health policies. we will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. ""washington journal" is next. ♪ host: welcome to "washington journal." the president and first lady head to florida and georgia. they will meet with those affected by hurricane michael. close to 20 reported dead. dozens more are said to be missing. on capitol hill, it is quiet. congress is out until after the election. they will be back november 13. they continue campaigning for the midterms. 22 days left until election day.

health care is front and center for these elections. we want to ask you how you feel about health care in terms of how important it is to your vote this year. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. care inrtant is health your vote in this 2018 midterm? you can weigh in on twitter and post a comment at facebook. it is back. health care law front and center in midterms. picture of claire mccaskill, running for reelection. an piece says she is taking approach in her fight for reelection that is unthinkable in her race six years ago. she is defending the health care law. she has attacked josh holly for

joining a lawsuit brought by conservative state officials seeking to overturn the law and has rebuked the trump administration for undercutting its protections. there is no question that the issue in this country right now is thise -- right now is in stark contrast to democrats reluctance to discuss this issue during previous campaigns, when the law was controversial. mccaskill was questioned on it during 2012, leaving one reporter accusing mccaskill of hiding her position. the conservative group generated tension.

a little bit of what is happening around the country on health care. from the state of nevada. jeff keller is defending his seat against jacky rosen. [video clip] >> i cannot support a piece of legislation that takes insurance away from hundreds of thousands nevadans. >> this was the one we were worried about. hisean heller broke promise. he voted to take health care away from 2000 -- 200,000 nevadans. jacky rosen's idea of fixing health care, a campaign commercial. congress, years in

she has done nothing to fix health care. i am fighting to protect pre-existing conditions and increase funding for those who need it most. i stacked my record up against yours any day. actions speak louder than whatever that is. we have looked at missouri, nevada, here is the wall street journal headline. democrats are hammering the issue in political ads as cutslicans attempt to tout in the economy. brentwood, california, republican. winky for calling us. for calling us. how important is health care? caller: it is not. i am disappointed in c-span. discuss our not

on my mind. difficult to get through to c-span. the one time you get through, you're forced to narrow your discussion to a talking point that c-span is pushing that sounds exactly like cnn. host: what issue would you like us to address? whether or not democratic protesters are or not a mob. what happen with nafta recently? 3.7% unemployment. -- of the unreported things you spent a lot of time on dr. blasey ford. i would likef what to talk about with the doctor was ever discussed. host: we will keep your topics in mind for future discussions.

-- we are the ones left behind rights roberta. care, i rely on aca to access health care insurance. prices swing widely and providers change from year to year. has nottes anyone who had to deal with a major illness is clueless. cass, new york, independent caller. medicare.am on i have a husband who is handicapped. i have to take care of my husband. era. trying to get human

my medicare is willing to pay and my supplement is willing to months of0 for 2.5 this stuff, but they want me to pay $6,000. i cannot afford that. health care is broken. it is ridiculous. drug companies have taken over. they are charging too much. of trying to fix obamacare, they decided to eliminate it. what is wrong with our congressmen and senators? why can't they get together? they can look at other countries in this world doing health care and see which ones are doing it well and work off those programs instead of fighting with each other. host: do you see one party or the other being better equipped to handle this issue moving

forward? caller: republicans seem to be against everything. you are calling on the independent line. do you see one part of -- one party or the other better equipped to handle this in the future? caller: i think the democrats are. they seem smarter. i don't know. there is so much infighting with both. democrats seem to have a wider idea of what is going on. republicans seem to be in it for the money, whoever is richer. maybe both of them are corrupt at this time. , calling from brook park, ohio. caller: thank you for taking my call. stand by the health care issue

mosting number one, the critical issue this country needs to stand behind. this issue is the one robbing america. republicans will do nothing to help. table the issue. they want everyone to deal with it themselves. they do not want to worry about employers helping us keep it. employers drop group plans, they do not care. i work for two insurance companies. a lot of companies cut and if it's over the years. good groupept the plans, we were in the best financial shape when people were healthy and working. we must stand behind the issue to dealthe republicans with this or get them out. get the money out of the politics so they don't stop supporting them.

and insurance companies are supporting republicans. if we do not get their names out there, with all of the private funding from citizens united to other groups standing behind lobbyist, pumping money into these campaigns, they are mostly from insurance companies in the health care profession. failed is obamacare because doctors deliberately pulled out of those plans, not because doctors did not want to go along with them, they decided they were not going to make enough money. we need to isolate the issue and push forward to get health care to be a national concern. , south carolina, republican caller. caller: l.a. on air? i on air?aller: and

v.a. my hats off to the about obamayou care. america'smmed down throat by deceptive democrats. obama said you would keep your doctor. that was a lie. trust him at on health care. how can you trust them? .nti-god, anti-israel we have a red wave coming november 6. i cannot wait. does aou said the v.a. good job. what would your critique be? what is missing from your coverage? drive farther to

than i would like to sometimes. trump signed another choice program. right downtown, five miles down the road. trump is going to pass that. health care worked prior to turning into a national issue. why not return to states handling health care issues? my hairdresser and her seven siblings were born at county hospital as well as setting her arm, school physical, shot. they're pushing solutions in the states as opposed to just the national -- just the federal governments.

in the meantime, we have words hear from the president who spoke about his efforts to deal with drug prices, to reduce them. here is a look. [video clip] >> i released our drug pricing blueprint setting out a new agenda to drive down drug prices for all americans within a week of announcing the blueprint, my administration began to crack down on so-called gag clauses in medicare, part d plans. these clauses present -- prevent pharmacists from telling patience about more affordable options for prescription drugs. congress is building on my administration's actions to completely end these unjust gag clauses. citizens deserve to know the lowest price available at our

pharmacies. now, that is what they are getting. they will be able to see pricing , see where they should go, and as they start leaving certain pharmacies, they will be dropping their prices. cost voting to reduce the of health care should be a priority over forcing people to prices.e current get big pharma off of wall street. you cannot fix health care if it is profit over people. william, good morning. health care should be the number one thing for this nation. education to follow. i do not understand why people are so angry about obama care or any other that is being thought through. , there is nohealth

strong nation. i am tired of people talking about socialism, socialists. people don't have a clue, if you have not lived in a socialist system, to know how it works. this has nothing to do with socialism. it is about a healthy nation, a strong nation, and a well-informed and educated nation. that is my opinion. thank you. host: to idaho falls, idaho. a democratic caller. caller: thank you for c-span, for bringing all of these good questions in for people. about health care, most insurance companies are just business. people are invested in them.

they are going to make money out of them. if they take all of the , theirians and put them health care on the same level as normal people, they will realize they will not have good health care. we are paying for their health care and we do not have health care. something is wrong with that. that is all i have to say. lucas, washington, virginia. how important is health care to your vote? much.: not too since obama care, there is no tax penalty now if you do not get it. that is great. this couples with comments of previous scholars -- previous callers. a government takeover of any industry, prices go through the roof. that is what we have seen with

the medical industry. the medical industry is only good at fixing broken bones and severe conditions. most people use medical care for chronic conditions and they are treating symptoms. if people want to get healthy, they need to take care of themselves through natural means. that, my family has done that. we got out of the medical field except for broken bones. -- want to make, what your one point i want to make, what your first caller made, i was trying to get in during the blasey ford testimony. she lied. she never coached anyone with the lie detector test. that was a lie. she accumulated over one million-dollar through a

gofundme. her fear ofut flying and that nonsense and she flew regularly. i would like to see more points about that. they almost damaged a supreme court justice based on accusations alone. back to health care. there is no hope for that because prices continue to increase. people were upset and angry about obamacare because of the amazing amount of money that was costing people. you were bankrupting people before they would get in to see a doctor with premiums skyhigh. host: we will get to more of your calls in a couple of minutes. the wall street journal piece. health care crowds out jobs and taxes.

once mom on health care, democrats are hammering the issue as the gop attempts tax cuts. here is a little bit of what they wrote. ads, they found out back in 2010, 20 9% of republican ads targeted the aca. messaging was split between positive and negative messages. 2014, 44% of republican ads attacked obama care. 31% of democratic ads mentioned the issue. in 2018, nearly 50% of democratic ads mentioned health care. on the republican side, just 21%. growingcts the popularity of the affordable care act as its provisions have come into effect.

whopercentage of americans hold favorable views of the law has surpassed the share opposing it. joe manchin is running for reelection in west virginia. [video clip] haven't changed. i might be older, but i will take on anyone who messes with west virginia. the threat is patrick morrissey's lawsuit to take away health care from people with pre-existing health care. he is wrong. that is not going to happen. for me, it is about west virginia. host: that to your calls. we will do this for about 35 more minutes. how important health care is to your vote. democratic line. is the mostth care

important issue facing america. the republicans want to eliminate pre-existing conditions. have you heard of a definition of pre-existing condition? no one can define it because it is too loose. it gives an insurance company the right not to pay for health care. we need a german or canadian style health care. people in canada love their health care system. they get sick, they go to the hospital, the doctor, they get treated and they leave. there is no paperwork, no bills. there is nothing wrong with it. -- itly, republicans are is a sham organization. they give tax cuts to the uber wealthy and they do not take care of americans. if i were running for office, i

would make health care the number one issue in america. host: gene, democratic caller. caller: good morning. i am a 79-year-old disabled vet. i do not have medicare. the only health care i have is the v.a. we ought to be ashamed of ourselves that we cannot even provide a basic health care to every american. we are not that great. look at the indian health service. want to callyou it. we need to have something. sick,a shame when you get you go bankrupt or you have to ask people to help you. it is bad. host: what are the pluses and minuses of your v.a. health care? caller: it is the best in the

world. cancer --trate prostate cancer for 23 years. go to the v.a. in phoenix, arizona. i live about an hour and a half away from the center. i have to see my cancer doctor. it is the best in the world. you for calling. best of luck to you. chris, milwaukee, independent caller. how important is health care in your voting? number one.s i am on medicare. i have medicare supplementary. both me and my husband. medicare, my medicare supplementary between me and my husband costs over $8,000, plus

we pay for our medicare premiums. nothing is free. i don't expect it to be free. a disabled daughter not on medicare, who is worried runs out what she is going to do with insurance because she is a pre-existing condition. whon tell you, these people call up and say just live healthy, my daughter, who is in her 50's, was totally healthy. came outwas 26, she with a chronic disease. you talk about the people who have hereditary problems, the people who get into accidents.

i used to work in the medical profession. i can tell you, i worked on the insurance side. i put the insurance payments computer on people's accounts. when you are working and you a -- you haveave a two-year-old kid who dies, just in one day, he gets $30,000 worth of bills that are refused because of a pre-existing condition because the kid happened to be born with something. that is just one day of bills. it is a constant thing. people are suffering out there. 411 men womanse who had asus syrian and they

said she did not -- we had to afuse for a woman who had and they said she did not need anesthesia. i am not diabetic. -- i am diabetic. i have never been fat. i come from a long line of diabetics. live -- take a few vitamins and say live healthy. host: thank you for sharing your situation. control point.a federal government should not be in charge of health care unless you want to be a slave. government drives medical inflation. we have plenty of time for your calls. we will bring in other news now.

the president and first lady are heading to florida and georgia to visit the storm ravaged southern georgia. they are going to meet with folks affected. they're going to survey the storm damage. we will hear more about funding once congress gets back in session. bill to getmergency money to those folks. here is one of the headlines. officials fear the death toll will rise. 17 reported dead after michael hit the florida panhandle. the wall street journal -- crews search for missing after storm. dozens in the florida panhandle are unaccounted for. an estimated 79 people were unaccounted for in mexico beach.

