[phone ringing] hmmm. good stuff. we'll end it right t the willis report is next. gerri: hello. to night on "the willis report." the $55,000 medical bill and a hospital bill also frustrated patients walked out of hospitals without treatment. wall street will crack down on cockroach jean? stockbrokers coming back. that is all coming up tonight on "the willis report."

welcome to the willis report. it is great to be back home tonight and we have an amazing story for you. one band caught of the nation's health care system charging fortune for a routine suery proving that it will not been set health care cost curve as a result clerk from california had coverage and was charged $55,000 for the appendectomy his story fired of tens of thousands of people. he joins me now. we really appreciate you coming on the show. what happened in october you went to the hospital? >> i will cup october 1st

with a sharp pain in my abdomen. they told me it was -ppendicitis so they admitted the with scallns i was out the next day. a few mnths later i get to a bill in december it is $55,000 daintily my insurance took care of $45,000. melissa: you are stuck with $11,000? what was your reaction? >> was surprised but i was nodding three. i just figured i'd really have to sort this out and pay it off over time. melissa: i am admired that you try to pay it but dive into this bill of $55,000 bill for the appendectomy

$11,119 is what you now owed now they break down the cost of you are asking for a complete recitation b your time in the recovery room ccst $7,500? >> i could not have been in there more than a couple of hours. i do not know what they do but i don't think it was worth $7,500. gerri: ct scans, anastasia, what about those cost? >> it is outrageous. i looked online with health care boobook that anesthesia should only be about $800. gerri: we looked at the whole cost wat it should cost onverage nationally is $10,000, the $10,091

according to the health care boobook you went to the right source hospitals say on average is 8100 the physician fee under 2000 and anesthesia 700. why do the hospitals get away with this? >> we don't have a choice. we don't have all lots of power. gerri: increasingly people are deciding they will negotiate but if you are in paid you are not in the mood. we talked to the hospital in here is their statement. spitals also operate in a unique environment where we receive less than the actual cost of providing services from the majori of reparations is a while serving scores of other

patients who have no ability. what they say i believe is you have to sponsor and foot the bill for those who don't pay. how would you feel about that mr. 20 year-old retail clerk? >> it is not fair i have to foot the bill for those who did not pay there's. i don't have that kind of money to support other people. gerri: a believable. your asking for a more detailed breakdown. what are you looking for? >> there is a pharmacy description i one to know what and how much did they pay that technician that looked at my ct scans just a more detailed break down so i have a better understanding why it cost

55,000. gerri: the pharmacy costs to 400 years you don't know what it is for. have youhought about going to the administrator to say the average cost across the country is to an thousand dollars? 55,000 cu is pretty high. had you thought about that? >> i have and i plan on its but right now i am waiting for the itemized bill for more information. gerri: you are very smart. did you ever expect the reaction from the inrnet? tens of thousands of people. >> when i posted that i thought maybe a few common-sense people complaining but the next day it had so many people sharing it was surprising to say the ast. gerri: why are people so on fire? >>everyone is enraged with

the health care system fell have aroken bone they have to pay off and it is something someone can relate to. gerri: keep in touch if you have time. >> definitely. gerri: we appreciate you telling your story. everybody had a broken bone that it takes one year to pay off. reno pier the situation is not unique. if you have a similar story you ve a big hospital bill we want to hear from you. this is the biggest issue of the cost of health ca in hospital and the bill follow that story. santry the e-mail or contact me on twitter and i love facebook. gerri willis espy and joining me now on the same topic former adviser for centers of medicaid medicare

services. welcome and we will start with that story and you were laughing and smiling. why? it is a great big bill. >> is a resource mining at his predicament but it is all too common it is looking at the health care mketplace and 51 percent of all health care charges are hospital related it is the least efficient part of the healthare system. gerri: what you said dr. you are in touch with this part of every single day. >> the hard prt there is no the transparency of hospital charges that finally in may was released. medicare/medicaid and showed

hospital charges over 2011 we could see even within new york city one place was 15,000 another was 150,000. free competition will help if patients can be consumers to shop around. >> it will get worse under obamacare with consolidation and we already see that. 70 percent of doctors already work for the doctor or the health system or the independent practices. that will raise prices and hospitals have more local leverage with the monopoly. the fcc -- cftc is sorry but the administrion held the matt delaware to prevent them. gerri: do you think they will take action? >> they have selective action but it is our politically because the administration wants to consolidate providers then they're easier to regulate.

