hello. i'm gerri willis and this is "your bottom line" the show that saves you money. nickeled and dimed. we'll show you how to protect yourself from bank fees. then the best time to buy, a month-to-month guide on how to score the best deals. and travel for less? we all need a break sometimes. summer getaways that fit your budget. "your bottom line" starts right now. we begin with one red hot topic, health care reform, push and push back in washington. no matter what happens you're going to feel it. in a recent cnn opinion research poll, americans ranked health care as the most important noneconomic issue facing this

country followed by the deficit and the ongoing wars in iraq and afghanistan. in a primetime address wednesday night, president obama stated his case for health care reform saying it's crucial in the effort to rebuild our economy from what he called a full blown crisis. >> this is not just about the 47 million americans who don't have any health insurance at all. reform is about every american who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick or lose their job or change their job. it's about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of medicare and medicaid. so let me be clear. if we do not control these costs we will not be able to control our deficit. if we do not reform health care your premiums and out of pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. >> so one person who knows all about high medical costs is with us.

she is a tv anchor reporter formerly with our affiliate wsb in atlanta. welcome. great to see you. >> thank you so much, gerri. so good to see you, as well. >> now, i want to tell our viewers here, you are a cancer survivor and just recently celebrated your two-year anniversary being cancer free. >> woo hoo. >> congratulations. i think it's fantastic. >> thank you. >> and yet you say the health care system failed you. you had coverage when you were first diagnosed and yet you faced thousands of dollars of out of pocket costs. tell us about that. >> you know, one thing i will say about having health care coverage, you know, a lot of people feel like i have good insurance so i should be covered. however, there are still exorbitant amounts of costs that you could incur. i have been a victim of that personally. i remember when i was going through my cancer journey one of the things that was most important for me was getting

rest, getting sleep, being up and ready for my cancer treatments but a bottle of ambien to help me sleep about 20 pills or so was $125. that's something that i had to have but insurance did not cover. so i had to pay that $125. another thing that people don't keep in mind, when you are going through something like that, and this is why i understand some people still try to work while going through cancer treatments, is that when you go on disability, there is a portion of your paycheck that you are receiving but not all of it. so you're battling for your life. you're still trying to maintain a home, a car, bills. >> right. >> and in the middle of that trying to make certain you are staying on the path of recovery. so for somebody like me, i couldn't think about all of those other things. >> right. >> i just wanted to get well. but i had to think about them because they were important to me and my health care. >> i can't imagine the pressures of fighting cancer and fighting the bill collector at the same

time. i know the pressures must have been extreme. i want to bring in some experts now. joining us to help make sense of the reform and what it could mean for people like you is andrew rubin from nyu's medical center and also the host of "health care connect" on sirius doctor radio and also the health care reform director from consumers union. i want to start with you. you're a proponent of the president's plan. you think it's a great idea. why do we have to act right now? >> well, i think the first thing to think about is that there are 14,000 people every day in america who are losing their insurance and there are countless others that experience exactly what was just described, they have bought insurance. they think they at least have catastrophic coverage, and they don't find out until it's too late when they experience something like a major illness such as cancer that, in fact, there are huge holes in their coverage that are going to lead

them to financial devastation, bankruptcy, losing houses. >> right. >> we've heard these stories over and over again. >> andrew, this plan is not inexpensive. it's going to cost a trillion dollars over ten years. and there are many moving parts. yes, it's going to cover everybody but should we move right now? are we moving too quickly? that's what critics would say. >> well, i think everybody agrees that we have a problem. and it's bipartisan. health care is not working right now for a lot of people. so the debate really is how fast do you move it? and i think we have to do something. we have to solve preexisting condition problems for people. but the question that really has to be addressed is how fast are we going to do it? i think we need to slow it down a little bit. >> all right. well, i want to bring in one other person now. jessica is about to age out of her parents' insurance policy and her new job isn't set yet to offer her coverage. let's ask you, what's your situation? what is the problem? how has the system failed you?