this is a search and rescue team havesouth florida, they been in mexico beach's since thursday. the number is fluid and changing as authorities locate people. many could be out of phone contact or staying with loved ones that folks did not know about. they will still be looking for people throughout the week. newspaper,pensacola hurricane michael, tyndall air force base was severely damaged. it will recover. leaders did a news conference yesterday outside of tyndall, close to where the hurricane hit. the base would recover in the long term and losses could be absorbed in the short term. it is home to a fighter wing that flies the most sophisticated fighter in the

pentagon's arsenal. they would not confirm which or how many aircraft were at theall wendy storm -- when storm hit. have some coverage of the president and first lady's trip to florida and georgia today. we are not certain if it will be live. health care. robert, minnesota, republican. you have been patient. how important is health care? socialized health care, , i am onacare disability. i am under state coverage. isn'teve obamacare

working out. trump has a better idea for health care. what are you looking for that is not there now? caller: well, socialized health costs.ives up insurance if everybody had health care programs like blue cross, other i just don't go for this obamacare, you know. the way i feel about it. host: let's move on to rockport, new york. vince, what are your thoughts? health is really

important. i have been on medicare for 15 years. there is help out there, there is nobody telling you where to go, or how to get the help. they should train people to help people in programs that are out there now instead of complaining. host: tell us more about your experiences with the system lately. caller: it has been pretty good, don't have to pay any copayments, my drug coverage is cheap. see why people are complaining, they just need to know how to get out, or how to disabled.en you are host: vince, thank you for your thoughts. joseph from new york. a democrat. how important is health care to your vote this year? caller: pretty important.

it is up there on the list being a 70-year-old dialysis patient for the last two years. because yourlt costs at the end of the year, .our cap is usually pretty high there is always a bill due at the end of the month. the only that don't are our veterans that don't have a co-pay, and they deserve it. it will cost the average person $4000, $5,000 a year at the end of the year to level off. payments are $2200 a week insurance cost. between $75nywhere to $400 a month.

pre-existing conditions exist, you can be on this a long time waiting for a kidney. anyone over 72 has a lower chance of getting a kidney, which is just, because it really belongs to the younger person. but it is a problem. host: thank you for calling. michael writes in the last two and a half years, the gop has done everything to destroy health care by making it so expensive it is out of range. the gop in charge of health care looks to put the cost of pre-existing conditions back in place. writes freud pre-existing conditions is a democratic canard. here is how you fix it. have an open enrollment were all can join. if you get sick and have no insurance, it is up to you. aj is on the line from hawaii.

independent caller. caller: good morning. this subject makes me so angry. i grew up in britain, i am 72 years old. unfortunately, i have medicare now. i've been in the united states for almost 50 years. in the other advanced nations of the world, the top 29 nations all have nationalized health care. we call ourselves a great nation, all of this nonsense we talk about. we are not great at all. listen to everybody calling in here this morning, it is pitiful the things that people have to go through. the people in canada don't have to go into bankruptcy when they get old and sick to my people in britain, australia, france, germany, even mexico. we pay more than twice for our health care than anybody else and we had world

millions of people that don't have any health care at all. britain it covers dental, mental health, addictions. we can to this. it is not like inventing the wheel. experience in the u.k., how long on average did it take you to see a doctor? caller: this is one of the big lies about waiting. i have heard all these arguments over and over again. sometimes people wait for things. half of my family is in medicine, my brother is a doctor, so is his wife. the waiting thing is just a sean hannity invention. people don't wait any longer for medicine than they do here. probably longer here actually. votee need to wake up and -- don't vote for republicans. voting for republicans and health care is like giving your

children to a pedophile. it is crazy. go out and vote and we can change this. host: one more question. which islands are you on? caller: the island of a wahoo. host: tell us about your experience there in terms of health care, access, how it works in a particular state. to the united states in 1971, a united states citizen now. i went almost 40 years without health care and raise a family without any insurance. .e had to be our own doctors when things happened, we had to pay for it out-of-pocket. i am 72 years old. my entire lifetime britain has had health care. germany has had health care for most 100 years. i am fortunate that i get medicare now, i'm very grateful

for that. hawaii has a high standard of medical support, actually, one of the best in the country. thatm very thankful for but i hear the stories coming in this morning and it breaks my heart. we don't need to be this way, america. host: thank you for calling. nrcc ad ad to show you, targeting the democratic challenger in the 19 congressional district in new york. ♪

host: more of your calls on health care. how important is the issue to your vote this year? julie is calling from delaware, ohio. caller: thanks for taking my call. it is very important. when i voted for obama care, i voted for obama, i thought he had the greatest health care. i thought it would be taken care of. then when i lost my insurance and my health care coverage doubled, i'm like, why did he lie? i lost my doctors. he totally lied. that is why i'm an independent. now i don't believe anybody on health care because they are all liars. i cannot afford to go to the doctor. $5,000 beforeis it pays anything. and this is through employer.

i don't understand why we just can go back to where we were. we can pick and choose what we want to be covered. makes no sense. jim in waverly, kansas. you are on the line for republicans. caller: good morning. i am calling and because i have seen a lot of this. my biggest thing is, pre-existing conditions and health insurance is not the same thing. pre-existing conditions, i don't have problem with government covering it but regular insurance is covered under a different thing. pre-existing conditions should be covered for everyone who has pre-existing conditions that i know so many people that are on medicaid that should be out working.

a lot of them, tons of them. young people. using it as an excuse not to go to work. insurance itself is a gamble. there is no gamble in pre-existing conditions. condition where i want a doctor to do something and i go to my insurance company, if something goes wrong, i can fall back on the government. if the government does it, you are like that young man in england, the government decided that he could not leave. i have a niece in canada. she has bad medical condition. come to america to get operated on. the reason they do that is because she has a long line she has to wait on. six months to get a pap smear. if you have everyone going to

the doctor, you don't have enough doctors. doctors have no incentive to get into the medical field because the government tells them exactly what they can make. all of these people that want free this and free that. the government doesn't have any money. the government runs off of our money. under 20 minutes for your calls on how important health care is for your 2018 vote. saudi's ares, the rejecting any threats by the u.s. they warn oil prices could soar, talking about the disappearance of the washington post contributor. they warn any sanctions against the oil-rich kingdom would be met with greater action and possibly exploding oil prices. the president said the saudi's thed face punishment over murdering of the reporter. u.k.,s a story out of the

a short while ago, turkish lease will search istanbul consulate as saudi arabia orders probe into the journalists disappearance. turkish police are expected to search the consulate in istanbul for the first time today since saudi arabia ordered an internal investigation into the case. broadcaster said they agree to allow investigators into the consulate to make their first search of the facility since mr. khashoggi finished. turkish officials previously said saudi's were resisting a search of the consulate after it was revealed that officials plan to use a forensic chemical which revealed bloodstains. last night on 60 minutes, you saw president trump on a variety of topics, one of them was jamal khashoggi. this is what the president had to say last night. >> was he murdered by the

saudi's, did the prince give the order to kill him? >> nobody knows yet but we will probably be able to find out. it is being investigated. it is being looked at strongly. we would be upset and angry if that were the case. they have denied it vehemently. could it be them? yes. >> jarret, your son-in-law, got on the phone and asked the prince. >> they deny it everywhere you can imagine. in the not-too-distant future i think we will know an answer. >> let's say they did. what are your options? imposing consider sanctions as a bipartisan group of senators has proposed? >> it depends on the sanctions. they are ordering military weapons. everybody in the world wanted that order. russia wanted it, china wanted it, we got it.

i will tell you what i don't want to do. -- ig, lockheed, raytheon don't want to hurt jobs. i don't want to lose an order like that. there are other ways of punishing, to use a word that is a pretty harsh word, but it is true. >> tell everybody what is at stake here. >> there is a lot at stake. maybe especially so because this man was a reporter. something you'll be surprised if you're me say. something really terrible and disgusting about that if that were the case. we will see. we will get to the bottom of it, and there will be severe punishment. host: there is this from the new york times, the ceo jamie done in, will skip an event in riyadh, saudi arabia. he is backing out of an investment conference.

a spokesman said the chief executive who was set to be one of the headline speakers at the future investment initiative would no longer attend. he did not explain the reasoning. it goes on to say mr. dimon's withdraw comes as world leaders grapple with the decision by turkish authorities. a number of corporate executives previously withdrew for the conference, including the uber chief executive and the chairman of the ford motor company. kevin, blackwood, new jersey. thank you for waiting. how important is health care this year? as always, one of our number-one problems in the country and needs to be addressed. as a disabled physician, i have studied all the health care systems, throughout the world,

and it is just unbelievable that in our country we spend by far the most of any country in the world per person but we have some of the worst health and disease, millions of people that don't have health care. i think it is criminal that we are spending trillions of andars on the military ,iving tax cuts to the rich cutting funding for basic medical research. we have the greatest minds in science and technology. we should be solving things like alzheimer's, -- host: let me ask you about the first point, bringing cost down. do you have the best sense of how to do that? caller: obamacare, they always talk about how that increased

our health costs. it slowed the progression of that increase, but the problem is, it is the insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and they are the biggest lobbies, and nobody is addressing those things. like i said, our expenditure, for when you are getting -- look at one little thing. something called the infant mortality rate. born.ath of babies being why is our country one of the lowest? infant one of the worst mortality rates compared to the rest of the 29 industrialized countries. we are close to the infant mortality rate of third world countries. that one little fact.

the most innocent. to me, it is just criminal. .he most vulnerable the current things they are talking about cutting, pre-existing conditions, you know. host: we get the point, thank you for calling. facebook, itng on is the most important issue in my book, health care. each day i reflect on how fortunate i am to have access to health care over a lifetime and i think it is shameful that some have to mount gofundme campaigns. here is a story about democratic senator elizabeth warren. the washington post reports she is releasing dna test evidence suggesting distant native american ancestry. senator warren, who is gearing up for a potential 2020 bid, has

released a dna test that suggests she has a distant native american ancestor, part of an extraordinary effort to discredit president trump and others who have questioned her heritage. the report concludes there is strong evidence the senator had a native american in her family tree dating back six generations. from the boston globe were widely distributed by the war and senate campaign committee along with a video upbringing, seeking to debunk critics of her heritage. matthew is on the line from virginia beach. independent caller. how important is health care this year? caller: very important. history, from my wife dying from breast cancer, myself being on dialysis, kidney transplant.