gerri: just to follow up about medical prices and the variation, this is a variation of appendectomies. $1,500 or 180,000 at the other? how is it possible is in this world or country that one hospital it cost $59 and another nearly 200,000 for the same procedure? >> it all boils down to what they have it has a charge to master that is a secret sheets of paper that tell exactly when everything cost they have not made public but now they are and they can set the cost that whenever the market will bear and they will prey up those who ask they pay the bill we have to be more

better consumers of health care. gerri: it is hard when you have no information. it is nice to say that but we don't get the information we need. i would want to move onto a story breaking at the margins. lots of confusion for those who signed up for obamacare and all the people are being turned away because nobody can confirm they actually have coverage. what is going on? >> a lot of them don't. 2.1 million people signed up but they were enrolled we know they did not pay the first month's premium and a lot of them never had paperwork submitted. but the admistration asks is to float the people through the month then they think the health care plans to take their word but they do do that without a

rudimentary check so that is what is happening health plan tries to verify but it creates confusion. people will be turned away. gerri: do you see this also? >> i am. there is a lot of confusion. they extended the d deadline to end the insurance don't get the information and there is no play possible to make this happen in a smooth way as you know, . gerri: we have confirmation from the federal government 80,000 people in west virginia have to re-enter all in it obamacare because of the mistakes. >> 18,000 that the paper work never made it over but this happens in every state st everybody in this state gerri: how does the system

deal with this? looking up a hospital in california to task but at the end of the day with this system how could anybody possibly serve customers in a way that makes sense? >> with ever health care system at the university of north carolina we don't turn anyone away. we are the people's university be will figure out insurance on the back and but that is not the case everywhere. patients will suffer. the ofs system is flawed and was not put together correctly. to as smart as we are it is amazing in three years w could not find of website that works front end and back and. >> and for the hospitals to afford to float people for the month but the private office it is difficult. gerri: even if they say it's not, it's always about money. attorney general's now say that changes to obamacare

are illegal? what do you say? i am very concerned about our president because there is a mechanism for changing laws and it is called congress and the president should run this through coness so be legally manipulate rather than pick and choose what we willo. >> this letter was written by the attorney-general of west virginia who used to work on capitol hill. gerri: be will continue to follow that. again if you have an issue 70 andy mel and follow me on twitter or facebook we want to hear from a year. great stuff. a big day but glenfed governor warning on interest rates and the right way to

turn your turn your trash into cash.

see these hands? they gripped the wheel of a humvee in afghanistan.

these hands? six years treating soldiers. twelve years, flying choppers. my hands? they're here for the person who fought in afghanistan. i made the call and got support for my sister. my hands are herfor the person who treated those soldiers. i helped connect my son with the care he's earned. mine take care of the person who flew those helicopters. and if life gets overwhelming they're ready to dial the veterans crisis line. the veterans crisis line is he for all veterans and their loved ones. call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. or chat online at veteranscrisisline.net erri: ben bernanke speaking

today that will be his last speech as the federal reserve chairman sming up the statement saying 2014 could be a better use of the economy but the recovery remains incomplete we have peter recede from merrill lynch. good to have here. i thought it was as much as what he did say but he is concerned about his legacy to fashion the last few months to look like someone who ended the horrible mortgage meltdown how well did he do? >> reasonably well to get us through the crisis but lacking the reforms that we needed some of it was his fault. he did not extract enough from the bankers when they needed the cash but some of it is at the feet of congress. that quantitative easing has made it possible for congress and the president

to dodge the real chang that need to be made so we don't have rock-bottom interest rates to keep the economy growing at 2.5 percent. gerri: the latest number was 4.one for cent. well that stick or a revised down? >> quarter to quarter it generates but underline to read it is only 2.5% unless that changes we could average over the last five years average growth through the recovery about 2.3%. that will get a little better next year but we should be closer with 5%. gerri: growth has to be faster for americans to get jobs there and put food on the table.

