he said the ama is working to cover all americans.alk about your plan and your proposal as the president did today? >> we have been developing a plan over the last decade. i am not sure that you knew that. we have been working on this issue for a long time. we are committed to those who are lawmakers and who are helping to develop the plans to make sure we get to a solution this year. our plan -- the details of our plan are available on our website. i am happy to go over that with you. it is not our plan that is on the table right now. we are committed to americans having choice. you heard the president talk about that today as well. we want them to have choice of coverage, doctors, and i am happy to discuss other areas that are part of our plan. you probably want to hear more about what is in play right now. >> members of congress also reacted to the president's speech on health care. this is a little bit more than half an hour. intensifies, one thing is already clear: both republicans and democrats agree that health care is in serio

the president prepares to speak to the ama. the administration representative on the sunday shows, talking about health care. >> how will the president make the case to the skeptics? >> i think competition is a good thing. most americans understand that choice and competition is what we want. if you look at a health exchange where people can have options. in many parts of the country, private insurers have no competitor in a state like my old state of kansas. there is a dominant insurance company in the states. we created a public auction so they can choose side by side benefits and prices. competition is good. the president does not want to dismantle privately owned plants. he doesn't want the 180 million people who have employer coverage to lose that. he wants to strengthen the marketplace. i don't think it is a big surprise. a lot of insurers say that what we really like is that everybody should buy it from us. -- we will give americans a choice and we will have lower costs for everybody. that is a good thing. host: a commen

thank you very much, ama. appreciated. thank you. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> reaction to the president's speech on healthcare before the american medical association. we will hear from ama president nancy nielsen and president-elect james rohack. this is about ten minutes. >> i am with channel 2 in chicago. essie mae for there were scattered boos when the president said he did not favor the med mal caps. no big surprise. he did not favor him-- the state capitol either. unhappy were you with that? >> he didn't say anything and so we really weren't surprised of course. what we were thrilled about is that this is the first democratic president that has talked with us about any kind of liability reform so that was the good news. i think the other was no surprise. >> dave michaels with the dallas news. the president said today the public auction is your friend. speaking to positions-- physicians and the house of delegates is going to consider a resolution that would tell the ama to oppose the adoption. do you think the president's assertion that o

and in order to do that we are going to need the help of the ama. [applause] >> today we are spending over $2 trillion a year on health care. almost 50% more per person than the next most costly nation. and yet, as i think many of you are aware, for all of this spending, more of our citizens are uninsured. the quality of our care is often lower. and we aren't any healthier. in fact, citizens in some countries that spend substantially less than we do are actually living longer than we do. make no mistake. the cost of our health care is a threat to our economy. it's an escalating burden on our families and businesses. it's a ticking time bomb for the federal budget. and it is unsustainable for the united states of america. it's unsustainable for americans like lauren could skip, a young mother who i met in wisconsin just last week, who learned that the breast cancer she thought she had been had spread to her bones. but who is now being forced to spend time worrying about how to cover the $50000 in medical debt she's already accumulated, worried about

>> i don't know what the ama position is. i want them to look at our draft. i think there's a lot of misinformation about the idea of a public auction. some people think it is going to big government takeover of health care as it appears system, that's not what we intended. we want to be giving people a chance to choose their own insurance plan just like federal employees get to do, members of congress. we get a list of available insurance policies that we can choose and one of the choices that will be available to those who go into this exchange our marketplace look at the choices will be a public plan that will be on a level playing field, it will be a choice, no mandate for anybody to be an and will be for a lot of people who want to make sure that they can rely on it with a feel uncomfortable with the insurance companies and the way they have handled insurance over the years, but i hope when the ama looks at our proposal and when we hear from them and our hearings they will give it a fair evaluation and we hope they will be there, and presently can agree

see what the ama will say. for the ama it is a big improvement in the payment for physicians. it's a marvelous new way to reimburse physicians, even though i did not write it. there are benefits. plus, there are 40 million-50 million people who are uncompensated, who charity has to take care of, will be putting money into the system because they don't have insurance. -- because they have insurance. i think every provider, even though the per procedure rate may drop, the volume rate and their total revenue increases over the time of the bill. >> i don't want to get stuck on one thing. there are a lot of moving pieces to figure out in terms of the cost. but among the things on the table, are there various kinds of tax increases if so you're looking at? >> no. there is i think and 8% gross payroll charge to employers. in that bracket. it may be six, and maybe eight. i don't know where the final number comes. there are no other numbers. in terms of what we do, i think everything is on the table. if you are talking about outside the bill, will ways and means committee have to come