believe me, i have been through it all. i have enjoyed a lot of the comments, particularly the gentleman that called in to talk about health care all over the world. all civilized countries have health care. it is not like reinventing the wheel. i resent the fact when people call it obamacare like it is some kind of curse word. we have to remember that was a republican plan. said i'm going to do everything to make sure this president fails. this translates to make america fail. the gop has done everything to make that insurance unaffordable for everybody. we need to wake up. i am on medicare because of my kidney failure. i never had a problem choosing my doctors. i educated myself when i have something go wrong with me. i talked to my doctor about my

condition, i take care of myself , i eat healthy. april who say we don't need government-sponsored health care apparently never had a situation where they lost a job or they childrens, if their become ill, you lose your health insurance. trust me, they will take care of you as long as you pay their premium. once you are unable to work, cannot pay the premium, you could come down with kidney failure, high blood pressure, the insurance will cancel the minute you cannot pay the premium. care ofto take ourselves, stop smoking, stop drinking. just watch out for everyone. i see people smoking, i tell them, you are killing yourself. that is what i have to say. i appreciate you letting me give my opinion. liverpool,d is in

texas. how important is health care in your vote this year? caller: the number one thing. everyone needs health care, whether they believe it or not. giving this problem to the same people over and over again, the gop. they always tell us the same thing. this is as good as it will get, we cannot do any better. youe give it to you the way need it, it will come out of our pockets, and we cannot handle giving you money. host: wanted to ask you, how front and center is health care in that texas senate race we have been following? caller: it is very one-sided at the moment, everything is read, but it is slowly moving to blue. things will never change much once they change of blue and inequality gets around to everybody. host: is health care part of the

ad campaigns of candidates? caller: they do mention it on all of them. the gop just does not seem to care enough -- obamacare did work. if they just came together and put their heads together to make it work, we can call it anything you want to call it, just make it work. let's not keep fighting, i will lose money. everyone here saying, we are not going to do nothing. we need to get rid of all of those people that keep saying that and get some fresh brains in there and get this taken care of. everybody is laughing at us. host: thank you for your thoughts. we will have one of the debates between democratic senator ted over -- betoer o'rourke tomorrow. me to backlash.

kavanaugh conflict riles conservatives as well. it is the front page. washington times, feinstein on track to win reelection bid. republicans accuse her of dirty tricks while the far left say she has gone soft. feinstein emerged mainly unscathed from the supreme court fight is out on track to win reelection. democrats zero in on swing states trump won in 2016 as republicans fall flat. a shot of lou barletta with president trump. he is well behind in that senate race, a swing state. pennsylvania, trump won narrowly. be able toke may not overcome texas redwall, they are saying, maybe not this time around. takingamerican women historic wins at congressional and state levels. a shot of dem holland addressing supporters in albuquerque.

one more political story i want to draw your attention to, stacey abrams, the democratic gubernatorial candidate in georgia says her republican rival asked auld 53,000 voter registration forms as a pattern of savior aimed at tilting the election in the gop's favor. the headline in the washington camp says abrams accuses of voter suppression. she was asked about all of this yesterday. the call for his resignation is larger than simply does latest example of incompetence. this is a larger pattern of behavior. this is someone who sued a woman who tried to cast a ballot for her blind mother. this is someone who failed to take responsibility for his actions. when something goes well, he takes credit. when there is a problem, he someone else.

voting should not be a question of trust, whether they should trust the system. right now he is eroding the public trust in the system because 53,000 people have been told you may be able to vote or maybe not, it is up to you to prove it. this is being depicted in georgia media and across the country is that this being racially motivated. are you saying he is being racially motivated in who he is targeting here? >> we have known six 2016 that the met system has a disproportionate effect on people of color and women. he was sued for this exact problem, was forced to restore 30 3000 illegally canceled registrations, and he turned around and got the legislator to pass a law to allow him to make the same mistake again. when you know what you are doing will have a disproportionate effect on people of color and , thatand you do it anyway

arose the public trust in the system, and that is problematic. host: follow-up from the republican in this race. state intary of georgia. he blasted the voter suppression claim calling it incredibly dishonest, pointing out the 53,000 voters whose illustrations were flagged may still cast ballots. the georgians can still vote in the november 6 election. dark money voter frustration groups submitted lobby forms and now they are faking outrage for political gain. more on the race in georgia for the governorship. a couple more calls on health care. zach is in bronx, new york. good morning. i have to say, i didn't want to vote before for any parties that were republican or democrat and i'm really disappointed that our politicians. they have made a lot about health care or whatever but they

never keep them. pages, in twitter don't know how i got to a candidate's page. onon't know why i clicked one of those videos on the page entitled, watch me explain why we will win in november. we have to think about this candidate is exactly who we need in our congress because she doingreally serious about things firmly to solve our main issues as much as she can. sixill vote for her on november. thank you. host: entree, you are the last caller. hampstead, maryland. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call.

i have a quick story about a lawsuit i was involved in in the 1980's. my wife at the time was having pains in her stomach. we couldn't find out what was going on. we took her to a couple of places. over the year come off and on. they couldn't find out what was going on. we finally took her to greater baltimore. they said she has gallstones. so she had an operation, came home. we get a letter from the insurance company -- we are not going to pay because of pre-existing conditions. so i am sitting there, getting ready to write the check to the hospital, so i figure -- so i wondered what do they mean by existing conditions? i called the insurance company. they gave me the runaround. so we went to court. pretrial settlement in baltimore. my attorney said it would end there. they would not want to take it to trial. because they would not tell us

what the pre-existing condition was, because there was not. -- onne. -- none. so i had to pay attorney fees. pre-existingory on conditions. it is important to have that in any kind of insurance debate. it is great to have that, because people do not need to have that taken away from them, their healthing against them in the health care debate. host: ok. we will be talking more about this issue in the weeks and months in advance of the election. we are 22 days away from the midterm elections now. one hour down, two to go on this monday edition of "washington journal." when we come back, we will talk about the federal reserve. in human appelbaum of the "new york times" -- binyamin appelbaum of the "new

york times" will join us. later on, emily barson and tom kise will be here come out with an organization called the united states of care. they are looking for state solutions over federal solutions in the health care issue. ♪ >> tonight on "the communicators," the association officialsassociations talks about emergency medications and what has changed since the 9/11 attacks. he is -- >> the challenges when someone is inside a building. termhas been championing a

that means a door to kick down. if someone is behind an apartment door or apartment suite, 911 needs to know where to send the responders. that is a tough technological challenge. adopted ane fcc order which was groundbreaking. it was the first time to have requirement on carriers to determine a caller's location inside a building paid and followed a lengthy negotiation that apco did where we negotiated with the four major carriers in their industry representatives. we came up with a plan and presented it to the fcc. the fcc basically adopted it. it has put us on track to get responsible location. the carriers are on track. they are testing the special location technologies. we are hopeful that will produce good results. >> watch "the communicators"

tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span 2. >> c-span. where history unfolds daily 1979, c-span was created as a public service to test for america's television companies. we bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >> "washington journal" continues. at the table now, binyamin appelbaum of the "new york times." thank you for joining us. we asked you to come onto talk about the big drop in the stock markets last week. they came back a little bit friday, but last week was not a

good week. what was the reason? guest: well, you cannot interview a stock market, so it is always hard to tell what the reason is. there are a couple of big things going on. bond interest rates are rising, and people are moving into bonds. this is a normal part of the evolution of a strong economy. it has been overdue. the federal reserve is raising interest rates, making bonds more attractive. and people appear concerned about the high valuations of technology companies. there has been a lot of optimism about their futures. be worry aboutto the global economy. host: where do you think things are headed? guest: i am not fully enough to make a prediction in the stock market. host: what should people be worried about? we know mortgage rates are growing -- going up for

homeowners. guest: the trend towards higher interest rates is real and will continue. the federal reserve has made clear they plan to continue raising rates. if you are a borrower, you would sick -- see paying more for monthly payments for your car. the stock market is harder to predict. if you are an investor, have a long-term strategy and do not pay too much attention to what is happening any given day. host: how would you describe the condition of the u.s. economy? guest: it seems to be in good shape. jay powell has called it a bright moment for the u.s. economy. things seem to be going forward steadily and smoothly. the are in one of the longest economic expansions in u.s. history. there is not a lot of signs of trouble on the horizon. growth has been stronger in the past. we are waiting for more upward movement in wages.

but things are going well so far. host: we are talking about the stock market and the economy in general with binyamin appelbaum. we want to get your questions and comments. if you live in an eastern or central time zone, the number is (202) 748-8000. in the western part of the country, it is (202) 748-8001. the headline to a piece you wrote after the president attacked that fed -- here's a look at that headline in the "new york times." the president did and interview with fox and friends where he criticized the recent fed move. [video clip] >> the federal reserve is getting a little too cute, that is all. what theydiculous, are doing. by the democrats, they would knock it down. instead of being up 50%, you will be down 50%. when i took over this economy --

we were at one percent gdp. now, we are at 4.2%. it was ready to crash. if you look from the great depression, it was the worst recovery in the history of our country. obama threw tremendous money at it. obama was playing with zero money. with funny money. i am -- i would like our fed not to be so aggressive. i think they are making a big mistake. what thelain, first, role of the federal reserve is. inst: the federal reserve is charge of controlling the rate of growth in the economy. if things are going too fast, it has the capacity to slow things down. if things are going too slowly, it has the capacity to speed things up, aiming to keep unemployment at a low level, keep inflation steady.

basically a regulator. host: the president said the fed's actions were "ridiculous." what is he trying to say and what is the reality of what he is saying to the fed? guest: he has been extremely critical of the fed. he has not been always coherent about why, but as far as we can understand, he is upset the fed is raising interest rates. he is arguing they do not need to be restricting economic growth at the moment, that it is a mistake for them to be trying to step on the brakes a little bit, that the economy is not strong enough for the fed to be doing that. one of the issues he has mentioned is the federal debt, which is interesting. the president caused the federal debt to increase massively by passing large tax cuts and simultaneously increasing federal spending. now, he is saying if interest rates go up, we will spend more money on interest payments. i do not wanted spend more money on interest payments. no one wants to spend more money

on interest payments paired one way to do that is to borrow less money. host: does the president control the fed? guest: indirectly, he has considerable influence by appointing members of the fed's board of governors. but once he has done that, they have independent authority. so he can yell at them, but they have autonomy to make their own decisions. host: what else has the fed chairman, mr. powell, telegraphed in terms of rate hikes? guest: the fed is expected to raise rates again for the sixth consecutive quarter in november. they predict more rate increases next year. rates are still at a low level in historical standards. the fed is still lightly tapping on the accelerator. they want to stop doing that. they think the economy is strong enough to do it on their own. host: timothy is on the call from new york for binyamin appelbaum. good morning. caller: yes, i have a question.

i have one little complaint for c-span. thank you. the last time i had called in, i suggested -- i made a suggestion, simply, that instead of having democrat, republican line, that you go regional. host: which we are doing now. caller: you are doing regional now? ok, then. wheneople fight so much you have the democrat and republican. i did that. and i also digested that you have a discussion on israel -- i also suggested you have a discussion on israel. as soon as i said that, i got cut off. i used to call from north carolina. but it has been six months and

you do not take my calls. host: a couple of things. thank you for calling in. we will let you get to your question for our guest. for aank you for the idea future segment. what would you like to ask our guest? caller: as far as the federal i want toirst of all, say that the money we have been spending and the tax cuts and it has takense, this government completely down. toald trump does not want raise interest rates, so that country can make back the money it has given away, because he wants his economy to look good. it seems like they can take all of this money and give tax cuts to the rich -- $2 trillion -- and they cannot pay any money for health care. and these guys did not even need the money. they were making record profits.

so i would say to the democrats, wake up and start making the points that matter. and stop being like the republicans and look at things and have a decent argument. it is a shame that people are getting away with all of this stuff. donald trump, on all his talking points. and nobody is going back with nothing. and the last thing i want to say, sir, is i noticed -- nobody brought this up. when kavanaugh was confirmed, democrats -- they wouldn't bring that thing out at first. of course, i wouldn't have brought it out either. waswhappe --what happened recordeleased the guy's speed they ran away from it and acted like they did not know who leaked it. host: thank you.

