercise their common sense and good judgment. >> reporter: but colgan air puts blame on shaw, saying flying fatigued or sick is not an option. every colgan air pilot has an absolute obligation as a professional to show up for work fit for duty. >> i don't understand -- >> reporter: robin tulsma who lost her husband on the flight faults the airline. >> it was a complete recipe for disaster from the moment that aircraft took away from the jetway. >> reporter: captain marvin renslow was at the controls, not the co-pite copilot. the ntsb released transcripts from gulfstream academy where renslow had studied pilots. the academy director told the ntsb renslow's performance at the academy was above average. indeed, it was only latter in his career that renslow repeatedly failed test rides, some of which he failed to disclose to colgan air.

allan chernoff, cnn, new york. take you live now to washington, d.c., the site of the aarp headquarters. the president of the united states -- or, the president of the united states, rather, going to be stepping up to the mike in just a minute. his latest pitch for health care reform. and obviously, this is a very special interest group as you know. 40 million members. and, you know, if you're 50 and up, you're going to want to pay close attention. the president's at aarp right now getting ready to introduce the president. let's go ahead and listen. >> -- sadly are becoming too commonplace. for some skyrocketing health care costs have forced them into bankruptcy. for others, losing a job has definitely meant losing their health care coverage, putting not only themselves but their families at risk. and too many businesses are being forced to drop their health plans or to close their doors. so, those who are on medicare

have told us that how the part "d" doughnut hole is actually hurting them. some of them are finding that their costs are so high that they've actually stopped taking their medications completely. and as our guests in the audience as well as on the phone will no doubt tell you today, people who have insurance coverage are paying more and oftentimes getting less. but as much as their needs -- needs are necessary to get addressed, many of our members who called in to the town halls are expressing confusion, skepticism and even fear about what congress has been doing on health care reform legislation. our members have been clear about what they want. they've told us that if they're happy with their health care coverage and their doctor, they'd like to keep it that way, period. those between 50 and 64 who have had trouble getting coverage

have also told us that they're sick and tired of being told that they cannot get covered because of their age or a pre-existing condition. we've heard questions in other town halls that we've hosted like are they going to cut medicare so that my doctor will leave the program? or, will they ration our care so that it's because of my age? and finally, wiffle the government tell my doctor how to practice medicine? in short, what does this really mean to me, my family, and my parents? mr. president, this is your chance to answer some of those questions. you know that our members are listening. the nation's health care system is in need of positive change, and with your leadership, we look forward to working together with you and create a health care system that works for everyone. and with that, i want to turn to our ceo, barry rand.

>> well, thank you, jenny, for my introduction. and, mr. president, a warm welcome to aarp. we're pleased that you could join us today. get a chance to listen to our members and answer their questions. so, again, thank you very much. i also want to welcome all of you who are here on the phones and on the web and here in the audience today. to this tele town hall with president barack obama. i want to thank you for joining us. this is another way that aarp is reaching out to hear what you have to say about health care reform. now, there's a lot of misinformation about health care reform, even on what aarp stands for and what aarp supports. so, this town hall is part of an ongoing effort to debunk the myths and provide accurate

information for you and for our members that are on the phones and on the web. i want to make it clear that aarp has not endorsed any particular bill, any of the bills, that are being circulated around congress today and debated in congress today. we continue to work with the members on both sides of the aisle, and we continue to work with the administration to achieve what is right for health care reform. today, we want to hear from you. your stories, your concerns, your dreams, tell us about the challenges that you face, whether or not it's falling into the infamous doughnut hole on medicare part "b" or it's being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. what we believe in aarp is that all americans should have affordable health care choices, but our current system costs too much. it wastes too much.

it makes too many mistakes, and it gives us too little of the value of our dollar back. and as troubling as that sounds, if we don't act, it will only get worse. it will only get worse. now, we are here to make sure you get a chance to hear the answers to your questions. but, in fact, across the country, there are too many people who lack affordable, quality health care. and this is closing the door to their american dream. we have right now an historic opportunity to change that, to change our destiny. we have a chance for all americans to have affordable health care, to lower drug costs, to strengthen medicare, to improve the quality and the way care is delivered, and to gain real access to long-term care. during the august recess, you will find that members of

congress will be back in their districts, they'll be back in their home states, and they're anxious to hear from you. this is the time that your voice can make a difference. this is the time that you can tell how much we need health care reform. and the time to act is now. you can make a difference. together we can make sure that every american has access to affordable, quality health care. for our members and for the generations to come. and now i have the distinct honor to introduce the president of the united states, mr. barack obama. >> thank you! thank you. thank you so much. i am just going to provide some brief remarks, and then i want to hear from you. it is wonderful to be here

today. i want to thank mike for mad rating this discussion. i want to thank jenny and barry for their extraordinary leadership here at aarp. some of you may know that 44 years ago today, when i was almost 4 years old, after years of effort, congress finally passed medicare. our promise as a nation that none of our senior citizens would ever again go without basic health care. it was a singular achievement, one that has helped seniors live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. it's enhanced their financial security, and it's given us all the peace of mind to know that there will be health care available for us when we're in our golden years. today we've got so many dedicated doctors and nurses and other providers across america providing excellent care, and we want to make sure our seniors and all our people can access

that care. but we all know that right now we've got a problem that threatens medicare and our entire health care system, and that is the spiraling costs of health care in america today. as costs balloon, so does medicare's budget, and unless we act within a decade -- within a decade -- the medicare trust fund will be in the red. now, i want to be clear. i don't want to do anything that will stop you from getting the care you need, and i won't. but you know and i know that right now we spend a lot of money in our health care system that doesn't do a thing to improve people's health, and that has to stop. we've got to get a better bang for our health care dollar. and that's why i want to start by taking a new approach that emphasizes prevention and wellness, so instead of just spending billions of dollars on costly treatments when people get sick, we're spending some of those dollars on the care they need to stay well.

