guest: it could be an important moment in republican resurgence if there is a nearly unified republican opposition to big government approach is on healthcare combined with an alternative approach that addresses people's actual concerns about health care in a more market for leeway. i think that would be extremely important to republican revival, and it is hard to see that happening is that does not take place. host: our next caller's from austin, texas. good morning. caller: first of all, you made the comment about having private markets. nd the market economy works. but it does not, or we would not

have to bail out gm and all those other companies. second of all, single payer would be run like medicare. medicare -- i am over 70, and it works fine. it runs at low cost, so i do not understand why you are not more or less promoting that. also, you would be given a choice so if you wanted your own company, you could keep your own plan. but also, you need to take insurance companies out of it because insurance companies are making these huge profits. they can turn you down if you have the pre-existing condition. they can say, no, we're not going to pay for that particular procedure. we need single payer health care for all, and it would run like medicare at low cost. guest: well, medicare is currently on affordable.

as president obama has saysid, t is a big drop ever of projected -- is a big driver of projected insolvency. but it does not a good -- it does not do a good job of policing fraud. it just shovels money out the door. that increase its total cost, so i just think that the caller is wrong about what a medicare base model would mean for the country's fiscal health. host: terry joins us on the democrats' line from chicago, illinois. caller: i just want to say that i believe in what the president is trying to do. if it was easy, it would have been done a long time ago. i have seen your guest several times, and he is definitely -- i will not say right wing, but

anything that involves the president, you can believe that he will be in that position. he just made the comment about medicare, why the costs are high. but the president also address that he has a plan to overhaul medicare. tell the whole story. i love c-span, but i assume you have another guest coming on that will have a different view. but i will say, people, do not just take what he says literally because he tends to talk very negative about the president, and his view, anything about obama is going to be skewed that way. well, you know, i think that it is right that the administration claims that it is going to have all kinds of reforms and savings in medicare, but it really has not put forward a whole lot for example, there say they want $300 billion in specified savings from medicare and

medicaid. well, are we supposed to just take that on faith? it is true my political views are not the same as president obama's, and more often than not i disagree with him. your caller is absolutely right. you should probably have more sources of information on most issues than just me. host: from georgia, jack is calling us on the republican line. caller: good one. let me make two or three quick statements. this is a perfect combination to talk about obama. arbuckle national review" and "the wall street journal -" -- y god. the previous caller, you are talking to a 100% disabled. i get all my drugs delivered to

me at my house. i am sitting here right now waiting for federal express to deliver them. over 50 different drugs that would cost me, at wal-mart, about $700 a month. i have had numerous operations. all i have ever paid is $8 a month. if he is paying for his own operations, he has to be borderline retarded. the statement that people make all the time about canada patients coming to america, there is a radio that the satellite, those all over the world, there is a man that comes their every afternoon. he has a standard line open all the time for anybody from canada, england, france, who wants to call and criticized their health care system. i listen to him every night. it is a repeat every night about

7:00. i have never heard a person yet call and criticize their system. he gets a lot of calls from canada. everyone of them praises their system and say this is nothing but republican talking points. guest: ok, i have no idea what that last bit was thaabout. it is to these other countries, -- it is true that these other countries, they do not have full satisfaction from everyone in the country. a lot of other countries have been moving in a more market- friendly direction. countries that already have the government-run systems. as for the v.a., my impression is that the quality varies from place to place and some people are extremely happy with it. one of the places it seems -- one of the things it seems to do

extremely well is integrate care, and that i think is a function of the fact that the fiber market -- that the private market does not do the great job of that. if you switch jobs or if your employer switches insurers, your care tends to be disrupted. . guest: i think she raises a good point. when you -- when it is not being used in a classic way that insurance is used to protect you against the risk of catastrophic and unpredictable events, then people become less cost-conscious and the system goes haywire. i don't think any to outlaw that. indeed a system where people can see that it is less expensive to

them to buy an insurance policy that allows for some out of pocket expenses up front. ont. host: scott joins us from the independent line from birmingham, alabama. caller: i have a friend of mine who worked for years and the construction industry, made good money and had insurance, blue cross, got laid off, could not find a job so start working for myself. went to get insurance, $800 a month but they would not cover any existing illness and he had an existing illness from a car wreck. what do people like that do? people like that can get in to socialized medicine and have some kind of insurer to help them because it is wrong, it hundred dollars a month, and no existing alliances? -- $800 a month. what if he had cancer and lost his job?