was there anything there? guest: the economic evocations of the tax cuts the caller raised -- the tax cuts are providing a short-term boost to the economy. they are part of the reasons why the economy is stronger. in the longer-term, we will have to see. republicans have said they think this will turn into sustainable longer-term economic growth. democrats warn this is part of the economic problems we will face going forward. host: you used the term "short-term." for the tax cuts. you think they have run their course or are there more gains to be had? guest: the predicted effects of handing out money to people will be prevalent in the current year and a little into next year. then republican said if you cut taxes, you will encourage investments and get a longer-term boost to the economy. we have not seen that yet. we did not expect to.

the four congress went out for the elections, we saw a push on the republican side in the house to make those tax cuts permanent. is that something you see happening? guest: there will be a lot of debate about it. the upcoming elections will be pretty decisive about it. if republican secure a majority, they will be able to move ahead with their plans for the tax cuts. host: we go to bob in michigan. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: good. caller: got one question and one comment. ron paul for years has been trying to find out who owns the federal reserve. money next thing is all comes into circulation as borrowed. when you borrow money, it comes with interest. it is mathematically impossible to pay off the debt because of that. i will take your answer offline. guest: the federal reserve is a

complicated entity. the federal reserve's board of governors as part of the federal government here in washington, just off the national mall. they control the federal reserve system. the federal reserve system is comprised of 12 regional banks, which are technically owned by commercial banks in each region of the company. they hold shares in the fed. they do not have operational control over those branches. decisions are made in washington. but it is a joint public-private entity. it is kind of an unusual hybrid in our system of government. i am not sure about the statements you made in the second part of your call. it is possible to repay the national debt, although not anytime soon. host: sam on the line from california. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i have a philosophical question on the need for the fed. i am completely apolitical. why the fed exists.

to set interest rates. when market forces can accomplish the same outcome much more effectively and efficiently. if i want to lend to my neighbor , and i trust him, i can set an interest rate of 1%. if i want to sell or borrow to the other neighbor that i do not trust in that much, i can set it at 2%. why do we need the fed to interfere in market forces? guest: when ronald reagan first met with the head of the federal reserve in the 1980's, he asked him the same question. why do we have a federal reserve? the answer is not to control interest rates. the fed was created to prevent and respond to financial crises. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the american economy was plagued by repeated financial crises. markets would destabilize, spin

out of control. millions would suffer. the fed was created to provide liquidity, money, to the banking system during periods when banks stop being able to help themselves or each other. that is why we have a federal reserve. we saw that during the 2008 crisis. the federal reserve stepped forward and intervened massively in the financial system to stabilize the economy. secondly over time, the fed developed as economic regulator. most people think you need some type of government policy to determine the level of interest rates, the growth of the money, control the amount of stimulus being provided to the economy. but there have been different proposals about how to do that. the one aspect of the federal reserve that is hard to get around is if you do not have a central bank during a financial crisis, history tells us things are a lot more painful. host: steve writes on twitter and brings politics into this. --ticularly for

is the fed something we are hearing on the campaign trail? guest: no, it has died down a lot. there was a period after the crisis that the fed intervened that some people were upset over the roles they played. people from both parties tried to limit its role in the economy. when things are going well in the economy, we start hearing a lot less about the federal reserve. it is quite unusual for the president to be attacking the fed during a period of such prolonged economic growth. and we really have not heard republican candidates picking up on the theme, at least to this point. host: are there fed defenders? guest: there are. you may call them the quiet majority. but there are a lot of people who think the institution basically does what it should and it is not high on the list of things that need to be fixed here in washington.

host: there is another tweet here -- when did the expansion of the economy start? guest: the most recent recession ended in june, 2009, and the economy has been extending since then. host: do you see future growth? guest: yes. there is no obvious stress on the economy right now. cicely because this has been a slow and steady recovery, there is not a lot of sign of overheating. indication is growth can continue for some time. people who say that sometimes get caught by something on expect it so maybe i will look back on this clip and regret it, but there is nothing obvious on the horizon. host: let's hear from george from pennsylvania. caller: good morning. top of the morning to you all. i wanted to make a comment, then i will ask a question.

money is a two-sided object. one side is profit. everyone actually understands that, when you talk about profit. the point is how do we do trade. the other side is well-being. people spend because everyone is wealthy. prophet -- pa, the rofit, you have to pay interest. we paid interest before we even even ouric interest -- health care, we cannot resolve collective,f our basede our health care is on profit. on market values.

when mr. obama said the thing give eachd it up to and every one of us an opportunity to be healthy. and at that time, it was affordable. but as soon as the government got involved, private interest, spending of all of the prices. question to you is you that-- you made a comment we are not under the threat of paying off our national debt. i think that is coldhearted, i am africanor -- american. i make half as much money as white people because this whole system is controlled by fortune,

power, and racism. i do not have a choice. i am on health care because of dialysis issues. it makes it possible for me to live. you understand what i am saying? but i can hardly afford it they suck all of the money out of it because private interest is paid first before anybody even -- host: all right. let's hear from our guest. guest: my comment about the federal debt was just in respect to how large it is. federal debt continues to grow. we would need to run annual surpluses in the federal budget to -- we are headed in the wrong direction if we want to repay

the federal debt. host: here's a tweet for you. the federal reserve is privately owned. that is part of the problem. is that true? guest: that is not true. the federal reserve is a federal agency. it oversees a system of federal reserve banks, which are owned by consortiums of commercial banks in each region. but the federal reserve board here is part of the federal government. host: any sense of why they would ask that? guest: this is a common theory. and there is a hybrid structure where operational arms of the fed are under private ownership, but there is a public board in washington that controls the system. host: how many people serve on the fed and how often do they meet? guest: there are seven seats on the board of governor. it is unusual for them to be filled all at the same time. right now, there are four members. they meet eight times each year. host: how long does the chairman

get to serve? term. it is a four-year most serve more than one term, although janet yellen, the last, only served one term. host: deborah in new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i am curious if the european union has an equivalent to our federal reserve. i will take the answer off-line. thank you. guest: great question. it is almost the european union. most numbers of the european union are part of a currency union. they share the euro. the members of that currency zone have a united central bank called the european central bank, which makes monetary policy for that currency zone. it is not exactly overlap with the european union. the united kingdom is part of the european union but not part

of the euro zone, although the united kingdom is on its way out of the european union at the moment. host: gordon in laramie. hello. to spend a lot of dell for a couple of years before he got the economy squared away. also, i am a 72 years old. k a year.ss than 40 i do not know if i am low or middle. but i am looking forward to doubling my standard deduction next year. it will help a lot. in some global morning. it is five above zero this morning. host: anything you want to respond to? guest: i missed of the first part of the comment, but if u.s. describing the benefits of the tax cuts for himself, there is no doubt the short term has provided a lot of money for americans to increase spending. host: we want to scottrade a little more and also trade deals

that have happened between the u.s. and other countries. what is their impact on the current economy and people's pocketbooks. trade is actually not that point of the american economy. we are the most self-contained economy, which means the largest share of our economic activity is americans dealing with other americans. so trade is a relatively small factor. when it is going well, it has tended to increase the total size of our economy, though the distributions of those games have been hugely unequal -- gain s have been hugely unequal. so the rust belt has really suffered and lost a lot of jobs as a result of trade. is whenhave seen lately you get rapid change of any kind -- and right now, the trump

administration is really changing the rules of trade -- it is disruptive to the economy. some of the people have been winning are now struggling to adjust to these changes. companies that relied on imported parts, importing alumina and steel -- aluminum and steel, are facing higher prices and tariffs. factory in the midwest -- it is the only plant in america that still made nails. they used imported steel. their prices have gone up. they have had to lay off a lot of workers as a consequence. these disruptions can be significant. host: at the same time, is it true that the trade conflicts the u.s. is having with china and other countries winds up costing when people go to buy goods? guest: most economists expect when you raise tariffs, basically a tax on imported goods, a fair share of that will be paid by consumers.

mainof that ghost to the country. but it will be divided between the people who make the product and people who buy the product. host: more about the economy with our guest, binyamin appelbaum of the "new york times," the washington correspondent for the federal reserve. here to talk about the stock market, -- keith is on the line. caller: good morning. your definition of the fed bank is, in no way, the same description of an oligarchy. private and public. but to go to my question, we always talk about the corporations tax cuts and everything, but you did not discuss the implications of the raising of the income of people and all of the jobs it is providing. and what has been exposed in

12 millioneven with to 25 million illegal immigrants, we are deeply short of skilled labor and need to get our immigration policy in order. my question for the fed is during the great recession, the fed. in a lot of that that on its books. almost $1 was trillion. will the interest rate going up help that off the books or will it hurt it? thet: i am not sure what caller means -- during the aftermath of the financial crisis, the federal reserve, as part of its efforts to stimulate the economy, purchased trillions of dollars of treasury securities, the world's safest investment, and mortgage-backed, also quite safe. high-quality mortgage bonds, in an effort to drive down interest rates in mortgage loans.

neither of those investments are regarded as low quality. the fed is gradually beginning to sell those. there is no signs it will sustain a loss on those investments. host: jack calling from new york. good morning. caller: good morning. theve a question regarding fed cutting rates. i am under the impression that when the fed raises interest rates, it causes the stock market as a whole to go down. so would it not make sense for trump to ask for cuts? host: we will move on to another call in aurora, colorado. what is your name? are you there? can you hear me now?

question. reserve createl ?oney do private banks profit from money created by the federal reserve? guest: the fed creates money in two ways. one is it literally orders money from the treasury department department, which prints the bills that may be in your market. the others it creates it electronically. a purchase bonds is form financial -- then it purchases using accounts at the fed. that money is added to the total amount of money in the financial system. the fed has the power to create as much money is at once at any time. regional reserve banks record annual profits. those go back to the treasury

department. the fed transfers that money to the fed every year. in recent years, the fed has been a normatively profitable, and the american people have been the beneficiaries. tens of millions of dollars have been transferred to the treasury department, reducing the federal debt each year. the intervention after the financial crisis has been hugely profitable. host: chester from arkansas. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am curious about a recent senate sub committee hearing stating that $9 trillion in off ledger transactions are unaccounted for by the federal reserve. i have a three-part question. speaker speak of treasury bills being good debt when they are not collateralized by anything? and given that the united states

constitution clearly states that the only thing that can be used as money within the united states is gold and silver, how can the federal reserve operate issuing bills that are not backed by gold and silver and are not gold and silver? say they are operating within the law. familiar witht the subcommittee the collet references. the debt of the united states is backed by the full faith and credit of the united states government. bet.nk it is a good other people are free to disagree. the currency is not backed by gold or silver, it is backed by the full faith and credit of the united states government. most of the world uses it as the standard currency of international exchange. people in other countries hoard it as a valuable asset.