things like mammograms and cancer screenings and immunizations, commonsense measures that will save us billions of dollars in future medical costs. we're also working to computerize medical records, because right now too many folks wind up taking the same test over and over and over again. because their providers can't access previous results. or they have to relay their entire medical history, every medication they've taken, every surgery they've gotten every time they see a new provider. electronic medical records will help put an end to all of that. we also want to start rewarding doctors for quality, not just the quantity, of care that they provide. instead of rewarding them for how many procedures they perform or how many tests they order, we'll bundle payments so providers aren't paid for every treatment they offer with a chronic -- to a patient with a chronic condition like diabetes, but instead are paid for how are they managing that disease

overall. and we'll create incentives for physicians to team up and treat a patient better together, because we know that produces better outcomes. and we certainly won't cut corners to try to cut costs, because we know that doesn't work. and that's something that we hear from doctors all across the country. for example, we know that when we discharge people from the hospital a day early, without any kind of coordinated follow-up care, too often they wind up right back in the hospital a few weeks later. if we had just provided the right care in the first place, we'd save a whole lot of money and a lot of human suffering as well. and, finally, we'll eliminate billions in unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies in the medicare advantage program, giveaways that boost insurance company profits, but don't make you any healthier. and we'll work to close that doughnut hole in medicare part "b" that's costing so many folks so much money. drug companies as a consequence

of our reform efforts have already agreed to provide deeply discounted drugs, which will mean thousands of dollars in savings, for the millions of seniors paying full price when they can least afford it. all of this is what health insurance reform is all about. protecting your choice of doctor, keeping your premiums fair, holding down your health care and your prescription drug costs, improving the care that you receive. and that's what health care reform will mean to folks on medicare. and we've made a lot of progress over the last few months. we're now closer to health care reform than we ever have been before, and that's due in no small part to the outstanding team that you have here at aarp, because you've been doing what you do best, which is organize and mobilize and inform and educate people all across the country about the choices that are out there, pushing members of congress to put aside politics and partisanship and finding solutions to our health care challenges. i know it's not easy.

i know there are folks who will oppose any kind of reform, because they profit from the way the system is right now. they will run all sorts of ads that will make people scared. this is nothing that we haven't heard before. back when president kennedy and then president johnson were trying to pass medicare, opponents claimed it was socialized medicine. they said it was too much government involvement in health care, that it would cost too much, that it would undermine health care as we know it. but the american people and members of congress understood better. they ultimately did the right thing. and more than four decades later, medicare is still giving our senior citizens the care and security they need and deserve. with the aar. standing on the side of the american people, i'm confident that we can do the right thing once again. and pass health insurance reform and ensure that medicare stays strong for generations to come. so, i'm hoping that i can answer any questions that you have here today. i'm absolutely positive that we can make the health care system

work better for you, work better for your children, work better for your parents, work better for your families, work better for your businesses, work better for america. that's our job. so, thank you very much. >> much as it would be every broadcaster's dream to share the podium with the president of the united states, he has to get wired up for sound, so i'll start with a question that was e-mailed in before the program, which combines a couple factors that you spoke about, mr. president. he says, my brother's 56 and uninsurable. he could afford to buy insurance, but he can't get it because he has a pre-existing condition, and in his state there is not a high-risk pool. when the president's program start, will insurance companies be required to cover people with pre-existing conditions? will he be able to get insurance in the first phase of the plan,

even if he's willing to pay the full amount? >> the answer is yes. and so let me talk just a little bit about the kind of insurance reform that we're proposing as part of the broader reform package. number one, if you've got a pre-existing condition, insurance companies will still have to insure you. this is something very personal for me. my mother, when she contracted cancer, the insurance companies started suggesting, well, maybe this is a pre-existing condition. maybe you could have diagnosed it before you actually purchased your insurance. ultimately they gave in, but she had to spend weeks fighting with insurance companies while she's in the hospital bed writing letters back and forth just to get coverage for insurance that she had already paid premiums on. and that happens all across the country. we are going to put a stop to that. that's point number one. point number two, we're going to reform the insurance system so that they can't just drop you if you get too sick.

they won't be able to drop you if you change jobs or lose your job, as long as you're willing to pay your premiums. they are -- we're going to make sure that we eliminate sort of the lifetime cap that creates a situation a lot of times people get sick, then they find out the fine print says that at a certain point, they just stop paying or they'll pay for your hospitalization but they don't pay for your doctor, or they pay for your doctor but not your hospitalization. we want clear, easy-to-understand, straightforward insurance that people can purchase. so, that's point number one. point number two is in addition to those reforms, we want to make sure that we set up what's called a health insurance exchange so that anybody who wants insurance but can't get on it their job right now, they can go to this exchange. they can select a plan that works for them or their famil s families.

these are private-option plans. but we also want to have a public option that's in there, but whatever you select, you will get high-quality care get high quality care for a reasonable cost, the same way congress, members of congress are able to select from amen u of plans that they have available. if the plan that you select is still too expensive for your income, then we would provide you a little bit of help so that you could actually afford the coverage. so the idea behind reform is, number one, we reform the insurance company so they can't take advantage of you. number two, that we provide you a place to go to purchase insurance that is secure, that isn't full of fine print, that is actually going to deliver on what you pay for. number three, we want to make sure that you are getting a good bargain for your health care by reducing some of the unnecessary tests and costs that had raised

rates even if you have health insurance. your premiums have gone up three times faster than wages over the last ten years, your out-of-pocket costs have gone up about 62%, which moons that for people who aren't on medicare right now, people sets say 54 or 50 to 64, a lot of those folks are paying much higher premiums than they should be. hundreds or thousands of additional dollars that could be saved if we had a system that was more sense i believe than it is right now. >> we go to margaret in greenly, col ol for our first teletown call. go ahead, margaret. margaret, are you there? let me ask her question. she wants to keep her good coverage. will it continue with the new plan? >> here is a guarantee that i have made. if you have insurance that you