i had an opportunity to listen to the president's speech to the ama yesterday, and he said distinctly that he was not going to advocate a single-payer system but a choice like we have in the federal government, of care providers and insurers. but when i get my insurance statement for my yearly checkup with my primary care physician and i see the insurance companies have negotiated, my primary care physician gets less for my yearly checkup than my mechanic does when i take my car in for service? i think there's something wrong with my health system, and i am not sure how we're going to retain the highest quality doctors and our system if this is the case. if they are under those kind of pressures. host: the president yesterday made some comparisons to the automotive industry. here is what he had to say. >> across the country, over 1/3 of companies have reduced benefits over the years, and 1/3 have dropped coverage altogether. our largest companies are suffering as well. a big part of what led general motors and chrysler into trouble were the huge costs they racked up providing health c

i want to commend the ama in particular for offering to your part to curb costs and achieve reform. just a week ago, you joined together with hospitals, labor unions, insurers, medical device manufacturers and just -- drug companies to do something that would have been unthinkable just a few weeks -- years ago. it promised to work together to cut health-care spending over $2 trillion over the next decade relative to what it otherwise would have been. that will bring down costs, bring down premiums, and that is exactly the kind of cooperation we need, and we appreciate that very much. thank you. the question is, how we finish the job? how do we permanently bring down costs and make quality affordable health care available to every single american? that is what i have come to talk about today. we know the moment is ripe for health care reform. we know this is a historic opportunity we have never seen before and may not see again. but we also know that there are those who will try to scuttle this opportunity the matter what. " will use the same spirit tactics and thurmont ring that has

guest: the ama is somewhat overrated in the media. it only represents about 20% of all doctors. it is very high profile. this is the case in america. they are not going away. unfortunately, they have their head in the sand that they will be quite willing to go on even when the system has collapsed. the fees can get raised and it becomes a vicious cycle. interest groups in this country are often so dedicated to themselves, so used to lobbying for what they want, that without active up position, there will keep on doing the same thing. when he discovers the map without chinese silver mine, by the time he is in his forties he is the highest salaried man in the world, devoted himself to philanthropy. it leads the effort to occupied germans. he keeps millions of people from dying. when he becomes president, he is on top of it long before most other people in government. in the end, he is not able to break with economic truisms, not able to break with the conventional wisdom of time. that was the tragedy of the man. host: our next call is from north carolina. caller: as far as fascism

the president has just now started to mention that in his speech during the ama conference. we think people who do not qualify for medicaid should get help buying insurance. also there should be help for those retiring. they should get assistance with purchasing insurance. denny's to be a well as prevention program. -- there needs to be a well- prevention program. it is very critical. we have seen it work. there are a number of areas in the private sector where health care costs have gone down because employees have had incentives to make healthy lifestyles. those are just some of the areas that we will focus on. this is our summary. we are working towards legislation with our colleagues in the congress. we look forward to offering our solutions and being part of the bipartisan solution to help bring good ideas to the debate. >> thank you. republicans believe if you need health care, you see your doctor or nurse, you do not see a government or bureaucrat. our basic premise is that we will work within the existing architecture. we do not want to create federal bureaucracies w

i did hear president obama's speech to the ama, and the past president of the ama at the news conference. there are a couple of things i would like to point out. as physicians, we often are faced with -- somebody made a point earlier -- undocumented workers are the most demanding. in other words, even patients who have no insurance, when they walk into the emergency room, they are the most demanding patients because, why? they know there are people sitting there waiting to help the mall. it so happens that these patients come waiting to help them all. if they do not -- waiting to help them out. they say my attorney told me that i should get these tests done. so, constantly, there are these advertisements going on over and over again telling these people that if you are heard on the job, if something happens, call us and a lot of money is owed to you. this is where the difference of medicine expenses go up. this is why they have to cover all the bases. what my suggestion is, just like the way physicians, just like the way president obama could not commit to capping awards -- there has to