people seem to see it has value. but if you do not, i would be happy to take yours. host: mark writing in on twitter wants to know why raise interest rates? inflation is not that high. no reason to raise interest rates except to stop the stock market rise. guest: there is a valid debate about whether or not interest rates should go up. it is unusual for a president to engage in that debate, but it is a perfectly valid question. there are people who think the fed should be standing still. we have not seen a lot of inflation. unemployment is low. but the share of americans working remains low by historical standards. one of my favorite statistics is if you look at the amount of money we are making as an economy and ask how many that goes to workers, that has been in decline for a long time. a lot of people think the fed can help tilt that back in favor of workers by keeping interest

rates low. perfectly valid to ask why the fed is raising rates. nda is in california. good morning. caller: has the fed never been audited. -- audited? if not, why not? and is there any gold left in fort knox? guest: i personally do not have any of the gold in fort knox -- from fort knox. there is still gold in fort knox. the government, for a few decades in the mid century, everyone toallow exchange dollars for gold. the system does not exist any longer, but the government does contain some gold as part of its reserve. that is a bit of a relic, but it is still there. host: earnings season is on its way. how often is there something called earnings season? guest: four times a year. host: what are you expecting and

what does it mean for the stock market? guest: we expect continued strength. corporations have been doing really well in the economy. corporate earnings have been very good. one thing we are all watching with interest is any sign that trade is beginning to weigh -- not on the economy as a whole -- but some sectors of the economy are feeling the strain of these increased tensions with china. host: when we saw the big drop last week, we took a look at a historical dow jones chart. you can see the graph heading up and down over the years. down and then considerably up over these last couple of decades. can you put these in perspective? guest: overtime, the stock market has been the best available investment for the average american. over time, the long-term tendency has been for the market to go up. i am not here to offer investment advice, but if you made a bet on the market at any point since the 1970's, you

would be doing very well now. host: jane calling from pennsylvania now. good morning morning. are you there? caller: i am. host: go ahead, please. good morning. caller: good morning. air. you are on the some way thatd that the fed is not a truly legal institution. guest: i am fascinated by the prevalence of this belief. we have talked about it several times this morning. the federal reserve is an arm of the federal government, just like the treasury department or securitiesn or the and exchange commission, created by congress in 1913. it is overseen by a board of seven governors, who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate. it operates under federal law. it is a legitimate and public

institution. it operates through the securities system, which is a bit of an anachronism. the core entity is part of the federal government. host: where do you think thoughts and ideas like that come from? guest: in part, it is this complicated mechanism. and part of it, i think money is mysterious to people. it is hard to understand how this all works. there is a tendency to allow conspiracies to take hold in places that are hard to understand. call fromrd, last anderson, california. noah had -- go ahead. caller: thanks. i appreciate what you guys are doing. two quick questions. do with thee is to federal debt, with our national deficit. dollars, doeseal

these interest rate hikes affect the amount that we are paying on the national debt? my second question is you made a comment a few minutes ago that, well, you know, they went and bought all of these bonds and spent all of this money, and that was to help the economy. but how much does the government back offhese products and up hurting the economy? guest: those are very good questions. with regard to the first, i do not have those numbers at my fingertips. the united states government is the world's largest borrower. as interest rates go up, it will cost us a lot more money to pay the interest on those debts. in regards to the second question, if you take seriously the premise that buying bonds was helpful to the economy, it makes sense that selling them would reverse those benefits. the fed is trying to do it

slowly to limit those effects. also, the economy is much stronger now. part of the theory is that fed can reverse those purchases without getting in the way of economic growth. host: our guest is binyamin appelbaum, washington correspondent for the federal reserve at the "new york times." thanks for your time and insight. we will take a short time up and then do a segment of open phones. at the top of the hour, we will talk more about health care, talking to a couple of folks running an organization called the united states of care. open phones. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. we will continue to take your comments on social media as well. ♪ >> tonight on "the communicators," jeff cohen of ap

of publicsociation safety communications officials, talks about what has changed since the 9/11 attacks. is when someone is inside a building. thishas been championing special location. it basically means the door ticket down. if someone is behind an apartment door or apartment suite, 911 needs to know where to send responders. that is a tough technological challenge. in 2015, the fcc adopted an order, which was groundbreaking. for the first time, it put requirements on carriers to determine a caller's location inside a building. it followed a lengthy negotiation that apco did, joined by the national emergency numbers association, where we negotiated with the four major carriers and their industry

representatives. came up with a plan. submitted it to the fcc. the fcc basically adopted it. it has put us on track to get special location. the carriers are on track. right now, they are testing the technologies, and we are hopeful that will produce good results. communicators" tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span 2. "washington journal" continues. host: we will do open phones now. you can talk about anything you like or respond to something said in the last hour and 40 minutes. the president tweeting this morning, reminding us he will be leaving for florida and georgia with the first lady to tour hurricane damage and meet with fema and first responders. maximum effort, the president says.

we will have whatever coverage there in of the areas florida and georgia. the president tends -- intends meetings, walk around. the president also said he spoke to the king of saudi arabia, who denies any knowledge of whatever happened to their saudi arabian citizen. they said they are talking closely to find an answer. thisn calling from l.a. morning. republican caller. you are up first. caller: thank you for taking my call. a few days ago, news agencies said the president was blaming the fed for raising interest rates, which the president has said -- the dow jones average fell by over 5% in two days.

this is a disaster. we should take care more to not have that happen. i want to say something else. -- bullying other countries is all the same. politicians are just bullying other countries with sanctions. this has to change. how long are we going to continue this cruel task? we always talk about unity and peace. then tell me, is this alright that we are pushing other countries, like iran? many interest -- many innocent people are not able to manage their life because of these sanctions. we make them live like that. it is not something to the mansion. thisl not vote for congress election this year. i think you should not vote either. join the #pleasedontvote

campaign. host: kathy is on the republican line. caller: i am curious about the age of money. cash, and i give somebody a pony dollar bill, -- $20 bill, -- somebody a bill and the return change that is marked up, torn, just really bad paper, i complain. i do not like old money. i wonder if the banks that received these old, tattered bills in fact return them to the federal reserve for replacement, which i understand is what they should be doing. host: thank you for calling. would have been a great question for our last guest. but we will move on now to new york, democratic line. caller: hello.

i have called about the affordable care act. people mistakenly call it obamacare. the model in regards to this affordable care act was created by the heritage foundation back in the late 1980's. president norge h w bush commissioned the heritage foundation to come up with a health care model -- president george h w bush commissioned the heritage foundation to come up with a health care model. mitt romney used it in massachusetts. our people keep calling it obamacare is ridiculous. i have asked "washington journal " to get heritage foundation on. usually, i talk to steve. i wish you could get the writers who wrote this. i remember they created this in the 1980's.

can you research -- can your research department produces find out if they are still alive and have them come on to discuss intense are --s intents are. sending theyou for idea our way. in case you missed the story earlier this morning, the "telegraph" reporting turkish police will search the istanbul consulate. they are expected to search the saudi consulate today. internalbia ordered an investigation into the case. a turkish broadcaster said that saudi arabia agreed to allow investigators into the consulate to make their first search of the facility. vanishedshoggi

october 2. we mentioned the president going to florida and georgia. later this week, he issues a medal of honor wednesday. he does a rally in montana -- that is on the schedule. friday, a rally in mesa, arizona. saturday, a trump rally in colorado. here is a bit of what the president had to say during the aboutnutes" interview the first lady's comments about people in the white house that she does not trust. [video clip] >> i do not trust everyone in the white house. >> do you go to a meeting and wonder if people are wearing a wire? >> not a wire. i am usually guarded. it is a tough business. this is a vicious place. washington, d.c. is a vicious,

vicious place. theattacks, the badmouthing speaking behind your back. in my way, i feel very comfortable here. host: one more political note about the rallies that the president dies. the "washington times" said that prince's estate, the late musician, asked that trump not rain" at campaign rallies. estate has never given permission to the president and the white house to use the song. say "purple-- they rain" was heard prior to mr. trump taking the stage at several rallies. from wisconsin now

on the independent line. good morning. caller: how are you doing? host: doing fine. how are you? caller: doing well, thank you. one of your callers previously said he lived in england and set about the health care system. i am a health care provider, and i lived and worked in england and canada. i have to tell you, i couldn't wait to get back to the united states. it was extensive wait times. personal history here -- my husband is canadian. his family still lives in toronto. we have personal friends who have been denied kidney transplants. his own mother couldn't get her hips replaced because of her age. another friend had to go to the united states just to get dialysis. specialist for a condition for my husband that we had to wait almost eight months,

got in to see them. they were going to do an in office procedure. and this person came in, dressed "nurse," and i said how long are you a nurse? she said i am not a nurse, i am a receptionist, and i'm going to help with the surgery. and i said no, you are not. physicians up there, because of the government, they do not have money to have nurses in the office. so they have less qualified people to help in health care. host: thank you. from north carolina, democratic line, don. what is on your mind? caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i have a suggestion for a on youryou might have sessions about how in the news now, we have quite a bit about

iran is the major sponsor of terrorism. that seems to be in the public's mind at the present time. but you have the saudi's and killed more u.s. people and citizens than any others. i was wondering if we could have a program explaining why the saudis support the education of the sunnis, even if they are extreme. to thes is related back peace agreement after world war i, where they became a kingdom. if they would take care of their sunni church. the center is in saudi arabia. they happen to be extremists. to say that they do not support it, they were put into power to support the sunni education and

the terrorists we run into. believe -- mye neighbors believe, because they hear it from our government, that it is that shias. host: let me ask you what you think the u.s. administration should be doing about this case of the missing and presumed killed journalist, mr. khasho ggi? caller: they should press the saudis and not just accept the king's comments that they did not know anything about it. i would not care if it was sunni, shia, republican or democrat. host: what do you make of this saudi threat that if the u.s. presses its case with sanctions or anything like that that we may see oil prices go up to $200 a barrel or even more? caller: that is ridiculous.

supportingver, dollars and making of dollars over lives of people. and what we do not take into account, when we talk about will this protect this government, because they supply money to our industries -- we do not talk lives of our soldiers. how much is a life worth? host: all right. we go to connecticut. caller: thank you. this is my first time calling c-span. i am very impressed by the fact that you are such a good organization in terms of just listening to the public's opinions. my comment would be related to the #metoo moevement. moevemnt that has come out and re-examining

everyone in the public sector -- we have comments about hillary clinton -- how much do you think, going forward, we will have to truly evaluate every single candidate, male, female, straight, gay, on their behavior as an adult in their life? i will bring up two examples. from sanin newsom francisco, democrat, i believe is on the ballot to become governor of california. one of the three most populous states in the country and the most powerful politically. he acknowledged he had an "affair" with a woman who worked with him in his office who was not just working for him but her husband was in charge of his campaign. so if she did not agree to have an affair with him, many of us could have construed that would be a threat to her husband's job and career.

thei've heard nothing from media investigating this. i also believe the other candidate in the race on the democratic side, the former mayor of los angeles, also was withved in an affair someone in his office where he had control over their job. this could be republican or independent, green party. when the mediaus has the responsibility to bring these issues to the forefront and decide whether or not this is a disqualifier for national office. host: let me ask you the same question. is it? caller: i am a moderate person in terms of who is good for america. i do not care who is the president. i just want the president to succeed in office. i believe we need to have a balanced approach in terms of looking at the phases of a person's life.

for me, what someone does under is a certain maturation level. something after that is a different level of maturity. real crime, i agree a person is not qualified. a true violent crime that is convicted and is on the record, although we may have a second chance for some people, the reality is i have a lower threshold for certain kinds of crimes. on the other hand, i do not want to see republican, democratic, independent, green party -- some allegation at 28, and now at 45 has lived a perfectly normal to sayr 15 or 20 years, that life has no value. that is a different level of maturity. we need mature people in the government. host: thank you. alec baldwin calls for the overthrow of the president at a democratic fundraiser.