like, then heel be able to keep that insurance. if you have a doctor that you like, you will be able to keep your doctor. nobody is trying to change what works in the system. we are trying to change what doesn't work in the system. let me also address, i think, a misperception that has been out there, that somehow there is any discussion on capitol hill about reducing medicare benefits. nobody is talking about reducing medicare benefits. medicare benefits are there because people contributed into a system. it works. we don't want to change it. what we do want is to eliminate some of the waste that is being paid for out of the medicare trust fund that could be used more effectively to cover more people and to strengthen the system. so, for example, right now, we are paying about $177 billion

over ten years to insurance companies to subsidize them for participating in medicare advantage. now, insurance companies are already really profitable. so what we've said is, let's at least have some sort of competitive bidding process where these insurance companies who are participating, they are not being subsidized on the taxpayer's dime. if they have better services that they can provide to seniors, rather than through the traditional medicare program. they are free to participate. we shouldn't be giving them billions of dollars worth of subsidies. that's the kind of change that we want to see. that will strengthen medicare but nobody is talking about cutting medicare benefits. i just want to make that absolutely clear, because we have received some e-mails and some letters where people are concerned that that may happen. >> our operators, by the way, are telling us that we have

literally tons of questions from people worried about keeping the care they have. on the other hand, ali in texas, you have a concern on the other end. hi, ali. >> hello. >> go ahead. >> may i start now? >> yes. >> well, i am an aarp volunteer member. i support their position on health care reform. i want to thank president obama for making this a priority issue on his agenda also. my question is, there are so many negative ads and articles about the tremendous cost for health care reform that is being proposed by different congressional committees. what we don't hear is what the dollar amount would be if we do nothing. i think this is very important because people are scared by the trillions of dollars. i know if we do nothing for the

next ten years, health care will still keep on rising and i want to know if the president has any way of putting out some information as to what it would cost if we do nothing. >> i think this is a great question, ollie. let me be as specific as i can about the costs of doing nothing. i have already mentioned that health care costs are going up much faster than inflation. so your wages, your income, if you are lucky, right now, maybe they are going up 2% a year, maybe 3% a year. for a lot of people, they are not going up at all, because the economy is in such tough shape. your health care costs are going up 6%, 7% a year. some people are getting notices that their premium just went up 20%.

on that trajectory, your premiums will probably double again over the next ten years. they may go up faster than that. the cost of medicare are going to keep on rising a lot faster than tax revenues coming in which means the trust funds, we have more money going out than coming in, which makes that more unstable. we know that if we do nothing, we will probably end up seeing more people uninsured. we are already seeing 14,000 people lose their health insurance every day, 14,000 people. so the cost of doing nothing are trillions of dollars in costs over the next couple of decades, trillions. not billions. but trillions. without anybody getting any better care. so what we've said is, if we can control health care inflation, how fast costs are going up,

then not only can we stabilize the medicare trust fund. not only can we help save families money on their premiums, we can actually afford to provide coverage to the people who currently don't have health care. now, here is the problem, in order for us to save money. in some cases, we've got to spend some money up front. let me give you some very specific examples. health care i.t., it is the only area where you still have to fill out five different forms. when you go to the bank, you don't have to do that. you use your credit card, they will find you real quick an the billing is real easy, right? when you go into health care, you fill out pencil and paper and they zoe rocks it and give it to somebody else.

it's all stuffed with papers. nurses can't read the doctor's handwriting. for us to set up a system where they have like the cleveland hospital, the minute you take a test, it goes to all the doctors and all the specialists that you might deal with. you have one test instead of going back to the doctor again and again and again and have a bunch of different tests. that saves money. you have to get the computer equipment in the first place to do it. so, in some cases, we've got to spend some money on the front end. i also think that if we provide coverage for people who don't have health insurance right now, then they are going to be getting preventative care, screenings, so they don't end up in the emergency room with really expensive care that all of us are paying for, even though we don't know it. the average family is spending about $900 a year in higher

health care premiums because they are payingen directly for uncompensated health care. the insurance companies charge you a little more and hospitals and doctors are all charging i more because they are not getting reimbursed for people who don't have any care whatsoever. so what we have done is said, look, over ten years, the health care reform proposals to cover everybody would cost about a trillion dollars over ten years, about $100 billion a year. we spend $2 trillion every year on health care. this is just a fraction of what we spend. we are talking a trillion dollars over ten years, about $100 billion a year. about 60% of that can be paid for by taking money that's already in the system but isn't working to make you healthier. that can pay for about 60% of it. so really what we are talking about is another 30 to $40 billion every year to cover everybody and we are going to get most of that money back if

we are providing more prevention, more wellness, doctors and hospitals are being reimbursed more intelligently. over time, that investment will more than pay for itself. allie is exactly right. you get these stories where this is a trillion dollars here, a dri trillion dollars here, after a while, it starts being real money, even here in washington. i understand people being scared this is going to be way too costly. it is no the that costly if we start making changes right now. last point i would make, just to give you a sense of why i know that we can get savings in the system without over the long-term, spending more money. we spend about $6,000 per person more than any other industrialized nation on earth. $6,000 more than the people do in denmark or france or germany

or every one of these other country, spend at least 50% less than we do. they are just as healthy. i just had a doctor in the oval office who told me, it is not because they are healthier. it turns out, they are actually generally older and they smoke at a higher rate, so, in fact, their costs should be higher than ours. yet they are spending $6,000 per person less than we are. that's money out of your pocket. if you are already retired, it is money out of your pocket that could be going into the retirement fund instead of going to pay for your health care. if you are working right now, some of that money could be going into your paycheck instead of your health benefits right now. it is money that's being given away. we need to save it. that's why health reform is so important. >> we would like to welcome you to the aarp national teletown