guest: that is something we were just talking about, you have the fragmented insurance system. if you had a thriving individual insurance market, you could buy a policy at 18, a relatively cheap policy and keep renewing it even as you acquired these new health conditions, that is what you are assuring against. the problem is you have a system that forces people to make frequent changes in their insurance policies, and once you get sick, you are not getting insurance anymore because we already know what the expenses are going to be. host: looking at the international stage, what is your opinion or impression of president obama's speech last week in cairo? there has been some concern for criticism that he was sort of too apologetic for past u.s. actions. is that your opinion? guest: i don't think the logic of that speech in a lot of places where the sort of historical accuracy of it really holds up, but that is not the way you evaluate a presidential

speech, particularly one that is geared toward diplomacy. you evaluate it based on its likely effectiveness. i think that having a non- traditional u.s. president demographically speaking say we are not hostile to muslims could have a beneficial impact. some of the fundamental policies i have some serious concerns about, particularly with respect to israel and iran. but judged as a speech, my tentative verdict that it could be an effective speech. so, that caller that says i am always against obama should pay attention here. host: what do you think the u.s. should do regarding north korea? concerns about missile launches. there were two journalists currently being detained. guest: north korea and iran have for many years bent these extremely difficult problems where it is hard to see any solution.

one thing that the strike me is the approach we have used for the past few years under obama and under bush doesn't seem to be working and maybe it is time for a little bit more of the silent treatment, maybe we should not be rewarding them with attention and promises of international legitimacy and respect when the act up. host: william now joins us on the democrats' line calling from winter haven, florida. caller: the first thing i wanted to say is i do not have any love for the va system. i'm 50 percent disability veteran and i live in winter haven, fla., and the closest veterans hospital is in tampa. no buses go from here to the va hospital in tampa. so if you are sick and you got to go to a hospital, you can't find one around here, you have got to go from here 30 miles

away to another county and catch a bus -- the driver might be there to take you to the hospital and then he might not be there. this person 100 percent disabled, i think he was wrong because if you are 100 percent disabled you could go to any hospital and the va will pay for it. guest: of first of all, i am sorry about that situation, which sounds really rough. it underscores i think my point that -- again, just my impression -- have not been detailed study of it, is that people's experiences with and be a tend to vary widely in part based on where they are. host: john joins us from the republican line calling from tampa, florida. caller: good morning. i can't understand how the government can do anything. medicare and medicaid will go bankrupt in 10 years and i can imagine if somebody like pelosi and harry reid in charge of health care, i can imagine the

red tape and everything else and in -- is in chaos, so why would you think health care would be any different? i heard six politicians, but from canada and four from england, say, whether you do, don't go socialized medicine. people talk about prescriptions in canada, but they have two boards -- but only% 10% to the united states. there was not anything in the stimulus package to help of the veterans and stuff like that -- why pigs stink, monorails from california to nevada, and we have a big problem with what obama calls mexican immigrants and really illegal aliens, you have them in a hospital, 600 here in the bill on each one is $1 million. but i n s will not come and take them away because they cater to the illegal immigrants, which obama seems to care more about them than he does about us -- he

will not help the people that just laid off. guest: you know, what the caller was saying about politicians running health care, one of the basic issues in this debate is that there is just an enormous degree of confidence and i would say over confidence on the part of the people in power in washington, d.c., right now, about capacity of government. it is not just in health care. it is things like energy, things like economic management, the idea that the federal government would be able to make competent decisions in the car industry, for example. i think that is extremely dubious. host: some of the bank's net of taken tarp money are now paying the federal government back. you see it as a sign of success? guest: the funny thing is, the federal government has been trying to discourage banks from trying to discourage banks from getting money back

