all the best. >> thank you. >> senator ron wyden from oregon with us. i want to bring in a doctor has been working closely with the congress and white house to forge a consensus on medicare reimbursements. a major sticking point in getting the public options. joining me now dr. jack luin, a ceo of american college of cardiology. dr. luin, good to have you with us tonight. medicare reimbursement rates i've had a number of senators tell me they will not sign on to a public option because the reimbursement rates of the rural states is not fair. can that be fixed and where do we stand on that? >> well, you know, if congress would do a couple things with the public option, it would become a lot more attractive. one, make it clear if there is such a public plan that it will support itself entirely by premiums it raises. in other words, people choose it and it will be competing with other insurance companies. the other thing is, though, it ought to be pricing its services to doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. somehow competitively with the pri

>> reporter: one of the things tough account for here is strategy and for ron wyden and jay rockefeller, withholding their vote is the chance to keep the point in the news, you and i are talking about it people trying to weigh does it have potential? it is a strategically good move to hold a vote and not -- not really show your hand too soon. now, will they at some point come together and be able to get all of the democrats on board? that's certainly what chairman baucus needs to do and wants to do. everybody is waiting for one of the most important scores we will see all season, the cbo number, bigger than the super bowl, bigger than the final results at the world series. when you are on capitol hill that tells you how much will it cost? how close to deficit-neutral might it be? it tells us everything in terms of big numbers that we need on this baucus blueprint for health care that should come within a couple of days and then all of the senators on the committee will get a chance to read it over, take a look, see if there are any surprise there is and then cast their votes a big prior

oregon democratic senator ron wyden. thank you for making the time for "msnbc saturday."ppreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >>> for the latest details on where health "form stands now logon to msnbc.com. >>> let's go now to the southeast and the fallout from the flooding there. mounds of debris and trash clogging many of the lakes and rivers. this junk traveled an estimated 70 miles from atlanta via the, oh, yeah, like i'm going to say this right. chattahoochee? i think i stead right. did that right, good? to the alabama border. the cleanup efforts are ongoing. >> very good. >> thanks for that, meteorologist bill karins. chattahoochee. >> having trouble saying that word. >> i know. >> let's talk a little about what's going on out there this saturday. good morning to alex and to everyone out there. our weather, we have wet spots, but the big concern, weather concern, actually globally today. two typhoons out there, one in the philippines again. remember, the area that got devastated about a week, week and a half ago. they're getting hit by a typhoon as we speak. another

oregon democrat ron wyden says many people pushing for this do not realize that. >> when i was havingy town meetings, people would stand up at rallies and say public option or bust. and then i would say, folks, i really appreciate your activism. are you aware the way these public option bills are written, more than 0% of you wouldn't even get to choose them? and people were practically falling out of the bleachers. >> there are still tens of millions of folks across the united states without health insurance who would be able to buy into this public option if it does pass, unless of course, their state decides to opt out. we want to know what you think. post comments on our facebook page and we'll share some of your comments right here on "morning express" with robin meade. >>> so looks like you're going to get another chance to cash in on the old home buyer tax credit. money expert jennifer westhoven joins us right now. jen, the government is going to extend this, i guess, right? >> that's what it looks like we're shaping up. there are two plans out there and one of them could see ac

. >> senator ron wyden, democrat of oregon, thank you very much, sir. >> thank you. >>> so david, you heard him say it but you know actually, his speaking about it is nothing new. he said for weeks that he with not support the bill without the x changes for people to get in there and be able to choose, so, not altogether surprise. right, but his come there is at the end is going to be, so frustrating to progressives. again, essentially the same thing as two weeks ago, nothing in there that essentially rein in the for-profit insurance companies there is no public option. baucus wouldn't put it in there the democrat proposal for a public option got defeated. claim the cantwell one wouldn't work. wyden, he gets defeated. what are the democrats going to do? hold their nose and go along with it? some of the provisions they lack? go along giving billions to for the for-profit insurance companies to cover more people or bolster this on the floor? we will see but frustrated. >> ask him next time if whether what they have now being passed is better than no bill at all as well. anyway, still ah

shum ser part of the leadership team on the democratic side and trying to get people together but ron wyden taking risks and speaking out against some of the democrats, frustrated, as you know, dylan, about the fact that his idea to get people who get their insurance through their employer a chance to choose. that didn't get to committee and daet get a vote the. he is frustrated about that. he put out a statement and gives you a sense. he felt it was more of a tactic and he has been frustrated by it as you know. >> what a great tactic it was. it protected health insurers from having any competition. they do have an exemption from antitrust. these literally are people who are paying off our government to make sure they don't have to compete whether it's too big to fail banks or, in this case, the health insurance companies. when i say paying off your government, here is what i mean. take a look at baucus' pie chart from lobbyists and re-election campaign and leadership pacts, et cetera. it is absolutely spectacular. the imagery will blow your mind. even if you average it back to 1989 which i

senator ron wyden trying like heck to restore competition and choice in this country and couldn't event to a vote. here is senate finance chairman max baucus why that may be. >> i think of a member so posed by both business and labor. there must be some wisdom there if they are both aposed and i just think that -- you've done a lot, senator, but i don't think this amendment really is the right thing to do. >> what a chuckle. i mean, what could possibly be so wrong with going with the direct interest of massive businesses and labor unions, even if it completely blocks competition of any weight, any kind or shape or form? anyway we know who chairman baucus works for. understand that, of course the labor unions would not like anybody to have choice because they lose their leverage to accumulate members and the employer system allows employers to control you by controlling your health care so they want to be held hostage as long as possible so they can milk you for a couple of bucks. good times! enjoy your weekend. check out "broken ideas" and chk out matt miller's op-ed in "the wall stree