hall. we welcome you. those of you on the tele-town hall, if you have a question, star 3 on your phone and it won't take you off the broadcast. let's go to illinois and talk with carolyn with her question. carolyn, you are on the tele-town hall. >> caller: thank you. hello, mr. president. from joliet. >> tell everybody in joliet i said hi. >> caller: i will. i came from our chapter meeting this morning and i asked questions. there were two big fears that came out. discussion. one had to do with the fear of losing a preferred insurance plan, which i think you have addressed to some extent this morning. >> right. >> caller: the other has to do with the knowledge that there will be billions of dollars of cuts in medicare over the years to accommodate the baby boomers. so the question is, does this

translate into dictation of what can and cannot be given to a senior in service, for example, will there be fewer hip and knee replacementes, even if i decide when i'm 80 that i want a hip replacement? am i going to be able to get that? am i going to be able to see a cardiologist if i have a heart condition or other specialists or is that all going to be primary care? i am calling it rationing of care. i am coining it that. >> i think it's an excellent question, carolyn i appreciate it. i do think this is a concern that people have generally. my interest is not in getting between you and your doctor, although, keep in mind right now, insurance companies are often getting between you and

your doctor. so it's not as if these choices aren't already being made. it is just they are being made by private insurance companies without any real guidance as to whether the decisions that are being made are good decisions to make people healthier or not. so what we've said is we just want to provide some guidelines to medicare and by extension the private sector about what works and what doesn't. some of you may have heard we wanted to set up what we're calling an imac, independent medical advisory committee, that would, on an annual basis, provide recommendations about what treatments work best and what gives you the best value for your health care dollar. this is modeled on something called medpac, which, jenny, who is sitting right next to me is currently on and gives terrific

recommendations every year about how we could improve care and reduce the number of tests and make sure that we're getting more generic drugs in the system if they work and are cheaper. all kinds of recommendations. they are just sitting on a shelf, unfortunately right now. we don't want to ration by dictating to somebody, you know what, we don't think that this senior should get a hip replacement. what we do want to be able to do is provide information to that senior and to her doctor about, this is the thing that is going to be most helpful to you in dealing with your condition. so let's say that person is diabetic. it turns out that if hospitals and doctors are providing reimbursements for a nurse practitioner or a social worker to work with that diabetic to

control their diet and their medication, then they may avoid having to get a foot amputation. that's a good outcome. by the way, that will save money. that saves medicare money. if we save money on medicare, that means that it is going to be more stable and more solvent over the long term. if i were -- look, i think i'm scheduled to get my aarp card in a couple years. is that right? >> any time you want one. >> i know i am automatically getting an associate member. so if i was thinking about medicare and making sure that i was secure, the thing that i would be most worried about right now is health care inflation keeps on going up and the trust fund, in ten years, is suddenly in the red.

now, congress has to make some decisions. are they going to put more money into medicare? especially giving the deficit and the debt we already have. or are they at that point going to start making decisions about cutting benefits but not based on any science or what's making people healthier? they are just going to start making it based on politics. what we are saying is that we can avoid that scenario by starting to make some good decisions now about how do we improve care, make the system more rational, make it work better. that will stabilize and save medicare over the long term. one last point, because i think carolyn also raised the issue of we are taking some money out of medicare. the only things that we are talking about have nothing to do with benefits. it has to do with things like sub s subsidizing insurance companies. we reimburse hospitals for the

amount of time that you are there without checking if they are doing a good job in the first place. they have no penalty if you go into the hospital. they are supposed to fix you. suddenly, you have to go back three weeks later, that hospital gets paid all over again. even though they didn't get it right the first time. if you got your car fixed at the mechanic and three weeks later, you had to go back and you had to pay again to get your car fixed all over again, you would be pretty mad, wouldn't you? yet, when it comes to health care, that happens all the time. that happens all the time and the hospital gets reimbursed for the second time or the third time, even though they didn't get it right the first time. so what we are saying is let's in senty vise the hospitals. >> we have been gio graphicily

in specific. let's go to jeanene. welcome. >> caller: hi, mr. president. i am concerned about affordability and pre-existing conditions i many glad to hear you say what you have. my family and i live in rural nebraska. my husband and i are both self-employed. he was originally denied because of a pre-existing condition and he is in a chips pool. we are paying $900 a month and we have an $8,000 deductible. we have done this for a year and a half and we are not alone. there are a lot of people that do this. >> jeanene, you are a prime candidate for the health care exchange that i just described, because essentially what you would be able to do is you could just go on line. you would be able to see a list

of participating insurers, which, by the way, is very important, because in most strits now, insurance companies are dominated or the insurance market is dominated by one or two insurers. so you don't va lot of choices. this way, you would have a lot of choices. they would have to compete on the basis of price but they would be abiding by a certain set of rules like, you can't exclude somebody for a pre-existing condition. so you could then select the plan that was best for you, do your own comparison shopping and if you qualified, then we would provide you a little bit of help on your premiums to reduce your costs. so that's what essentially we could pay for if we take some of these in efficiencies and the waste out of the system right

now. that would pay for you getting the kind of help you need and we have insurances in place to help you from getting scammed in the insurance market. the other reason we can drive you cost down is you would be part of a huge pool. part of the reason why large companies are typically able to offer lower insurance premiums for their employees than small companies is they have got a big pool. the federal government is a classic example. the federal health employees program is a pretty good deal, because you have got several million people who are part of it. that gives you a lot of bargaining power with the insurers. the exchange will provide that same market power to help negotiate with the insurers to drive prices down. the other thing that we do want to do, now, this is controversial. i understand some people are worried about this. we do think that it makes sense

to have a public option alongside the private option. so you could still choose a private insurer but we would also have a public plan that you could choose from that would be not for profit, wouldn't have, hopefully, some of the high admin sfra ti administrative costs and potentially more responsive to your needs at a lower cost. i think that helps keep the insurance companies honest. now, they have somebody to compete with. i have to say, the reason this has been controversial, a lot of people have heard this phrase, socialized medicine. they say, we don't want government-run health care or canadian style plan. nobody is talking about that. we are saying, let's give you a choice. you can choose the private market place or this other approach. i got a letter the other day from a woman. she said, i don't want government run health care. i don't want socialized medicine

and don't touch my medicare. i wanted to say, well, that's what medicare is, a government-run health care plan that people are very happy with. i think that we've been so accustomed to hearing those phrases that sometimes we can't sort out the myth from the reality. >> our tele-town hall, we go next to north kansas and talk with misty. >> caller: thank you so much for doing the hard work of health care reform, mr. president. my question is, historically, older americans and women of child bearing age and persons with pre-existing conditions have paid more for health care coverage. i want to know if reform will eliminate the disparity for older americans.