>> well, i have to say i have a brain tumor i've been battling for some time and i've been told it can be treated with medication. unfortunately, my out of pocket expenses are going to be about $7,000 or $8,000 next month because on my birthday my birthday gift where i should be celebrating being on this earth is going to be spent going to the bank to make a big withdrawal so i can stay alive until september 1st when my new coverage kicks in. >> jessica, you know, i have to say, we sympathize with you and we hope everything goes well. >> thank you. >> but deann, turning to you, this has got to be one of the big problems of the system. people fall in the gaps. they don't have coverage when they most need it. what can we do? what should we do? is the president's plan enough here? >> well, unfortunately, it's pretty complicated. it would depend on some of the particulars of her circumstances. but generally speaking, for most people everyone would have

access to some kind of plan without regard to preexisting condition. this was one of the most important changes that is desperately needed. >> right. >> in our health care system. that would help her a lot. she would not be left with a gap in coverage between losing her mother's coverage and starting her new job. >> andrew, you know, if we delay, do we face a possibility of more people falling through the holes in the system? of not helping people who really need it right now? >> gerri, that's a great question. i actually don't think people are talking about delaying. they shouldn't be talking about delaying because as your guests point out they're in a bind and the bind grows bigger and deeper for more americans every day. i think what we have to do is take the legislation that's being proposed, you know, in both sides of the aisle, and find middle ground quickly and president obama has done a great job keeping it front and center and finding the pieces that get

us closer and closer. health care got messed up over many, many decades. it's not going to be solved in four to six weeks of legislative battles. >> i'm afraid we're going to have to leave it there. i'm going to thank my guests. jess, a special word to you, we're thinking and hoping the best for you. good luck to all of you. thanks so much. >> good luck. watching your household expenses is so important right now. how overdraft and bank fees are up and what you can do to protect your money.

we hear consumer advocates up in arms about banking fees and credit card practices and it's easy to say that's well and good but i don't have to listen

because it would never happen to me. but it can. easily. if a check gets lost in the mail or you confuse the date you get paid you could get slammed. it happened to me just a few weeks ago. a large check cleared my checking account sooner than i expected. unaware my balance had dwindled i went about my saturday morning routine picking up items at the grocery store, buying some stuff for the house. each time the bank made good on the purchased item and charged me a $35 overdraft fee all without my knowledge. now, sometimes the fee was more than the purchase. i was mortified. and i was angry when i looked at my account online. fortunately, customer service agreed to waive $200 of the total $350 in fees but it reminded me just how careful we all have to be managing our accounts. i didn't leave my bank but some of you are voting with your feet. a new survey shows 44% of folks who switched banks in the last three months did it because of fees.

travis plunkett is with the consumer federation of america and joins us from washington. i can't tell you how angry i was. you say there are other gotchas out there when it comes to oversight. >> well, a lot of people are angry about overdraft fees and many of the fees banks are charging. one of the tactics banks use for example is they'll clear your debits from the largest size to the smallest size no matter when you make the purchase. in other words, if you don't have the money for your large purchase, then a string of smaller purchases will overdraw the account and they will charge you $35 a pop. which is what they charged you. >> well, they get you coming and going. it really adds to their bottom line. some $31 billion in overdraft fees collected last year by banks. this is a huge and important part of their profitability. >> well, the problem is that more and more banks are using these overdraft fees.

it's hard to avoid them. even small banks, three-quarters of all small banks are now -- you would think the small banks would be more trustworthy but in this case they're not. three-quarters are charging overdraft fees. so our advice, look for a credit union if you're eligible. check with your local bank, find out what the policies are, get them to tell you ahead of time if this is what they do. >> right. >> then avoid at all costs overdrawing your account. >> let's talk about other fees. there are all kinds of fees out there. obviously you can avoid overdraft fees by not overdrawing your account. but what other kinds of fees should i be on the lookout for? how else are they getting me here? >> well, you mentioned some credit card fees so credit card fees, the number of fees that banks are charging are increasing and the amount is increasing. for example for late payment fees and over the limit fees.

then you've got service fees on your checking account. if your balance for example goes beneath a certain amount, you may get a monthly service charge which can be quite hefty. you've got atm fees. this as you say is a very lucrative stream of income for the banks. they're losing money in other areas so they're hitting consumers with more fees. >> losing money in other areas so we'll make up the difference. well, i appreciate your help today, travis. thank you so much. >> thank you. if you're strapped for cash a quick look at the calendar could lead you to the bargains. though money may be tight there is no need to skip out on a fun getaway this summer. we are going to show you the most affordable spots in the country.