they don't want to encourage people to think less highly of of companies that are not paying the tarp money back. it is maybe in part a sign of success that the financial service sector looks more stable than it did last fall, but it is also a sign that people do not want to enter this political thicket. they do not want the conditions that come with tarp money and they do not want the possible future conditions or second- guessing from congress that might come with tarp funds. host: from detroit, michigan, john joins us on the independencets line. caller: i am a retired businessman. i have lived in canada and england and i have family living in france. of these stories of the problems of that people have with health care in this country -- these

countries, and i am sure we can find problems but the majority of people are totally happy with their health care in these countries. the thing that amazes me -- i hear all of these people calling in, knowledgeable of the problems in canada and england and so on, totally ignoring the fact that this country has more than enough problems, that is why we are discussing health care in this country. just give one example of the health care in this country, our viewers familiar, for example, with the fact that just a few years ago, the second-largest health-care provider in this country, talking about a hospital group had dozens of heart operations which were totally unnecessary and for which they have subsequently been paying back the government's and to the people will have the heart surgery. why don't we speak about the problems in this country that

need to be fixed and not concentrate upon the few items that could be introduced from canada were england and anywhere else? guest: wrote well, i would say that there actually is an enormous amount of attention and justified attention to the problems of the american health- care system. the reason of these callers are bringing up the problems and other country is because those countries are held up as models. that we need to move towards, and the caller to think of also rightly saying that, we need to look at the downside to. the point he was making about unnecessary procedures actually and hurting people's health, told a legitimate point. i would note that the private sector insurance plans have been better at preventing that sort of thing than, say, medicare has because medicare has tended to actually prefer slate -- perversely reward people for unnecessary procedures and then pay for the corrective

procedures the original procedures necessitated. host: you have weighed in in some of your writing about the killing of dr. tiller who performed abortions in kansas. just to take a step back, tell us your take on this and how you entered the debate? sort of the conservative debate over this? guest: that have been a couple of points that i have tried to make. one, there has been i think an attempt to say that if you pro- lifeers would just quit agitating about this issue, then this sort of thing would not happened, and i think it has to be said that it is true, if there were no pro-life movement, this sort of violence would not happen, just like if there were no environmental movement is less likely you have the unabomber or at least mentally unbalanced people would find some other outlet for their rage and violence. but you cannot legitimate ask people to give up their

important series convictions if they are working through the democratic process, passionate advocacy on these issues have to be allowed. the other point i was making, one of the things you see the debaters points on this issue is people say, well, you pro-lifer s were serious, you would be shooting abortionists, too, approving of this. i think for a lot of reasons that is just absurd. the pro-life movement is about the sanctity of human life, about reducing the amount of violence, about restoring balad to the moral foundations and not abandoning the rule of law. host: james on the democrats' line calling from temple terrace, florida. good morning, james. caller: good morning? guest: yes? caller: i work for clinton benefits department for some of the major insurance companies and have a lot of knowledge as far as what goes on in the

background, and i am also a veteran, and if we would look at the va system, they have electronic records, they also by durable medical equipment in bulk -- c o p d machine that medicare pays a rental every month and pays, like, 2004 it and the va buys it for $200. they also have their doctors on salary is and on their medications, brand-name medications,, they make the brand-name manufacturers and a generous for the va. guest: we have had a lot of veterans calling in -- i said earlier, but i should also announce a, i salute your service. some the points he made a really good.