>> one thing we strongly believe in is that you can't discriminate in the insurance market. that's one thing that is happening right now. if you are in the private mar t marketplace, insurance companies are cherry picking. they want young, healthy people. as people get older, they make it harder for those folks to get coverage and if they do, it's wildly ex pen sichlt papensive. part of the insurance reforms we want to institute is to make sure there is a community rating principle that keeps every insurer operating fairly so that they can just select the healthy young people if they want to participate in, for example, this health care exchange. they have to take everybody.

that will help, i think, reduce costs or level out costs for older americans. we also want to enshrine a principle in there that says, no discrimination against women. there is still a gender bias in terms of coverage people receive. >> we go next to north carolina for a question we had all week last week. it is from colin and colin, go ahead and ask this question. >> caller: this is his wife, mary. >> what happened to colin? >> caller: well, i'm the one they talk to. >> that's how it is in my house too. >> caller: i have heard lots of rumors going around about this new plan and i hope that the

people are going to vote are going to read every single page. i have been told that everyone that is medicare age will be visited and told to decide how they wish to die. this bothers me greatly. i would like for you to promise me that this is not in this bill. >> you know, i guarantee you, first of all, we just don't have enough government workers to talk to everybody, to find out how they want to die. i think that the only thing that may have been proposed in some of the bills, and i actually think this is a good thing, is that it makes it easier for people to fill out a living will. now, mary, you may be familiar with the principle behind a living will but it is something that my grandmother, who you may have heard recently passed away,

it gave her some control ahead of time that she could say, for example, if she had a terminal illness, did she want extraordinary measures, even if, for example, her brain waves were no longer functioning or did she want just to be left alone. that gives her some decision-making power over the process. the problem is, most of us don't give direction to our family members. so when we get really badly sick, sadly enough, nobody is there to make the decisions and then the doctor who doesn't know what you might have preferred, they are making decisions in consultation with your kids or grandkids and nobody knows what you would have preferred. the idea is to make sure a living will process is easier for people. it doesn't require you to hire a lawyer or take up a lot of time.

everything is going to be up to you. if you don't want to fill out a living will, you don't have to. but it's a useful tool for a lot of families to make sure that if, heaven forbid, you contract a terminal illness, that you or somebody who is able to control this process in a dignified way, that is true to your faith and true to how you think that end-of-life process should proceed? you don't want somebody else making those decisions for you. i actually think it is a good idea to have a living will. i would encourage everybody to get one. i have one. michelle has one. we hope we don't have to use it for a long time but i think it is something that is sensible. mary, i want to be clear. nobody is going to be knocking on your door. nobody is going to be telling you you have to fill one out.

certainly, nobody is going to forcing you to make a set of decisions on end-of-life care based on some bureaucratic law in washington. >> mr. president, she mentioned, not in her question but in her preview, that she is talking about section 1232, the imfamiliar must page 425 which is being read as mandatory end of life care and counseling for medicare. as i read the bill, it is saying that medicare will, for the first time, cover consultations about end-of-life care and they will not pay for such a consultation more than once every five years. this is being read as, every five years, you will be told how you can die. >> that would be kind of morbid. the idea in that provision, which may be in the house bill. keep in mind that we're still having a whole series of negotiations. if this is something that really bothers people, i suspect that

members of congress might take a second look at it. understand what the intent is. the intent here is to simply make sure you have got more information and that medicare will pay for it. so, for example, there are some people that they get a terminal illness and decide at a certain point they want to get hospice care. they might not know how to go about talking to a hospice, what does it mean, how does it work. we don't want them to have to pay for that out of pocket. so, if medicare is saying, you have the option of consulting with somebody about whohospice e and we will reimburse it, that is putting more power and choice in the hands of the american people. it strikes me that he is a sensible thing to do. >> we go to denver, colorado, and sarah, another doughnut hole question. go ahead.

>> caller: hi. this is my first year in the doughnut hole and it's quite a frightening thing to go through. i have parkin ssons and it look like i could last about two years and then all my savings will be gone to the doughnut hole. so what do you intend to replace the doughnut hole with? >> well, we want to replace it with prescription drugs that won't force you to use up all your retirement. what the original medicare part "b" was put forward, it wasn't paid for. it automatically was unstable financially. then, there was an agreement that you couldn't negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest price on drugs. the american people pay about

77% more for drugs than any other company. 77%. almost twice as much as other countries too r. what we've said is, as part of reform, let's negotiate with the pharmaceutical companies. we'll cover more people. that means potentially, the pharmaceuticals will have more coverage or more customers. as part of the deal they've got to start providing much better discounts on their drugs. they have already committed that if health care reforms are passed, they would provide $80 billion worth of discounts. that would be enough to cover about half of the doughnut hole. right off the bat, right now, without further negotiations, the drug companies have already committed that they would reduce -- they would cut in half

the cost that folks have to go through when they are in the doughnut hole right now. that's money directly in their pockets that could be in their retirement savings. i think we can get it potentially an even better deal than that. we are overpaying 77%. the problem is, if we don't get health care reform, pharmaceutical industry is going to fight for every dime of profits that they are currently making and filling that doughnut hole is going to be very expensive, because when the medicare, part "d," was originally passed, nobody put in provisions to pay for it and so putting even more money into it at a time when medicare may go bankrupt, not go bankrupt but go into the red ten years from now, that's a big problem. that's part of the reason why reform is so important and for aarp members especially, there are hundreds of thousands of