24 hours after repricing -- reprising his parody of the president, alec baldwin says we need to overthrow the government -- he said itnt is all about voting. role as trump at "snl" was not supposed to last as long as it was. just three episodes. then, -- he added it is time to overthrow the government of donald trump, not in a violent or unlawful way, but it must be overthrown nonetheless. talking about elections. and the "daily mail" additive the u.k. -- out of the u.k. harry and meghan revealed they

are expected their first child. the queen congratulated meghan markle and prince harry. they told her majesty she would be having her eighth great-grandchild next spring dur ing princess eugenie's wedding. the couple were seen beaming when they touched down in sydney for their first international tour. mail" outthe "daily of the u.k. one last call. alex, houston, texas. independent. good morning. caller: thanks for having me. as far as your first question, is it important for me, as a -- rather midterms than having health care as a , definitely from this

oninistration, this approach how they are treating our allies is our foreign adversaries concerning, and hearing comments from the president saying that , is a secondme thought for him and he knows more than general matters. very disconcerting as independent voter because i have talked to many people all over the world, and really trying to approach, itis our is becoming very hard. and as of right now, i would really like to say that if there is any fight to pick, our actual and oury would be china

political adversary is putin, which is really expanding influences all over the world. and this administration hasn't done anything to push back. host: ok. that was alex. thank you to everyone who called. we have one hour left in this edition of "washington journal." guests will be emily barson and tom kise with the group united states of care, and their call tout improve health care in the country. health care was one of the topics asked about at last night's ohio senate debate. the candidates talk about pre-existing conditions, emergency coverage coming prescription coverage. here is a look at that debate. [video clip] >> health care is a big issue, and when i travel through states , mary said, congressman, i

cannot afford health care. and even though i struggle to make the payments, i cannot make the deductible. one another set congressman, i cannot afford this anymore and my kids have problems with the deductible. i do believe we have to have affordable health care, and that has to include coverage for presenting conditions. it also has to allow to -- it also has to allow kids to stay on the policy until 26. that is the type of health care i have supported. but we have to have health care that is affordable. we have to have health care that not only takes care of those in the low safety net. we need to make sure they are covered. we can do that better because we cannot bankrupt our country trying to do it, and the rich are going to be ok. i am worried about those in the middle who are struggling every day to try to make ends meet and

pay for health insurance. our health insurance since the affordable care act has gone up. it is unacceptable. and john, who i met the other day said, congressman, i make less than $50,000 a year. i cannot afford my health care in your penalizing before it. i said, not me. people ine -- 185,000 the state have to pay a penalty for not been able to afford their health care. >> governor kasich and i worked together on the affordable care act to expand medicaid and ensure hundreds of thousands of ohioans are,000 getting opioid treatment because they have insurance through the affordable care act. the biggest problem is the price of health care. this congressman has voted 20 times to repeal the affordable care act.

that vote also took away the consumer protections from pre-existing conditions. because of his the 20 times in the efforts of special interest in washington, insurance companies can decide to deny care to people with pre-existing conditions. there are 5 million ohioans, including more than half of the table in this realm, who have a pre-existing -- more than half of the people in this room, whoever pre-existing condition. 5 million people and they could lose their coverage. in addition, the most important driver of higher health care costs is the cost of yet yet thisdrugs, congress, the white house looks like there were two for pharmaceutical representatives, the fact is, this congress will do nothing to go after the high price of drugs. you cannot restring the cost of

health care until you go after drug prices and you protect people with pre-existing conditions. host: and you can look at our website on www.c-span.org to see that full debate in ohio but took place in any -- in ohio that took place, and any of the other debates. we will talk more about health care. kise with are tom united states of care, and emily barson who is an executive director that organization. that start with you emily. what is the united states of care and what is its mission? guest: we are a nonprofit organization that launched earlier this year around the mission that is simple, but really ambition, which is ensuring every american has access to affordable health care. this is a problem a country has

tackled -- has grappled many times, but it is time for a renewed effort. we were launched by 70, business american leaders, patients, providers, number of voices that are important finding a solution. host: why is this group necessary in your view? guest: it is an important time in that we really think americans are more united and how they feel about these issues in current politics. providing the care they need for themselves and their families and to go see a doctor when they need to, not be afraid of the financial ruin we have seen too often. bipartisana individuals came together and said, you know, we need to look at this differently and find ways to build on that common ground and look for both solutions in one second durable and not subject to change of the

political cycle. host: tom kise, tell us more about the organization and who specifically is on it? who are we talking about here? guest: absolutely. we have a board of directors, a founder's council. was a member of the obama administration. a member of the founder's council. mark cuban is on our founder's council along with a host of folks. patient advocates to business entrepreneurs to celebrities with all of the same mission that we can come together across party lines, across divisions, and find real, durable solutions that americans are facing every, single day. host: how are you funded and what work is going on? guest: are funding primarily comes from individual donors, health care nonprofits.

we do not take any funding from for-profit entities. we are out there on a regular basis, looking for durable, long-term solutions come across the country that states are doing right now we can help get across the finish line, and we can learn from and take from state to state and scale across the nation at an individual and state level and more nationally. host: are you a lobbying organization? guest: no we are not. host: we will put the numbers for our two guests. the united states of care is the organization that they are helping to lead right now. if you are insured, call 202-748-8000. we want to hear your experiences with the system and where you are and what you are dealing with right now. if you are uninsured, 202-748-8001. we want to hear about your situation and what you would like to see happen. our two guests are tom kise and

emily barson. there from the united states of care. emily, take us deeper into the pursuit at the state level. seen ishat we have given the political reality in washington, it is not a likelihood they will be far-reaching policies in the short term that are bringing real relief to american families. beene have seen, we have listening over the last several months in getting the lay of the land in states across the country, and there are a number of things across party lines people are looking at, dressing affordability of premiums, how a stabilize the markets -- affordability of premiums, how to stabilize the markets. medicaid at an affordable rate. drugsst of prescription

comes up and never conversation we have. we think there is more opportunity in the short term that states will take action. even things like surprise bills, you set it up for your line to be the insured and uninsured. but people who are uninsured go to the hospital and a five that they have a huge bill they did not expect -- but people who are insured go to the hospital and find they have a bill they did not expect. host: user group active in the mid -- is your group active in the midterm elections? guest: no we are not. we are not a political organization. we feel it is important for americans to look at the candidates on the ballot in the states, but we are not taking an active part in those elections. one thing that is coming up when people go to the ballot in a month is several states have health care directly on the

ballot. there are initiatives in red states looking to expand or keep an expansion of the medicaid program and we are seen bipartisan support for that in places like utah and idaho, not traditional liberal bastions that of seen the common sense approach. host: we will more about the organization and what you folks are doing right now, what is happening around the state. calling. go to andrew good morning, andrew. caller: yes, good morning. i want to talk about, you know, cost health care and the of opioids in this country. i am a drunk. opioids to gete high was in the late 1980's. aa meetings go to and i got hooked up with a

psychiatrist. she hooked me up with a beautiful -- she hooked me up with a drug to keep me off of the alcohol. they gave me prescriptions for opioids, which in turn, ended up putting me in a, a couple of years -- putting in a coma couple of years later for christmas, and the company junkie, and i am no longer drinking. i have not used opioids since a 1980's. and i found out the u.s. military has been using acupuncture to help wounded theiers coming back since first gulf war and had an 80% effective rate, reducing the amount of opioids they used to reduce the pain in these

soldiers. host: andrew, let me jump in. do you have a question for our guests? caller: yeah, how come no one is fighting to force the insurance companies to cover acupuncture when the military proves it works on pain and keeps away from the opioid? host: he laid a lot out there. tom kise a comedy want to begin? guest: first of all, andrew, congratulations to your continued efforts on staying sober and best of wishes to you. right now, what we are saying specifically run opioids is a ship --t of bipartisan bipartisanship nbc -- bipartisanship in d.c. has beenr partners extremely active in the space, solutionsly to find

for opioid addiction and suicide, but to find solutions here in congress and around the states. we continue to look for these things. i would say that it is one of those things that we continue to strive for in making progress, but it will not happen overnight. host: emily barson, we continue to hear dire situations from the states. where are the bright spots around the country in terms what states are doing on the opioid issue? guest: sure. as tom said, this is definitely an area that is been a bipartisan interest. by interest, it is because it is reaching crisis proportions in so many states. you will hear people but republican governor kasich from ohio talk about the state of medicaid in a state by providing a full array of coverage to more people that allows him to seek the treatment that they need. i think that is been the case.

this is an issue that is not a red or blue one, but we have seen both sides of the aisle really making efforts to address and really bring down those rates in the states. host: let's go to the bronx in new york. jamie is calling. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a question. what can someone like me do? i have been told that i am actually uninsurable. i am 47. i am disabled. that i haves medicare in-patient only. i don't have outpatient, so i cannot see a doctor. i cannot get a mammogram. that, i, and because of don't qualify for medicaid. and medicare is telling me because i have had not had medicare part d, that they target next to the that i would

-- that they charge and next to fee that i would have to pay every month and i cannot afford that. and so, i am stuck where i cannot even purchase insurance in the open market. host: let hear from emily barson -- let's hear from emily barson. guest: i am sorry to hear that. you are coming in from the bronx. it is possible that you would qualify for the medicaid program in new york. it sounds like maybe you have looked into that. but you could also pick up individual markets and subsidies to help people pay for premiums and bring down the out-of-pocket costs that you would have to address. lookedds like you have into your personal situation, but you know, i would hope there are options available to you serving under the a ca, there has been the ability for people

with pre-existing conditions to find affordable coverage options, and i would hope that in new york, there would be one available for you. host: uninsurable. of kise, do you have a since how many people in the country fall under that category? guest: i am not exactly sure how anybody could be uninsurable from that standpoint. there are so many options out , and with what is with aca new york has had a very robust expansion with medicaid specifically, so that is hard to speak to. the we focus on ways to bring that cost down and make it more accessible to more people every single day. we focused on that recently. ability to buy into a program similar to medicaid, medicare, a state program works -- programmer people can have an opportunity to buy into an existing program at a lower cost and have access they would not

have been able to have. host: let's hear from clint. tell us your situation, sir. caller: thank you. guestsondering if your could speak to the thai between the aca -- speak between -- if your guess could speak to the tie between the aca and immigration reform? understanding the health care mandate only applies to legal atizens and understanding the state level, significant portions of health care expenditures comes from uninsured people by accessing health care, and not being able to pay for those services. i wondered if you could speak to the tie to those two incidents. thank you. host: let's start with tom kaiser. guest: right now, what we are singer states continue to move toward how they are going to mplement the a ca -- the

aca. it comes down to who is eligible and not eligible. we want to make health care accessible to as many people as possible. it is up to the states to figure out who that is going to be. so, in some states, that is a broader definition than in other states. york, it is a new much broader universe. as youi would just say rightfully pointed out, clint, the aca occurred at a time when there was a thought there would be a broader immigration reform effort. we're seeing that come back around again, but what we are seeing are states accessing state waivers that let them really define how they can provide coverage, knowing the situation. we think that is a great way to offer states the possibility to

fund the program. host: the president last week at an event spoke about his administrations's efforts to reduce drug prices. [video clip] pres. trump: earlier this year, i released our drug pricing blueprint, setting out a new agenda to drive down the drug prices for all americans within a week of announcing it, my administration began cracking down on the gag clauses in medicare part d plans. you all know what that is. these clauses prevent pharmacists from telling patients about more affordable options for prescription drugs. today, congress is building on my administration's actions with very strong legislation to completely end these unjust gag clauses wanton for all. -- clauses once and for all.