but everybody talks about this economy like it is going great, the housing sector is on fire but i don't know if it is individual americans but investors in and those on the recent one dash recent run-up and is not individuals but the professionals. when will individuals see the fortune rise? >> when president and congress removed the constraints on growth expect the highest taxes in the road on manufacturing and prohibition of drilling we could be energy independent the president says we are getting their but it is wrong he increased oil production on private land by so many barrels per day. we could get it but he keeps us from that. gerri: the federal reserve balance sheet we have a

graphic. unbelievable. what about individuals or consumers? >> the federal reserve doesn't have latitude to do something goes wrong. if we have an earthquake something that stalls the recovery or a crisis in the middle east, the fed has no options left we cannot cut under streets it cannot add to the balance sheet. they are running out of bonds that they comply -- can buy. gerri: i know everybody is worried about their legacy but they need to start getting some real work done. have a great weekend professor. we appreciate your time. how do you do that? a great way to make money and get organized for a great battle over who has the right to make end of

life decisions in dhaka hospital. stay with us. gerri: lucky for extra cash? the user could

gerri: lucky for extra cash?

gerri: unfortunately the holidays are over a do you may find yourself looking for extra cash. what if you don't have to look further ahead your living room? today and our guest joins us to explain how to turn those everyday goods like around the house.

talk about organizing. not only you need the cash but there is a mess right now? >> mo people's homes deal with a lot of mass. you need to part with those items you have been holding on to. you need to eliminate what you have before you can divide into piles where you trash or donating then decide on what you want to gerri: what do you sell? >> furniture is doing very well he would be amazed how many people are selling quality clothing that you don't wear any more. my daughter made a killing recently cleaning out her closet and also electronics. a and home furnishings rugs anything that looked for to make their homes better

gerri: you can make between 800 and $1,000? are you kidding me? how do i do that? gerri: if you haven't moved recently you probably have accumulated things just like you were card you can make about that much money by the time you put together different pieces but selling on line is a little bit less stressful and at the end of the day you can make more to take ddc instead of trying to sell it in all oneay. gerri: you havesome great web sites. you have the china web site. talk to me about others. >> ebay is a good web site for the things you may not want to keep but think about then shipping cost. thing if you have heavy

items or bicycles then it is good to go with craig was. people to realize amazon can help you sell your loot -- used items think about the large net that you throw out like the amazon people can come in contact with what you try to get rid of. gerri: how you do brides sales? how do you make that work? >> it is a lot of work abhor law do an amazing amount of work to get ready and you have to do display at. you' going face-to-face and that is intimidating some people are professionals and sometimes it can be unpleasant and at the end of the day you have things you have to move if you need to turn this over quick that is

the best way but stretching it out over one month or six weeks it is better to embrace ebay over craigslist. gerri: great advice. we have our top five. every new year's some of us will vow to shed the towns but what goldi yousef for your home? the best home resolutions. what you need to do f your home that we sometimes forget. number five i will change my furnace filter every three months. really? that sounds like a windfall for furnace filter makers. >> it is advantageous because you save money on your energy bill and the equipment will last longer. gerri: number four i will clean my debtors four times this year no. what about two times? >> no. you are surprised how much

stuff from your shingle see you and your leaves can cause problems. if it is done more regularly as a lot easier. gerri: i will leacock all of my a masonry? in the driveway at ws the exhaust fan. i can never remember that. >> is important not only use it while you take a shower or cook pasta but even on for at least 10 minutes after so it eliminates the moisture in and orders. gerri: the best of resolution is i will have my heating and cooling systems serviced at least once. thank you. >> my pleasure. gerri: an extra one i will bochco willis reports every night. it is not a bad idea. said how to stay away from

the wall street worst that is known about cockroaches and a tragic case in california and reignite the debate who c live or die in a hospital. we are onhe case. stay with us.