people out there who would ben f fit from costs. >> as you may have heard, the costs of the program, jane has a question from alexandria, virginia. jane? >> caller: my question is some concern we have about the possibility of the cost containment commission. if you could comment on that. >> you know, the idea is not -- it's not a cost containment commission that's been proposed. it has been what i've just described, an independent medical advisory committee. it has health care experts, nurses, doctors, health care administrators. the idea is how do you get the most value for your health care

dollars. the objective is to control cost. it is not cost containment by denying people care they need. instead, it is reducing costs by changing the incentives and the delivery system in health care so that people are not paying for care that they don't need. the more we can reduce those unnecessary costs in health care, the more money we have to provide people with the necessary costs, the things that really pay high def deividends terms of people becoming healthier. this is pretty straightforward, pretty logical. if you think about your own family budget, if you could figure out a way to reduce your heating bill by insulating your windows, then that money that you saved -- you are still warm

inside. you are just as comfortable as you were. you are not wasting all that energy and sending it in the form of higher bills to the electric company or the gas company. that's been money you can use to save for your retirement or help your kid go to college. it's the same principle within the health care system. if we can do the equivalent of insulating some windows and making the house more efficient, you are still going to be warm. you are just going to be able to save some money. in this is ka, you are still goi going to be healthy. you will have saved some money, for example. >> we have an internet question. if the new health care reform bill is so great for all americans, why are members of congress and other arms of government excluded from having to participate, he asks. >> i actually think that the

health care exchange that people like jeanene would be able to participate in would be very similar to the kind of program that we have for the federal health care employees. keep in mind, this is something that i can't emphasize enough. you don't have to participate. if you are happy with the health care that you have got, then keep it. if you like your doctor, keep it. nobody is going to go out there and say, you have got to change your health care plan. this is not like canada where we are dismantling the system and everybody is signed up under some government program. all we are doing is saying, if you have already got health care, the only thing we are going to do is reform the insurance companies so that they can't cheat you and we are -- if you don't have health insurance, we are going to make it easier

for you to be able to obtain health care. hopefully, overall, we are going to change the delivery system so that we are saving money as a society over the long-term. so nobody is being forced to go into the system. frank frankly, if we do this right, all we are doing is giving the american people the same option that members of congress have. they have a pretty good deal right now. the fact of the matter is, they don't have to worry about losing their health insurance. they have a bunch of options and different plans to select from. so if they have got a good deal, why shouldn't you? [ applause ] >> we hope that you have found this tele-town hall with president obama to be informative, interesting,

helpful and stimulating of further question. if you have a personal story you would like to share with us about the impact of high cost health care has had on your family, stay on the line to leave us a message. be sure to leave your contact information so we can get back to you. for some closing remarks, let's go back to barry rand. >> i want to thank you again, mr. president for joining us, listening to our members, whether they are here in person or on the phone or on the web and for hearing the stories and getting a chance to talk directly and answer the questions. we thank you very much for that. [ applause ] . >> well, i just want to say thank you to all of you for taking the time to get informed on this issue. i want to thank aarp for all the good that it has done to provide greater security and stability in the lives of people who are

older. you know, this week celebrates the anniversary of medicare. when you look at the medicare debate, it is almost exactly the same as the debate we are having right now. everybody who was in favor of the status quo, was trying to scare the american people saying somehow the government is going to take over your health care. you won't be able to choose your own doctor. they are going to ration care. they are going to tell you you can't get this or that or the other and you know what, medicare has been extraordinary popular. it has worked. it has made people a lot healthier, given them security. we can do the same this time. sometimes i get a little frustrated because this is one of those situations where it is

so obvious that the system we have isn't working well for too many people and that we could just be doing better. we are not going to have a perfect health care system. it's a complicated system. there are always going to be some problems out there. but we could be doing a lot better than we are doing right now. we shouldn't be paying 50% more, 75% more than other countries that are just as healthy as we are. we shouldn't have prescription drugs 77% higher in cost than ours. we shouldn't have people who are working really hard every day without health care or with $8,000 deductibles, which means they don't have health care insurance unless they get in an accident or they get very sick. the stories i get are heartbreaking all across the story from people who are having a tough time. it is going to get tougher. we have to have the courage to be willing to change things. i know that sometimes people

have lost confidence in the country's ability to bring about changes. i think this is one of those times where we have really got to step up to the plate. it will ultimately make medicare stronger as well as the whole health care system stronger. thank you very much, everybody. [ applause ] >> one of the most difficult parts of working on an effort like health care reform is to keep in touch and keep up to date. may we suggest a website, healthactionnow.org. it will tell you how to get in touch with your congressman and the people who are debating this whole issue and tell you how to keep involved until the very end, which we hope is soon. you can continue to stay involved. president obama making his case again overhauling health care in america. we want to get the opposing view now as we've watched the president for about an hour. joining me live from capitol

hill, republican representative eric cantor. congressman, you heard some of the president's q and a and i read a recent piece that you wrote in the paper talking specifically about seniors. did he sell you on reform when talking about that in particular and focusing a lot on medicare? >> kyra, i heard what he was saying. he hasn't said a lot different today than what he said at last week's press conference. the fact is, most americans are very concerned about what they are learning of the obama health care reform bill. i don't think the people of this country feel it is appropriate for us to hear the president say, you know, it's my way or the highway. there are plenty of other approaches. i think we can gain a comfort level if we take the time to get it right and not say that we must have full-on this