our citizens deserve the lowest prices available at our pharmacies. that is what they will be getting. they will be see pricing. they will be able to see where they should go. and as a start leaving certain pharmacies, those pharmacies will be dropping their prices. host: emily barson of united states of care, what you make of the administration's efforts on drug prices and whether it is enough? hear: it is encouraging to bipartisan interest in this issue. it really is one people feel the pain every single month when they go to fill their prescriptions. sometimes have to -- they sometimes have to leave the pharmacy because they cannot afford it. transparency and let consumers know what they are getting is a great start. we have seen a number of other areas that state governments are looking at, addressing this issue.

also some related to transparency and pricing related to regulate in the middleman that get between the pharmaceutical companies and the consumers, as well as using the levers they have within them medicaid programs to use the private sector tools that will allow them to control cost. guest: tom kise -- are: tom kise, what states taking in doing in that area? guest: a few look at this right now, the american people have said the cost of prescription drugs has worried them. 80% of american people believe that. this is an issue is why you're seeing congress act and why you're seeing states act. in this/legislation -- in this lad -- in this last legislative session alone, -- host: talk about the solutions they are looking at. there is no one silver bullet. guest: we are looking at issues of transparency, issues of

regulating the middlemen to make sure that they are not taking too much of the piece of the pie. they are looking at areas of sometimes they can do on their own, or sometimes they will need federal involvement. states have a lot of purchasing power. there currently not able to jump into an exercise. some states are looking at that to be able to leverage the purchasing power in order to save their constituents more funds, and bring that cost down. talk about health care and this group denied states of care, our two guess have -- tom kise was with the rnc and emily barson previously was with president obama's 2008 campaign, so how did the two of you coming from different political backgrounds and experiences, come together to lead this group? guest: i think this is our theory of the case that people,

that there is enough we can agree on an come together around, even folks read then in the political arena like tom and i have. i served in president obama's administration and spent eight years living and breathing the aca, but spent more time talking to governors and state legislators to forge common ground with. i see this effort is an extent force that goal. guest: absolutely. politicaln to the work i have done, i spent time in statehouses in california, virginia, working for foci governor arnold schwarzenegger come over senator john mccain on his presidential run. and the challenge here is have to set aside our politics, and we don't have to always agree, but we don't have to be disagreeable. the united states of care understands the basic tenet that americans are americans and we want to help each other.

you want to do what is right for our neighbors and our families. if you look out there right now, almost half of those gofundme campaigns are raising money for health care, for people wanting to help people. we can do better than that. i think that we are talking about that is being able to do better for the american people. right now, they are not getting a good deal. kise, we had seen you work on a senator's campaign and emily barson served for eight years under the obama administration. a little bit more about their background. let's go to macke bill here in washington, d.c. what is your question or comment? caller: i have been listening, good morning to everybody. i have been listening to this health care debate for quite a few years now, and i find a

problem is, we have a health care system based on profit. a lot of people are not going to get the health care they need and deserve. the government have the money. they eventually the of dollars in afghanistan. it is a problem, but a lot of the people care about profit. when you have people lobbying the lawmakers, they are not going to go against the people they represent, which are wealthier people. they have that problem -- they had that problem that you are going to pay. the cost -- the government has money, but people glhf health care should pay it through their taxes. please make a certain amount of money, you should pay through that. that is all i have to say. i am tired of the debate. i think the problem is very sample, but no one -- rasul

semple, but no one -- i think the problem is very simple, but no one was to take it on. guest: i understand where bill is coming from. findve got a be able to ways that private industry can continue to prosper, but at the same time, stop giving americans a bad deal. , we pay more and we get less than to many other countries around the world. until we are able to bring that cost down and get more value for what we are paying out, we will continue to have a problem, which is what we are trying to find ways to make health care more affordable and more soessible to more americans people can see a doctor. that is all they want to do is see a doctor, gets her medicine, and get better. coming 70 what tom said, as a country, we spend more than any other country and we can do better by everyone.

by making the system more efficient and more affordable. that is what we are looking to do, find those solutions and where they are being developed and what can be scalable to control costs. host: the unitedstatesofcare.org. guest: you can find our board and founder's council at the top of this piece. and you can find updates on our work. our various trips and have several blogs and we also got resources were folks can sign-up for our lists to get regular updates from the organization, and stay abreast of what is going on. host: how many individual contributions have you gotten so far? guest: it is not a number we currently track.

we are focused on making sure we have the resources we need to take the conversation to the states so that we can find the solutions that the american people are clamming for and demanding and they should be and finding the solution fellow be scalable for the long-term. and to be durable, to last through anyone election. what should not matter -- it should not matter who wins on election day weather of republican or democrat -- on election day, whether it is a republican or democrat. that is what the american people should expect. host: you mentioned the centers for medicare and medicaid services. looking ahead to the election, many will cast their votes and as much as misdirection we have to removear ago voted them. the contrast is made simple by

looking at the voting records and the two met parties and what lies ahead. it comes down to two choices. you can read that in usa today." hello, robert. caller: my name is robert. my question is, how come the insurance is able to tell you what you can and cannot buy that the doctor is meeting you to take to keep your life? and also, depending on where you live, some of the insurance in some of the states don't even preventative health care. and then on the other side, i

have family members who are underinsured and are all struggling to get the basic health care that they need. host: tom kise, do you want to start? guest: yeah, so each state regulates their insurance market in her own way. total -- so to be able to speed specifically what is going on in missouri is a little difficult to talk about. to his point in terms of underinsured, let me speak to that for a little bit. what we have seen recently is a desire by elected officials to address the issue of cost. that is where you see a lot of the issues of short-term plans. unfortunately, there is a sacrifice to that cost of the premiums to short-term plans. they do not provide the same amount of health care and services that a non-short-term plan would. if you are going to have one of those plans over and extend period of time, you are exposed

to much more risk. we are looking to find other programs like a buy-in to back that up. host: emily barson, the caller, robert, brought a preventable care -- prevention. what is going on with preventative care? guest: when you make sure people get the preventative care primary care they need, you end up saving money for the whole system and for the individual on the backend. as tom says, states do regulate their insurance markets and set a minimum floor of what benefits need to be covered throughout a range of categories, including preventative care with no co-pay for things like flu shots, mammograms, and being able to get some of those services upfront. i would hope that that is being implemented and that robert is able to access those services.

host: let's hear from maxine in florida. maxine, you are insured. what is your question or comment? caller: the lady that called earlier, i think she stated she in-patient care and not outpatient-care, but it sounded like when she signed up for medicaid, she became eligible, -- when she signed up for medicare, will she became eligible for medicare, she did not sign up and was penalized for not having signed up when she was eligible, and that is probably the reason she is having to pay more for medicare d treatment. that they did not pick up on that. and that is just a statement that i had. guest: thank you, maxine. that is and i thought point. i think the coloring looking for

that information should go to medicare.gov. you can make sure they have an opportunity to get the services -- they can make sure they have an opportunity to get the services. host: why is there not a proposal not allowing individuals for those eligible for medicare to bind to the system? guest: there are different proposals out there to. -- out there. there are no blood proposals on medicaid -- there are a number of proposals on medicaid. those are some of the solutions we have been looking at specifically to solve some of the problem. new mexico is a state that has a buy in program that will allow citizens to buy into the state's medicaid program. minnesota has also looked at a similar program.

it depends on where you are living right now which proposals will be available. guest: emily barson, here is another question. getting back to that gag clause that the president spoke about, can you explain a little bit more about what that is, how that works, and what efforts are being made to do with it? guest: sure. this is an effort to make sure that consumers can be informed. there has been the so-called gag clause that kept pharmacists from sharing with consumers if they might be able to pay a lower price if they did not use their insurance and pay out-of-pocket. this is really an effort towards transparency, towards increasing the knowledge of consumers and their ability to make informed decisions about their health care. host: let's go to paul on the uninsured line. good morning. caller: hello? host: you are on the air, paul. caller: this is james. host: go ahead, james.

we have a different name on our screen, but we are glad to hear from you, so go ahead, please. caller: thanks. i used to have blue cross/blue shield. and i worked my way up the line. , heard about this new thing amy and my wife wanted it. that she sayswas -- after it started going, two itrs, $50 a month, etc., went all the way up to $120. and out of the clear blue, the wonderful city of michigan in the city where i live, what did they do, blue cross/blue shield, -- they raised my

premium from $120 to $280 of which i cannot afford that. lord tooks gone, the her, but meanwhile, i am still around i don't have health care services anymore because i can't afford it. and the thing was, the policy was strictly ongoing for just me. no other policies, just that one. and right now, i don't have health care with any of them. very fortunate to be in the hospital, but i would like to have health care. but you try to get it. there is so many, it is pathetic. mr. blue cross/blue

shield, the president of the company now. it is so outrageous, it is pathetic. host: let's hear from our guests. guest: yeah, i mean, as we continue to look out, we see premiums are unstable. they go up and down depending on what is happening in each individual market. and not knowing all the details with james, the important thing we are trying to do in the solutions we are looking for for all of these collars and for everyone across the country is to realize if we are able to make health care more affordable in bringing the cost down, and brings a premium cost down and we can find solutions that will the thirdd address rail of health care, which is reducing the cost. it has an effect that will impact everyone -- that has an effect that will impact everyone. it won't happen overnight, but we are committed to the long haul and making sure that in the

foreseeable future, we are actually going to make progress on the ground. probably not a surprise, but the headline says, health care cause has a damaging, rippling effect according to a moody'sreports -- reports. guest: i think i really underscores why we are here we are trying to address, partnering with states and organizations, looking to increase affordability, whether it is through some of the actions the stabilizer markets and bring down premiums in the short-term, or as tom talked about, longer-term providing lower-cost options to buy into programs like medicaid. you know, i think we know that health care spending is a major factor both for the federal government and states, but it is a really -- but it is really a

kitchen table issue for families. host: as they go to vote in a few weeks, take us deeper into the ballot initiatives that are interesting or exciting to your organization on this issue? ,uest: we are watching closely there are four traditionally red states -- montana, utah idaho, and nebraska to have medicaid expansion on the ballot this year. in montana, it is to extend the expansion that is scheduled to end. the other three would create a new expansion between them, it would bring coverage for half a million more americans who currently fall into a gap where they don't make enough to get subsidies on individual market, but they cannot afford their health care. and so, what we have seen from the data is that medicaid expansion is really cost-effective to provide that type of coverage that people need. it has been an interesting

political situation in which there is a bipartisan -- in which there is bipartisan support in all those places, and the opportunity to really demonstrate how to put actual over the general consideration of the day. guest: what i have sort of observed recently is there has been a real disconnect at times and theire electorate elected officials, specifically in states like utah and nebraska where you see traditionally republican voters who are coming out in support of an idea that you would not think they would want to be in support of, and expansion of medicaid. but they understand it is a program that is working and there is an opportunity there for themselves, their neighbors, and their family members to get access to health care they would not have otherwise had. and they have taken it upon themselves and acted when elected leaders have not put the issue on the ballot.