the first point you made, essentially the va has integrated care, long-term information tracking technology to i think is an excellent argument for reforming the private marketplace so that it can do that as well. in terms of the bulk purchases and cost savings, all of these government programs attempt to use the bargaining power of the federal government as a buyer of medical equipment and services to bargain prices down. the problem is, it leads to higher prices in the private market, and if you have a more government run system, how does the model work? the model work? where do you off load those >> tomorrow, a look at the impact of the new tobacco bill. also a discussion on the ways in

which math and science education in the u.s. can be changed to better compete in the global economy with michelle kay hill, co-chair of the carnegie commission on math and science education. later, patrick byrne on how internet taxation and a process called naked short-selling are hurting companies that rely on the internet. that is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> here is our present policy. we are ready, anxious, willing, and eager to stop the bombing, just as we are eager to stop the war. >> telephone conversations from the final months of lyndon johnson's presidency. listen saturday morning at 10:00 eastern on c-span radio in

washington baltimore area at 90 .1 fm. now a portion of a discussion on minorities and health care disparities. we'll hear from a number of doctors studying the issue, looking specifically at heart disease and hypertension. the u.s. commission on civil rights posts this event. it is almost two hours. >> i would like to ask everyone with cell phones to put their funds on vibrate -- put their phones on vibrate. bear with me. i welcome everyone to this briefing on health care disparities. this project is examining why despite the continued advances in health care and technology racial and ethnic minorities continue to have more disease,

disability, and premature death than nine minorities. we will examine hypertension. experts will present information regarding health care delivery systems, community education, patient behavior, and other aspects of health differences between population groups. public comments may be mailed to the commission. this morning we are pleased to welcome to panels of experts that will address this topic. on the first panel, speakers will discuss the disparity of claims within the overall health care context.

they will evaluate potential sources of disparities, discuss research approaches taken and steady their project share their conclusions on views. dr. sullivan is a founding member of morehouse medicine. in 1989 he was appointed secretary of the u.s. department of health and human services. in january 1993 he returned to more house and resumed the office of president. in june 2008 dr. sullivan accepted appointment to the house disparities' technical expert panel for the centers for medicare and medicaid services at the department of health and human services. next, we welcome dr. garth graham, who is the deputy assistant secretary for minority help in the office of minority health at the department of health and human services which coordinates federal health policies that address minority health concerns and assure that

federal, state, local health programs taken to an account the needs of disadvantaged racial and ethnic populations. he founded the boston in cardiovascular health project, designed to help develop -- then we have the doctor who has served as vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of internal medicine at university of nebraska medical center since september 2003. he was recently selected as a new member and chair of the advisor committee on minority held for the board of health and human services' office of minority health. 2005 he collaborated with the surgeon general to author and editor one of the first textbooks addressing inequalities and health care.

next we have a psychiatrist at the oasis drug treatment clinic here in washington d.c.. she lectures at yale university school of medicine, a resident scholar at the american enterprise institute and author of the health disparities miss, diagnosing the treatment gap. i will need assistance pronouncing your first name. he is a professor ed kennedy school of government and a research fellow in bonn, germany. his research focuses on productivity and growth in health care, racial disparities and the economics of neonatal health and cardiovascular care.

then we have dr. peter barack, a physician at the memorial sloan-kettering cancer center. his work has focused improving the quality of care for african- american patients in medicare, including cancer care. he previously served as senior advisor to the administrator of the center's for medicare and medicaid services where among other things he oversaw the agency's cancer initiatives. i am excited to have you here. this is an issue that we have needed to have a fully fleshed out discussion on these issues brought some time. i am glad you could make it here today. the next thing to take care of, we have to swear you in. please raise your right hand. please swear or affirm that the information you have provided is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief. very good. let's get started. here are the mechanics.

each speaker will have 10 minutes, and please try to stay within the timeframe. at the end of the presentations, but will have 8 q and a session. we will start dr. sullivan. >> thank you very much mr. chairman, and members of the commission, it is a great pleasure to an opportunity to be here with you today. i am here in my role as chairman of the sullivan commission >> these are c-span microphones, but you will find on your desk these little things right here that you should actually put on, which go to our recorder and also of the audience in the back in here. i apologize for that. i was confused and then i realized it was the double mind. >> thank you, commiser