mcmanus. "washington journal" starts now. .

>> good morning and welcome to washington joirnal today. first, when the president gets back to the u.s., he'll be work with the democrats to hammer out landmark legislation. they face some noisy programs from thone those on the left. we want to find out from you, how should congress be handling healthcare and the healthcare debate. this is an article from the

washington post. >> we'll go to this article from the post.

>> many republicans see the movement as evidence that democrats consider setting the countier on the path to "govern-run healthcare" as they describe it. conservatives for patients' rights, an advocacy group, revealed a $1.2 billion ad is that views plans as a bulldozer. >> charlotte, north carolina.

you are our first caller. how should congress be handling healthcare? >> i think the only way is if this country goes to a single pair program. the same that they have in france and canada and cuba. we have the higher infant mortality rate than cuba does. >> how will a single pair plan remedy that? >> everyone will be on a single playing field. >> john, in new york city. what do you think? >> good morning thank you for c-span. the debate of healthcare is all over. nobody really talks about what prevention actually means. that is really what are we putting into our bodies. you think about all the

packaged and processed foods. why would i pay for other people's habyits of not taking care of their bodies. >> thanks for your call. from democrats. what's your point? >> di definitely support single payer. it's an important thick that all the people ask themselves. which is more important? healthcare for people in this country or profits for insurance companies? if we could cut 30% off the cost of our healthcare, because they are draining off 30% of

every dollar in our system. the worst part about it is it is self per pet ue waiting. the insurance companies can put under their healthcare. they can hire more people, which they have to turn around and create more profits. . >> i think we've lost ron. the president addresses healthcare in his weekly radio address. this is what he has to say. >> when we can't accept is reform that invests more money in the status quo. reform that throws good money at bad habits. some of these costs have no

place in our heng care system. in too many communities, nokes are paying higher costs without receiving return. we know there are maces around the countier that offer some of the highest quality of care in the nation at some of the lowest costs in the nation. we should learn from their successes and promote the best practices, not the most expensive ones. this week, i conveyed to congress my believe that any healthcare. that means, if you like the plan you have, keep it. if you like the doctor you have, keep it too. i have made it clear, we must develop a plan that doesn't add

to the bunlet deficit. we will work with congress tofully cover the costs through rig rouse spending redugs. we'll eliminate weavet fraud and abuse and take offer -- take on healthcare costs. >> in the "washington post" it is written. >> michigan on our line for

independents. good morning, mike. >> good morning. let me say this to the democratic congress. if you believe we are going to spend our money to support insurance companies, you people have lost your mind. i think democrats want to loose in the midterm elections. go ahead and come up with a healthcare that is provided by these hacks insurance company. if you figure out that $100 million people paid $100 a head, that would pay for the whole -- that's almost half a trillion dollars. we could pay through for own healthcare system through the

government. instead of saying you0oh have a preexisting condition and we can't. i can tell you note mere stories of people stuck with hospital bills above $100,000. >> how much would you say you spend per month per year? >> right now, it costs $400 a month for a single person. >> that's for yourself? >> that's for myself. i'm in construction. my regular insurance is almost $400 a month. it's insane. every time these companies get a premium from us, why should we make insurance companies

let's move on to our line for democrats. what do you think congress ought to be doing about healthcare? >> i am so in favor of the single payer sister familiar. the guy before me hit the nail right on the head. i lost my job four years ago. we haven't had healthcare sense. if they put in a single payer system, it would take the burden off. what are your concerns? you don't have any health insurance right now? >> no. we haven't in four years. >> we, you are the bread winner

of the family. >> my husband works in construction and he never had healthcare. we can't afford it. we've seen our income down go from 42,000 to 17,000. do and your husband have children? >> yes, we do. >> are you concerned about them if they had to go to the hospital. my daughter who is 13 is covered thrute state of michigan. my two older children are over 18. they don't qualify. >> texas, you are on go ahead. i'm here to say, i would like congress to stay out of is it

the post office? amtrak? who does such a good job? this add mipstration is taking over so much power, this country is not going to look like our democrat country when this administration and this congress gets finished with it. >> we have some video of president obama meeting qut french president in france today. before he gives his speech at the norman di american cemetery and memorial. the financial times reporting during the meeting, the french president warns of tough sackses on i ran. tough new sackses my be

necessary this autumn after the latest attempt he will tell obama that a meeting between the french president and the foreign minister on wednesday produced no breakthrough but left the french frezz fuming. back to the phones. missouri on the line for independents. >> good morning. how are you? >> how do you think congress should handle this? >> i am attorney. i understand the lady from michigan and the circumstance she's in and not having healthcare for the last four years, which is completely

horrible situation. i'm disabled. i'm in my early 40's. my wife has had to leave here to go to minneapolis to get a job that would i think a single payer system is probably not the best route to go. yet, at the sim time, the idea of getting insurance companies out of the business in the profit incentive, that the 30 prs the gentleman talked about earlier is sigh fepped off. i can speak directly to what the president had to say about the mayor clinic having spent time there.

they are extraordinarily efficient. there are ways to do it. so many people that are advocates of the sick l payer system are looking for coverage for everyone.