government takeover of our health care system. >> he, time and time again, throughout that q and a said in no way, shape, or form and was very firm about this, said we are going to make you do one thing or another. it is not going to be like canada, he said, where your only option is to take what the government is giving you. he said, this is strictly about reforming the insurance company and making it more competitive so you, the consumer, don't get gouged? >> the way to do that is not to impose some type of government substitute for insurers. right now, people are upset if they lose their job, they are going to lose their health care. we have to make sure that we put forward a plan that allows folks to maintain that protection if they lose their job. let me tell you this, i just met with a group of small business people from around the country. frankly, their reality is not at all what the president is describing. that's i think where the

disconnect is and why so many people in this country, the majority of americans people concerned about this plan. what the small business owners told me was that this is a plan that will penalize them as job creators. we heard plenty of stories about small businesses downsizing, about the realities of what a payroll tax of 8% would mean and about what a surtax on small businesses would mean. it would mean there is no way they could maintain the jobs they have and in many cases, they would say, look, i can't afford it all. i would have to go in and allow or really force my employees on to a government plan. that's the reality of what the president is talking about. >> well, two things that i want to point out there. talking just about not being able to afford it. i mean, premiums keep going up faster than wages birks t, by t.

you have deductibles on the ride as well. health care costs are definitely a big drag on the economy. something has got to happen to offer more competition to get those costs down. in particular, when you talk about loss of jobs and small businesses and i mean they are struggling tremendously as we know in this economy right now. >> kyra, listen. you are absolutely right. we need more competition. we need to drive down costs but i don't think anybody in america believes that washington is the agent to bring down costs. what we've got to do is listen to what the job creators, the small business people, are saying. what they are saying is, allow me the flexibility to provide the coverage for my employees. allow me to make sure my employees have what they need. it is really just a false choice that the president is saying. he is basically saying, it is a government plan or nothing. that is really not where this

country is. >> that's not what he is saying. they are saying, it could be cooperative, state-supported gateways or a federal-supported public option plan. he is not saying it is one way or another. >> kyra, what we heard from small businesses, there is no way that you can see an instance where the government can fairly compete with the private sector. >> the private sector has a lot of money, right? >> listen, we need to make sure that the costs are brought down. i don't think anybody argues that point. nobody is accepting the status quo. the reality of what president obama is proposing is putting the government in competition with those in the private sector. employers, one after the other, have said, if you do that, there will be no other option then for us to shed our health care and allow all of our employees to go

into the government plan. when you look at it, those who have health care in this country, an overwhelming number of americans like what they have. they say it is too expensive. let's focus on bringing down those costs. that's really where we have got to focus if we are going to get something done. it is not this question of, you've got to accept this or else. that's where the difficulty is and why there is a bipartisan majority in congress against the obama health care bill. >> if you want to read more, you can go to the richmond times dispatch and read eric cantor's column nair there. thanks for adding a perspective to the president's comments today. appreciate it, congressman. >> kyra, thank you. tomorrow, the president travels to raleigh, north carolina. it is home to so-called moderate democrats. both sides are targeted into the health care debate. it is home to pharmaceutical

giant, glaxosmithkline. in bristol, the president speaks to union super market workers. a split decision for sonia sotomayor, the senate panel passes judgment on a would-be supreme court justice.

a drywall contractor by day and an alleged terrorist, daniel

patrick boyd under arrest, charged with plotting terrorist attacks overseas. boyd and his two sons taken into custody. he allegedly trained them to take out a violent jihad or holy war. fa the family had to say this about the arrest. >> it affects all of us as a whole. we know that islam is always under the microscope and these type of situations cause the religion to be misinterpreted. i feel sorry her sons have been indicted i don't know if they will ever be able to escape this. we are sad and disappointed that this situation has occurred. >> boyd allegedly got training at terrorist camps in pakistan and fought soviet troops as they left afghanistan in the eight 80s. 13 yeses and six no and sonia

sotomayor is one step closer to a seat on the highest court in the land. the senate judiciary panel cast an almost party line vote to recommend her to the full senate. brianne brianna keeler was watching. >> reporter: sotomayor, as you said, it was almost a total party line vote. only one member of the senate judiciary committee, republican lindsey graham, voting in favor of moving her nomination to the full senate floor. he said, she would not have been his pick, definitely but elections have consequences and president obama won the election, so he gets to pick who he wants on the supreme court. now, he also highlighted just how historic this nomination is. >> we're 200 and something years old as a nation. this is the first latino woman

in the history of the united states to be selected for the supreme court. now, that is a big deal. i would not have chosen her but i understand why president obama did i gladly give her my vote, because i think she meets the qualification tests that were used in scalia and ginsburg. >> reporter: he said they can't be sure that she won't use her personal opinion when she is ush uing her decisions from the bench. obviously, there is a fear when she is on the highest court and there are these ambiguous cases that her opinions will come down on the side of basically the liberal side of issues. so a very divided senate judiciary committee. it was interesting to note that senator grassley and senator hatch, respectively from iowa and utah, this was the first time that they voted against a

supreme court nominee. the next step here is moving this to the full senate. we are expecting a vote by the full senate next week. certainly, we are expecting that sonia sotomayor will be confirmed when that vote is held. >> there is a lot of pressure from these outside groups on republicans and democrats creating a lot of division. >> reporter: that is certainly one of the aspects when you wonder why this is such a divided committee. when you look at some of these outside groups that have a real stake in what comes out of the supreme court, the national rifle association and gun rights or groups that are prolife, they issue edicts, if you will. you can see this one send from leaders of the senate saying, we oppose this nomination. we think if you vote for sonia sotomayor, you are voting against our perspective, against our view. that's what the nra did in that letter there. so these groups here, they actually do score cards of these

members of congress. at the end of the year, they take a look and see where they all fell in line on certain issues, the nra will consider a vote for sontomayor, a vote against gun rights. >> thanks. the push is on this week to reactivate cold cases from america's civil rights era. right now, two of the men leading that push say there is no time to lose. that's why you should consider... an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan... insured by united healthcare insurance company. it can help cover some of what medicare doesn't... so you could save up to thousands of dollars... in out-of-pocket expenses. call now for this free information kit... and medicare guide.