>> it is "the willis report" with gerri willis coming up next. gerri: you probably heard about this story. a tragedy surrounding a young girl and her family. this 13-year-old was declared ringdown after tonsil surgery in a hospital wants to diss

disconnects every today a judge said that they can transfer her to another hospital with us now is the lis wiehl and bill thompson. welcome to you both. we are talking to you about this duri the break. everyone in the country has faced something like this of their with their family. so wha do you make. as a heartless? >> i think the judge made the right decision. us poor littl girl who is brain-dead. we have to make that ut, according to california law she is dead. everything is done, and the judge has been trying to give the family sometime to come to terms with this horrible ality and give them that time. thiss not a compromise. as new york city has offered to take her and keep her alive, bt sically they are moving a corpse.

>> first of all, the weight started in the court system is not really a proper way in a sense. it wasn't an all or nothing thing. it wasn't the issue of her being alive or dead. under the totality of the circumstances, they should have been able to look at the situation and give the appearance some time to look into moving her. because they force it down their throat and that is what got us where we are now. that this decision has got us whe we are today. >> the court said no, wait. in the hospital, the courts in other eek. so every time they made that order committ for the we are going to abide by that. we do not agree. we think legally under the california statute she is dead and all of these independent physians have said she is in the hospital. gerri: getting you guys to an

issue here. many people have to decide whether to keep a family member on life support. you should make the decision as to whether life support should be continued? should it be the state? the hospital? family? should it be a living will? >> it seems asomely that it's going to come down to the state. >> is that right? >> i think it's right because obviously the family members are too biased in the situation. according to do something for a loved one. but in this case there is still circulation and the parents have a religious belief. >> if you just listen to the parents then you're not going to be able to take the childff life support at all. the. gerri: the state is looking out after its own interests and they will have to ultimately foot the bill for summoners.

maybe not now, but for other people. so should itbe the state responsibility or should the family decide? >> you're talking about a vegetative state, that's a different story. he wants what is the smart thing? >> the problem is that we are talking about this 13-year-old girl. > and i think that the family can do, obviously, isn't speaking to the person in the has to be some oversight and

sometimes it is black or white. and i just have to say that i don't know how you feel, but i'm proud to see the courts get involved and encourage the parties to sit down and try to resolve this. this decision is a compromise. >> is a compromise that the judges imposing. but is is this going tohave a number of other cases as well. >> there is a civil liability. >> that is what i'm saying that if you look at all the circumstances and the fact that it was life or death, the fact that it was a shock that the parents are very religious. you can't just apply black-and-white rules to the situation. i think that the courts he to be a little bit more aware of all of the circumstances.

well and it was a fascinating conversation, and tnk you for answering all my questions, not just the specific one. gerri: now we want to know what you think. here's our question tonight. who should decide whether a patient is taken off life support. log onto gerriwillis.com and vote on the right-hand side of the screen and i will share the relts at the end of tonight's show. there is more to come this hour. wall street's worst.

the. gerri: if you didn't take advaage of the low interest rates last year you may not get your chance this year.

according to our next guest, interest rates are edging higher in 2014. herewith the forecast for mortgage rates and saving rates is greg mcbride. it is so great to see you, as always. we love having you on the show. you have your fingers on this big time for consumers across the country are wondering, for example, number one, where are mortgage rates going? >> well, i think that that is going to be the big one. i think that we will see a slow and steady grind higher throughout 2014 ovided that the economy continues to recover and the fed is successful in scaling back their bond purchases. the. gerri: i really want to see

individuals get involved in this market. and here is what we are looking at. january 2013. 3.58%. december, 4.69. you say that it will be 5.5 in . so you're going to have to get busy with it if you want to buy a house. because i will be real money out of people's pockets. hundreds of dollars each and every month. let's talk about credit card rates. >> short-term interest rates aren't going anywhere in 2014. the fed is going to hold those rates steady. things like credit card rates are going to be largely unchanged. this may be yr last hurrah to really pay down the balance while you have a tail and a low rather than the head wind. and come 2013 we could be looking at the fed boosting rates and all of a sudden those rates inch up. if you have strong credit, this is going o be one of those years were you see these

rock-bottom offers. the 0% balance transfer and purchase offers as long as 18 months. people with strong credit are endless. those that have weaker credit, they are paying the double digit interest rates and those rates are more likely to inch higher -ather than to move lower as the year unfolds. the money gets so expensive for people and it really adds up over time. also, this has been a horrible few years if you're trying to save money. if you have been lying on savings coming you have been penalized. maybe that is about to change? >> saving accounts, money market, short-term cds, those deals are going to stay in the basement is here. that we could see some improvement on the longer maturity cds.