we spent a lot of time looking for ways to save but for some deals all you need to do is check your calendar. robert long joins us from washington with summer highlights with a month-to-month guide to the best bargains. good to see you, robert. >> thank you for having me. >> you say you can save a lot of money by planning purchases and really understanding how retailers do business. if that is true, what can i save on right now? >> well, the truth is, yes. you can save substantially on

dozens of items throughout the year ranging from smaller household items, candy and gift wrap to some bigger ticket items. electronics, and even cars. now, the truth is and the point is not each and every one of the items on our list at kiplinger.com is available at these deep discounts right now. >> so what should i go shopping for then? let's say i do have a little extra money and unlike the rest of the world i want to spend it? obviously consumer spending down right now. you say furniture is a good deal right now. >> i tell you, two items right now, furniture absolutely. furniture stores generally are getting new inventory in august. they're looking to clear their showrooms. you can look for discounts perhaps as high as 50% at your local furniture stores. perhaps through labor day. >> all right. so you say patio furniture, produce? i saw on your website you say it's a good time to negotiate that new deal at the gym. let's talk about this fall. you do want people to really plan those purchases. so when we hit september what

should i be looking at? >> well, you're absolutely right about planning the purchases. i think the whole point here is really for consumers to incorporate a lot of these items into their year-long family budget. put these items on their calendar and really buy on their terms. so if we're looking ahead to september, you really want to save on a big ticket item, that's typically a good time of course to buy a new car. as the 2010 models are starting to roll in, 2009 models can be had for very good prices. your goal there is probably to try to get within a few hundred dollars of invoice price on a car. >> you also say, hey, appliances, computers, back to school, all of the stuff starts going on sale in september. how much of a discount can i score on some of these things? >> often in the case of some of the big ticket electronics you can go as much as 50% off. what you're looking for with electronics is what we call door buster deals. you'll typically see these on black friday coming out of thanksgiving and into the holiday shopping season.

retailers want to get you in the door during a competitive shopping season, get you hooked with that one big item you think you'll save a lot on. then of course they're hoping you're going to buy several other items while in the store. >> there is so much to shop for and if you do it at the right time you can save lots of money. robert long, thanks for your help. >> thank you very much, gerri. >> it's not too late for a summer escape. whether you enjoy the beach or the mountains those trips don't always come cheap. joining me is "travel and leisure's" mark orwall. it is great to see you. thanks for joining us. let's take a little vacation. what is the inexpensive and fantastic beach getaway? >> the one we like is chicotegeau island off the coast of virginia. >> been there and it's beautiful. >> lots of activities and assateague is the national seashore like a mini galapagos. you'll see the wildlife and the

wild ponies that roam the beaches. this as great natural history getaway for the whole family. >> is it expensive? can i do this on a budget? >> very easy to do it. >> is it expensive? >> plenty of places to stay and little b&b called miss molly's. lots of accommodations to choose from. >> i understand you have a road trip that is a personal favorite. >> highway 1 in california, that's where i'm from. this is a trip everybody should do. start up in l.a. and go to san francisco and on the way you'll see the classic beach town of santa cruz and the redwood groves. this is a once in a lifetime trip. the road from l.a. up to san francisco. >> can we talk about wine regions for a second. if you're from california you know napa and you know the prices and it is very expensive. you have a great idea that won't break your budget. >> michigan. >> michigan. >> the leelanau peninsula.

there are dozens of wineries that growing hundreds of acres of grapes up there, specifically pino blanc grapes and 35-foot high sand dunes and it is an all around destination. >> all right, so, you have some suggestions on the website, we should mention your website. is. >> travelandleisure.com. >> you just click through, it's absolutely gorgeous. one other idea here, though, that's the neighborhood. you're talking about boston here and i spent some time in boston, interesting change there that made one neighborhood very accessible. >> you better believe it, gerri. the north end. very italian american and great restaurants and used to be separated by the rest of boston by a big elevated highway and made an underground highway and now the north end is part of boston again. they're having two restaurant

weeks in the month of august. go to many great restaurants for as little as $15 for lunch. a beautiful, beautiful urban neighborhood. >> all right, marks, thanks for your help today. getting creative in today's economy, what some folks are doing to get by.