>> in missouri, robert on our line for democrats. go ahead. >> i'll tell you what, i've been watching -- let me turn the tv off. i've been watching you all all

night and watching michael burgess from texas. he had a pretty good thing going on tonight about the joint economic committee. he was asking all these questions as far as this weather and all this going on. boy, he's supposed to be the scientific guy. all he could say is. i don't know what the story is today. that's all they are talking about. it's a story. life has been going on this earth for tens of,000s of years. >> let's move on to maryland with the republicans. >> yes, i'm a senior citizen.

reisn'tly, my insurance bill has sky rocketed. i'm going on 69 years old. i'm considering dropping my insurance. a single payer system seems to be the only way to handle this. it's not just the insurance companies butt medical costs, the hospital costs. our government needs to research alternative therapies not being researched. >> how much do you think you would say? >> it all depeppeds what our charges would be per person. jite now, my costs are $2,000 a year in insurance premium. you figure a single payer system would decrease your

medical cost? i hope so. we haven't been told what the plan would be if everybody had to pay into the medical system or for coverage. >> in the "new york times" this morning. >> arizona and sarah on our line for independents. >> good morning.

let me share a quick story. my sister in-law, she did her thesis on a woman that needed a kidney transplant. the insurance company did not want to pay it. she had to go to court and fight it. she finally won and then they rejected her needing the medication that would keep her body from rejecting the kidney. she lost that battle and she died. i'm really disgusted when i hear people saying single payer and we'll have to pay it. this is about people's lives. not about money. our system does not work. i'm tired of the greed. i'm going to attend one of those meetings obama is having on saturday. i'm disgusted. our insurance companies are not

going to win w. he need the good insurance companies to stick around. we need the one that's don't care about the people, they are not helping america. >> we'll be talking about the jobless rate. in an interview, hilda solis was asked how high the ray could get. here is her response. my message to you, in hard times unprecedented, we always see the lagging of workers. that's going to lag and that may kin to contract. my hope is that we'll starlt to see some changes we are sowing fewer people getting into the

lines of the government and now stabilized in their work place for the time being until we see more growth. >> is it unrealistic to think this is going to turn around? >> i would say it is not going to turn around as wick as you and i would like to see it. we have been in this situation now since 2 70 07. communities i live in los angeles county, we saw upwards of unemployment of 9%, that was a year ago. there's a lot of cities with higher rates i found in ohio and michigan. that's what we will do to play our resources.

>> we'll see the entire interview. that's tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on c-span. back to the phones and discussion regarding how congress should handle healthcare. we go to cleveland on the phone for democrats. go ahead. good moverpbing morning. i would like to comment on the second gentleman that called first all regarding the statement that he made about paying for healthcare for people that don't take care of their bodies. as a professional, i would like to say that people who take care of their bodies also get ill. i have provided healthcare for 30 years. i am the at point that i have wanted to leave it and get out

of it. the things i have seen have b horrible. they really have in the 30 year time that i have been a participant. the profitting in the system that has so much of the cost overpadded to where if we can deal with these people who help to create this problem, a lot of the costs could possibly go down over time to where maybe people can a forward a single payer system. i'm not sure if that is the answer. i do know that the things i have seen with my own eyes has been very pain fum to me. in the "washington post," prime minister brown is going to stay as the leader of britain. he reshuffled his cabinet.

the financial times has this editorial. they write time runs out for depord on brown. >> san antonio, texas, john on the line for republicans. >> let me see if i can put it easy. no one in the country is complaining about the mess that the government make in tax

dollars. no one complains about nothing congress does as far as taking money unto themselves. and they live quite well. these little companies like insurance companies who make money to pay, the people invest in their money and people return on the investment. people complain they shouldn't do this. we have the best healthcare industry in the world in america. why do people come here from england. they come here from canada. from australia, they come here. all over europe, come here. sure you have to pay for it. everything you have to pay for. get the government out of the

way. this obituary for barker. >> i see a glaring need for two different issues.

one healthcare reform. the other health insurance reform. they are two different things. you can't really inform the public and congress too about each issue until you separate the two. i wanted to talk about the health insurance area. i have been busy lately with health matters regarding my own family. my wife and mother and having kept as quiet as i could. i was a tonnished to hear the single payer had been taken off the table in congress. is that right? >> that's the story. the health insurance, we have a model for by far the most