during this week to become a speech at the ama the president acknowledged these concerns and articulate on health care reform that many republicans share. but it seems to me and many of my friends on the other side of the aisle should listen more closely to what the president said to the ama. one thing the president said that republicans agree with is americans shouldn't be forced to give up the insurance the currently have and like and be forced into a government plan. the president promised the american people, quote, if you like your doctor you will be able to keep your doctor. if you like your health care plan you will be able to keep your health care plan. no one will take it away now matter what. republicans agreed with the president on that. yet democrats in congress are making last-minute edits to the build up the office says will cost 10 million people with employer sponsored insurance to lose the coverage they currently have and that is the number of people who will lose their current insurance under just one section of the bill. this legislation is still missing significant s

president obama in his speech to the ama even though there were a couple of lines like damages that got booed he said he wanted to work with the ama on this matter and ought to participate in that conversation and obviously this is not going to go as fast as we thought and new ideas will emerge but i want to thank you for that. senator dodd, people did work during the break. i've got to thank both sides of the aisle for working on that. and i could go actually quite to some amendments that senator enzi proposed on comparative effectiveness that i'm willing to accept. >> that's good. >> so senator enzi, i would like to say, number one, i want to thank you for even more precise definitions and also, even sharpening their focus and it's this, you know, it's this kind of approach that brings intellectual rigor to the process which you have helped even more finely tuning about the parameters and number three, preserving the integrity of improving markups so i'm prepared to accept enzi amendment number 10 for personalized medicine for specific scientific criteria. i'm also happy to accept enz

, which shows the ama's support for this piece of legislation, as well as a letter that was sent to secretarymargaret spellings when she was then secretary of education. and it is signed by 97 medical associations and state medical societies including every state medical society in the nation calling for the reinstatement of 2220. with recent reports showing the united states is facing a shortage of physicians in the future, reinstatement of this rule could prompt students who other wise could not afford medical school to get a career in medicine a second look. mr. chairman, i would urge my colleagues to pass this very important legislation. >> you're right. i am a co-sponsor of this bill. i hoped, by the way, and i would point out, i'm disappointed when we eliminated the 2220 rule in 2007. and as you recall that happening in the previous administration. and shortly after that happened, the secretary of education under her authority kept the rule in place to prevent it from impacting medical students and the cost, as my colleague pointed out. we've been in touch with the department of educati

there's probably healthy debate within the ama. that's good. i also know this, we can't let this moment pass us by. the other day a friend of mine, congressman earl bloom and handed me a magazine with a special issue titled the crisis in american medicine. one article notes soren charges another warns about the point of utilization of services. another asks if we can find a better way to eat the service for paying for medical services. it speaks to many of the challenges we face today. the thing is the special issue was published by harper's magazine in october of 1960. [laughter] >> before i was born. members of the american medical association, and my fellow americans, i'm here today because i don't want our children and their children to still be speaking of the crisis in american medicine 50 years from now. i don't want him to still be suffering from spiraling costs that we did not stem or sicknesses that we did not do or. i do want him to be burd

we heard the issue in his speech at the ama. clearly, we think that of all people who are at low and modest incomes who do not qualify for medicaid should get some help with buying insurance. also, those between the ages of 55 and 64, they should get some assistance with purchasing health insurance. lastly, there needs to be a very strong while this provision. prevention is key to getting lower costs. we want to try to get the cost of health care and prevention is critical. we have seen that works. there are a number of areas in the private sector where health care costs have actually gone down because employees have incentives to actually meet healthy lifestyle criteria. those are just some of the areas that we will focus on. this is our summary. we're working towards legislation with my colleagues in the congress. we look for the offering the solution and being part of the bipartisan solution to health care, offering some good ideas to the debate. congressman barton. >> thank you. republicans believe that if you need health ca

now, the ama kind of admitted that 60 billion. you could imagine what it really is. no doctor wants to admit there's any such thing as medical liability and yet i've seen medical malpractice. those cases are always either settled or won. i know very few cases that are not won. now, all this amendment does and by the way i'm willing to the solve the problem, make it so it can't be used for plaintiffs or defendants. >> i know what's going on here. and i wasn't born yesterday. although, i'm very naive in a lot of ways, but all this says the research conclusions and recommendations shall not be used to define standards of care for the purpose of establishing liability in a civil action. i could put it either way, for plaintiffs or defendants. brought in a state or federal court or pursuant to an alternative resolution system against the health care provider. the health organization or manufacturers, distributor, supplier marketing promoter or seller of the medical product. good lawyers know they don't knee comparative effectiveness group or as they call it here, to find