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hundreds of murder cases still unsolved. justices can't wait forever. if civil rights cases get their way in washington, their bill will heat up cold cases like this one portrayed in the movie mississippi burning. > is it a cop? >> civil rights work kerk, james cheney, andrew goodman and michael swar ner were murdered

in 1964. my next guest is pushing to bring the other men to justice. he is putting pressure to fund the emmitt till unsolved civil rights act. he was the black man killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman. his cousin is also pushing for justice before witnesses die and evidence disappears. great to have you both. what did you tell, eric holder and how did he respond? >> i told him that we were in the last years of any possible prosecution of any perpetrators of unsolved civil rights era murders and that we need to move on it now. he certainly agreed with it. he was very supportive of our position for community reforms and searching for witnesses throughout the migration route from the south to the north. we certainly feel we have a friend in the attorney general. >> this act was signed into law

nine months ago but there was no funding -- no funding was ever given toward that last year. so, as you said, these folks are going unpunished, again and again, it's now been decades and you are losing valuable time. >> yes. we are losing some time. we want people to understand that we understand that there is a two-part process to passing legislation. the first part was the authorization. that's what was signed last year. now is the appropriation. we feel very comfortable that congress is going to put the appropriate amount of money into the 2010 appropriations for the justice department in particular for these unsolved cases. >> got it. wheeler, we can't forget these pictures. your cousin, emmitt till, his remains were pulled from his grave. we covered it here live on cnn the problem is, when his remains were pulled from the grave site, it just wasn't enough to crash

a number of these cases? >> i any some probably feel that way. i am appreciative of those who are not feeling that way. you see so many cold cases on tv now. we encourage help if we pursue those things. so we have liberty and justice for all. >> do you think that justice can still be found in your cousin's case, in emmitt till's case? i know carolyn bryant is still alive, the white woman he allegedly whistled at that triggered his death, his brutal death. >> i think we can still find something. it is medicinal not only for the perpetrators but for others as a whole. >> what can still be done on that case, billy wayne posey is still alive. >> billy wayne posey is our

prime suspect target. back in 2005, when the grand jury considered mr. posey alone with the others, he escaped indictment by one vote. he needed 12. he got 11. his relative was on the grand jury and didn't vote for his indictment. we believe that state proceeding had zero credibility as it relates to mr. posey. we want the federal government and the state to come together and work to bring that case back to the state grand jury so we can get some resemblance of justice with mr. posey and anybody else that they support the indictment on. >> you. support of eric holder. wheeler, maybe i can wrap up with you. the emmett till case is something we have been following for years. if this finally does flourish, this bill, and the funding is put through and you are able to

go after a lot of these cases and finally bring justice on so many levels, what will that do for you, the remaining members of your family, decades later? >> well, we need closure. when something like this happens to you, there are always a lot of unanswered questions. for over 50 years, there are some things we need to know and we need closure. we want to find out what happened and how it happened and get something done about it. >> today, we remember the life of emmett till and what he did. it triggered that civil rights movement and pushed rosa parks to be strong an sit in the front of the bus. we will follow up on this bill an the funding as well. >> thank you. >> let's take a quick break.

if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees. but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act. imagination and reality have merged. because of one word, a new generation-- a fifth generation--

of fighter aircraft has been born. because of one word, america's air dominance for the next forty years is assured. that one word... is how. in round rock, texas, like every well-trained trooper, he responded to a woman's cry for help. you think his manager would give limb a raise, throw him a party, have a hero's parade for god's sake. nope. troy schaefer gets canned. does it seem right for you? no. the story. >> i dove in the bushes.

>> reporter: pure adrenaline brought this produce manager and army veteran to this field in search of a suspect last tuesday. i am a big guy. >> reporter: he said he reacted in a split second to a cry of a woman after a 15-year-old stole her purse. >> i started running after him. >> reporter: schaefer said he chased the suspect outside through the field until the police showed up. i said, yeah, you guys got a job for me, i'm probably going to lose mine. >> reporter: that's just what happened. friday, schaefer said his store manager fired him telling him a company policy prevented employees from chasing anyone suspected of a crime. >> i came to randall's this morning, early this morning, to talk to the store manager. they said it was out of their

hands, it was a policy. >> reporter: now, as he walks away from that field, schaefer is without a job waiting for help himself. >> they told me that i could reapply in six months. by then, i will have lost everything. i don't have six months. >> i just wish the randalls corporation, when they hit their knees at night in all sin s sarity, how can they? they need to ask god, did they do the right thing? >> i called the manager. he sent me to connie yates with ran dals. she e-mailed me and said, they have the no chase policy in place to protect customers and employees, people have gotten hurt this way in the past and that safety is the overriding focus. apparently, there is no bending the rules. just proofs that the best thing and the right thing aren't always the same thing, i guess.

her family allegedly awan doned her when she needed them the most. a disturbing aftermath of an already shocking crime. the father of that little girl gang-raped in phoenix is telling a different story. thelma gutierrez spoke with him. what happened, thelma? >> reporter: kyra, i can tell you that that father went with an elder from the liberian community. they met with cps yesterday. he says he wants his daughter back. he does want that child back. however, we can't disclose the exact contents of that meeting but we can tell you that cps says they will go through a very careful process before any reun i havefy kags takes place.

>> everybody is concerned about that little girl. is she okay? is she doing well? can you tell us anything about her situation? >> i talked about someone with cps. i can only tell you that she is safe. she is getting the medical and psych lnlg cal attention that she needs. we can also say we talked to people in the community, we talked to police. their big concern is that you have a child who went through this terrible trauma. the people she would typically turn to for help, her mother, father, siblings, are the people who were taken away from her. what is in the best interest of this child, to be reunited with her family or remain in foster care, as she is right now. very hard question. >> we are going to stay on top of the story. we appreciate you being able to bring us up to date, thelma. i know you a