particularly once we get to the second half of the year. in those fields are so low right now that any improvement we see will be pretty modest and not enough to make this compelling investment the fed is starting to send out short-term interest ratee. they. gerri: happy new year. still ahead, the wolf of wall street. now wall street wants to crack down on crooked stockbrokers. wait until you her how to do it

the. gerri: a new year and a new crackdown. we wo

the. gerri: maybe you have seen the movie, the wolf of wall street. check it out. it made waves by pushing the boundaries of decency with drugs and fax sex and the tail is abot the corrupt stockbroking scheme. but one government agency is

cracking down on a different kind of creature. they are calling them cockroaches i haven't seen in a while. it's good to see it. we are talking about cockroaches here. that's just crazy. >> yet. gerri: they used to call them rogue brokers and now they are calling on cockroaches because they do their bad things with their current clients and then they jump to a new grp of clients. so what is going onhere? is this new? what is the danger for individual investors? >> it is nothing new. it's bn around for a long time. first of all, i want to make sure that it's well understood area if you have your account at a goldman sachs, they have huge security compliance groups there. you're probably not dealing with a cockroach there.

the. gerri: but let's be real is there, it could happen. >> anything could happen,ut they are not cockroaches li this. if something happens they are out and gone. but it's the smaller firms were these people live in they go from firm to firm and they will create voc and complacent about another placc. d that is where they live. i just want people to understand that it's not everywhere the. gerri: okay. and there a lot of women there that are stockbrokers. doing a great job everyday. so believe you, ourviewers do not want to get involved with these folks. so what are the warning signals? what do i look out for the time an individual investor to and maybe the beginning of the year i'm saying that i want someone professional to manage my money. how do i avoid the next that i? >> is there something that isn't approved, they are suddenly from the firm, the product will be

sold and th broker dealer has to prove that. so you want to sure thathe compliance officers have approved it. and you want to make sure that it is approved. that is one thing without question. and what about when inventing these people to begin with? is there a place that i can go on the web and see these guys have a record? >> well, sure. let me tell you, there are ver few pple in the industry that aren't registered and you can go somewhere and there are lots of links to check people out. but that doesn't hummable story because some of these people are putting together schemes and offerings and taking a big commission off the front. it's complicated. so to avoid that, i advise people to stay with the bigger well-known firms because they have that oversight. in one of the things i have of how much is that i do not like this. this is kind of a cesspool in my

mind. a lot of people watching right now i'm not going to be happy with that. but i find those to be a big problem. the. gerri: i like what you are saying. these are all signals that something is not right. but the regulators are saying that we have the crackerjack team of six people and it's like, really? there are thousands of brokers and 60 we're going to bring these people -- they are going to make this right? that's laughable. >> not a chance in the world. we're going to learn how to evaluate this. because i have spoken with a lot of people and i have said, can i help you guys understand our industry. and it drives me crazy how many people are overseeing the industry and they don't even

understand our industry. and so i think it's crazy for that and this is why had you on the show. because i know you are on fire about this topic. they are give are

he won our first guest tonight, nic nick gonzález, he got lots of attention on the internet for his experience with health care system and not a positive one. $55,000 was paid for an appendectomy, most that his insurance covered. but his total was 55,000 for a procedure to cost about $10,000 on average across the country. he is being asssed $7500 for the privilege of serving in a the recovery room. no calls for investigation. just regular people that are

angry about an unpredictable and capricious health re sysm that is ungovernable. that is there for tonight was reportedly will see you next week. ♪ melissa: it is cold. record cold. why is the secretary of state looking for coldhearted cash? welcome, i am melissa francis in for neil cavuto. don't worry, he is back on monday. john kerry had some pretty bad timing. millions of people are digging out from the massive snowstorm and it is freezing cold everywhere, even downspout. and that is not stopping secretary john kerry for making climate change a big priority in his life. critics say that hotspots are just about evewh