and within a month, we are going to have a verdict on with the people stand. and at the end of the day, that is what it is about. people need to represent themselves and their issues through the people they elect. host: we have 20 minutes left. here are some comments. there was a time when the u.s. would not have tolerated a health care system that lied behind other industrial countries of the world. michael in illinois. peggy for waiting. caller: thank you, good morning. here is my question. that --e any states they license the medical practitioners in the hospitals that operate in their jurisdiction, and i would like to know, is there any will that reque -- all medical providers to of themedicare as part

to practice a particular state? host: who wants to take that? guest: that is a great question, michael. i am not sure. i don't want to speak out of turn about specific state laws. i think our experience with medicare is widely accepted that almost any hospital, those providers to accept medicare patients. is a broad network. i am not sure if you are encountering difficulties accessing that, but you know, as a safetynet for all of our nation's seniors, that has been a really robust network. kay in new go to york city on the line for insurers. hi. taking myank you for call. i am a first-time caller and a bit nervous. host: take your time and thank

you for calling. caller: thank you for taking my call. emily's last answer, i would like to offer her some additional information. in new york city, all doctors have opted out of medicare. no one except medicare. i ran into this problem when my husband fell seriously ill and subsequently died. he saw five specialists. of the five, only one had not opted out of medicare. at the time, i had my employer plan, thank god, and was able to go out of network, which meant i could take into a top cardiologist. any neurologist or cardiologist. and it is a very, very serious problem here because we have billionaires living here and the doctors do not need to accept medicare. it is just a nightmare. i am paying $550 a month.

the woman who called in from the process, i can tell her, she is not missing much unless the bronx is different from manhattan. veryse i have part b and a expenses stock that they just raised. it is a useless card. it is absolutely useless. and when my husband was ill, i had to keep siding all of these forms that i agreed to be -- signing all of these forms that i agreed to be responsible. but i was able to go out of network when he was ill and have my employer plan. doctor who explained because ichologist have a cognitive disorder, and -- reimburseould only

her $50 a visit and her fee is $170. i really do not know what to do. i agree with the gentleman who said that, we are not going to get anywhere until we have a nonprofit system. what is happening, all of the doctors have gone into -- practices. people here are receiving a different quality of care. they can afford $5,000 or $8,000 a month for a concierge doctor. kay, thank you for your point. we want some other callers to get in. emily barson, what would you like to respond to? guest: thank you for sharing your story and i am so sorry to hear about your husband and doing with the financial complexities of the system, while also caring for a sick loved one is something that far too many people have had to deal

with, and i think it underscores the challenge of having coverage having accesse as and having the care you need and i am sorry to hear about what you had to go through. sense, if youeral are looking at states to come up with solutions for health coverage, do states generally have money in the budget to deal with this? what about the cost to states. ? guest: one of the things that have helped with states is that they have to budget -- they had to balance their budgets. does is it causes them to work across the aisle to find solutions to be creative, and in how they approach these problems, and as we look at this, there are ways to finance things and find the money, whether it is through the buy-in

practiceor a scope of change, 22 states right now allow nurse practitioners to practice within the full extent of their license, and the others do not. that does not cost the state anything to change that, but it does bring down this -- does bring down the costs, but that is one thing states can do that doesn't necessarily cost state money, can bring the cost of care down. as steaks look to design some of these more far-reaching programs, like -- as states look to decide some of these more far-reaching programs, they can take the same amount of federal funds they would get through their medicaid program and use it in the way they see best ands their stay's needs given that flexibility -- their state's needs and give them that flexibility, and paying for

value as sedatives paying by the service to bring down the cost curve overall. american who is healthy now, jodey writes, is one more trip with the american industrial complex. it is a way to make money from 60 pull. you do not know until -- it is a way to make money from sick people. writing aboutt, an op-ed in usa today, saying there is nothing better about the for profit health care and so many people rely on their employers. funny they say they hate socialism, but so long as they do not have to pay the full cost they are happy. good morning. caller: i think all of this is really silly because i'm 78 years old and i have been in the v.a. system since 1995. the chair is excellent and the

way they administer it. the way they involve you in it is just excellent. chicago,esse brown in and i would, if you could somehow have something where they could show how i go through the system, how --it is no-nonsense. you go in there. i call it needed potatoes health care -- i call it meat and potatoes health care. they know that their prices are legitimate. they know how health care should be administered. the rest of this is also a mess. thank you. host: thank you for calling. emily seat -- emily barson? guest: thank you for your comment and for your service. it is great to have a model bed your experience -- it is great to have a model that your experience has been so positive at the v.a. host: good morning, ed.

caller: my wife was under medicare and was under hospice care. all of a sudden, medicare dropped her. we signed up for medicare expansion, and they reject you the first time. i was advised to get a lawyer and it cost me $9,000 to get a lawyer to figure out what i had to do to get her on it because she had to go into a nursing home that was $6,000 a month for the nursing home. finally pay that and got her into that. and what you have to do is pay down. you cannot have survivor benefits or the review with very little and she has been dead three years now. i will tell you this, if you want to ask questions about the the healthstem, or

care system in this country, outeve me, send somebody and i can give them three days worth of information. we have been through hell. originally, might insurance -- my insurance when i was working, she had a spinal fusion and it went up to $3000 a year for insurance and we had to put it on credit cards. tried to change my supplemental and i was refused, too. i called in and they gave the, you know, different companies and found out. we really need a single-payer. the way they do it in europe is take 40% of your income right away in taxes and that is how they pay for it. i have talked to people who i know personally, and that is how they do it. and the people don't complain because they do have the benefits. host: thank you for calling. guest: i think that what we are

seeing a trend in is, the numbers around single-payer medicare for all have gone up in the last two years and people are getting a bad deal with her health care. they are paying more and getting less. it is a trend that too many americans around the country are in the system is failing them, we need to find a way to make health care more affordable and more accessible to more americans. these other things we are focused on, and unfortunately, roger, it is ed, mixing, they are calling them with the same problem, and that is health care is too expensive and not working for them, and we need to find solutions. if we cannot find solutions. washington, d.c., we are going good the state capitol and find them there. host: as we look at single-payer, there are result of a recent study. most continue to say that health care coverage is the

government's responsibility. to make sure all americans including 31% supporting a single-payer approach, seeing little change from last year, those saying it is a government's responsibility are significantly higher. guest: this is really the result of what people have seen of attempts to roll back some of the health care protections. i think there was certainly a time in which people with pre-existing conditions did not have an expectation of getting care, or being able to get insurance, even if it was a child just one of a pre-existing condition, and somehow never would be able to be insured. that reality has shifted and people everly responded to that in a way that they had that security and are not interested in going backwards and losing ability to be covered. and the role of government and

protecting that security. guest: to piggyback what emily said in regards to pre-existing conditions, i remember a time when pre-existing conditions was the law of the land. if you do not have a presenting condition, you could not get covered. i came off of a 2008 campaign and new there was something wrong. i did not have insurance and my wife's employer at the time did not cover me. until they covered me, i avoided all doctors. me and i they covered was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma and was treated. if i was diagnosed before then, had some sort of pre-existing condition, i would these -- i would not be sitting here today, because the law has changed so much, people like me are able to get coverage. was to go backi

into the marketplace, they would not cover me or my son. that is what people are facing every single day. making sure that people have access to care for they are not facing his problem. host: we are down to our last couple of minutes with our guests on health care and state solutions. michael from connecticut on the line for the uninsured. good morning to you, michael. caller: good morning. every year, the drug companies come out with new medications and they are very expensive. but i would like to know, what incentives do doctors get from the drug companies to prescribing medications? and other kickbacks? host: can either of you address that? guest: it is a great question, where i think one some light of transparency is going to be part of the solution and making sure people know why their doctors are recommending certain treatments and making sure it is in their best

health-care interest. host: carol is from philadelphia. good morning to you. caller: the morning. i watch her show faithfully every morning -- good morning. i watch your show faithfully every morning. it is always kept quiet. they want to cut our medicare and our social security, and everyone is worried about medicaid and not about seniors. we have nobody backing us. i worked 40 years and have three brain surgeries. because go to a doctor i cannot for the co-pays the, yet, medicare, people can get their medicine

for one dollar. i can get my medicine for one dollar. i worry that nobody is in our corner. why? because we are old and we should just die because we are living longer? but every time you have a show, these people are fighting for medicaid. and where i live, people get the food stamps and there is nothing wrong with them. the end of the month and i cannot eat because i do not have food and are not eligible for food stamps or anything. where other people who fight for the senior citizens? carol, thank you for calling. nobody fighting for the senior citizens. guest: carol, i am so sorry to hear about what you are going through and i certainly want to reiterate that we are fighting for affordable and accessible health care for everyone. we want to make sure that medicare is strong and is there

for when you need it and for the treatment you need to you can afford your medication, and also make sure you have food on the table. you know, i think we are talking about solutions. medicare is run through the federal government. we see inat is where the short term, not a lot of space for proactive policymaking. -- but ink medicare is think medicare needs to be strengthened and made sure for those were relying on it. guest: to piggyback what emily is saying, if you're taking a realistic look at what is happening in washington, d.c., the gridlock here is pervasive, and any sort of substantial solutions are highly unlikely, which is why we're focusing on the states. medicaid is a medicaid is a state-based solution.

some states have talked about buying into the state employees system. there will be 50 different ideas states will look at for these things. we are trying to find which ones will help them bring that affordability and access level up so they can have this access to care. host: carol also made a point about information. what will your group be doing in terms of keeping people informed about the key issues? guest: we are newly founded. we were founded in february of this year. we are right around our 10-month birthday. we are focused on what we can learn about the solutions out there. we want to look at four or five different state-based solutions and try to get them implemented and moved forward and then study

them and take best practices in implementation and effectiveness. and take it from new mexico to arizona, to colorado. from pennsylvania to ohio. and find the things that are working so when congress does get to a stage where they are able to work across the lines and we are able to have more governing and less fighting, we will be able to find the solutions and bring them nationally. guest: i would encourage people to check us out online. we will continue to highlight what we see as the important issues of the day to help get the information out. nn from virginia is on the line for insured. good morning. caller: good morning. i have aetna. my employer did not tell me they had switched insurance when i had a procedure set up to be

done. they asked if i knew my to dr. book -- deductible. i thought it was $75. the lady told me it was $1500 for my pelvic m.r.i. my son told me to reschedule. he told me to pay the $1500 when i have the procedure done. my employer told me they switched because it had gone up by 35%. i have another, to make because we have a patient whose husband is a double-amputee and ended up in a nursing home. the third time, the medicare kicked out. she still had medicaid. she had to pay $1000 a month for him. they almost lost their home. she was not able to take care of him herself because she is a must 80 years old. i think it is kind of sad.

i went through the same thing with my dad when i was taking care of him. before he got sick and put our hospice, he was bedridden. they were not paying for anything even though he had medicare and aetna. i had to pay out-of-pocket for just about everything from his income coming in. that was killing me because i was at the point where i was having trouble paying electric bills and stuff like that. the only way i got anything for him was when he got on hospice. that is my comment. it kind of devastates the middle class. host: we have time for a final comment from each of our guests. guest: thanks to all the colors. i think this shows the level of engagement. we have seen health care consistently ranks as the top issue people are thinking about, particularly affordability. whether it is medicare or the

v.a. or employer-based insurance, there are challenges. we are out there trying to help address those. guest: thank you everyone for calling in. it is further evidence we have a lot of work to do in this area to make health care more accessible and affordable. these stories are just the tip of a very large iceberg. there are a lot of things we need to do better and i think we can do better. host: unitedstatesofcare.org is the website for more information and to make a donation. thank you both for your time this morning. we appreciate you talking to our viewers. thank you for talking to us this morning. we will be back with another edition of "washington journal" tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern. we had over to the brookings

institution. the title of the talk this morning is "crafting public policy to address the nation's opioid epidemic." we hope you enjoy the rest of your day. we will see you back here tomorrow.

>> we are waiting for the start of the conversation on the opioid epidemic in the u.s. we will hear from the assistant health and human services secretary for health. this is live coverage from the brookings institution. we expect to start in just a moment.