thank you very much, ama. appreciate it, thank you. [applause] ♪ ♪ [applause] ♪ people like to have books. it is a very sticky medium, you have seen this medium obviously be sticky since about 15 or 68 centuries iraq tonight on the communicators the co-chairman of a grossman, owner of random house on how the publishing industry is changing. >> when you read something great you want to be a kind of heirloom product for you personally. and when you have digital media it is harder to read that to be true, you can't actually be proud of a bookshelf and that is a memory stick. >> the future of publishing, tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on the communicators on c-span2. >> later this summer there will be freezing in the secure side passenger id system, we talked about at this morning on the "washington journal" were about 30 minutes. >> host: kip hawley, head of the transportation security administration from 2005 to 2009 joining us from mountain view, california. thanks for being with us. >> guest: thanks to be here. >> host: looking at the ba

simply a fraction but nonetheless it is a big concern for physicians when president obama was at the ama earlier this week he said to the physicians and the issue on health care reform, you are very important, i hear your concerns about malpractice reform, i do not want to cap medical malpractice awards which is something i think you'll see a republican proposals on at health care reform but the medical malpractice issue is not there in the democratic health bills. they have said it doesn't belong as part of this committee by the house or finance committee that they don't think is a major issue to be dealt with at this point but i think with the concern among physicians and other health-care providers of medical not practice you'll hear more about this in the months to come. >> host: let's go to our democratic line, joy from san clementi. >> caller: good morning. i hear the gas talk a lot about health care companies and i am frankly with bernie sanders on the way he feels about health care and that is a single payer. when the iraq war is all said and done and that will be about a $3 tril

the president said this to the ama. these are individuals that have spent a lot of time in school, racked up a lot of debt, because they want to practice medicine, not because they want to be administrators or bean counters or paper pushers. they want to be healers. they're going to make those decisions. >> so he believes that end of life health care should be limited even more? way too much is being spent on terminally ill patients. >> i think the president mentioned one aspect of what people can do. one is to clearly signal to loved ones your end of let decisions if you cannot have them in a living will. >> for the meeting tomorrow with the chancellor, she said that she wants to talk about the exit strategy with the president. a couple of weeks ago, when the finance ministers met, they said was too early to be talking about that. >> for what? >> for pumping money into the global economy. does the president think it is time to talk about an exit strategy? >> the president stressed in his news conference with the notion

another 15 minutes of your thoughts on taxing health care benefits as the ama gets ready to hear from the president today. caller: a lot of people here are not looking at results. what is the result of single payer health care? eventually, there will be rationing. the solution is what the person from michigan said. the government does not need to control, allowing people to pull together -- pool together to negotiate. that would be the solution instead of all these other things. what will happen since everyone of these countries, britain, canada, people come to america when they need a serious operation. you cannot get the kind of service that you want over there. i wish people would talk about results. what kind of health care? host: where do you get health care from? caller: i am unemployed. i am a contractor, between jobs. host: do you have a cold recovering you right now? caller: i am 30, so i am healthy. i pay for one prescription myself. host: you are not on any health plan right now. what do you do in terms of visit for a physician or an emergency? caller: if an emergency comes

when the president was at the ama earlier this week he said to the physicians, he said i need you on health care reform. i do not want to cap medical health-care awards. the medical malpractice issue is not really there in the democratic health bill. they don't think it is a major issue to deal with. host: on our independent line, from california. caller: i hear them talk a lot about health care companies. i am with bernie sanders, a single payer health care system. when it is said and done, that is about a three trillion dollar debacle. we are screaming and yelling now about a 1.6 trillion dollars health care coverage to cover everyone. i find that so hypocritical is not funny. i think that republicans, they want compromise to get this bill passed. we have compromised by taking the single payer off the table. host: here is an e-mail, the federal government is restricted to impose health care on citizens. let's go to our next caller on the republican line from maryland. caller: i have a question for your guest. force all the medical insurance companies to provide the same policy to a

you have seen this all through, the ama coming out saying, no change. these guys sound like the castro regime in cuba. we will go on forever with the same failed system. more money for doctors and fewer fees, lower malpractice fees and things like this. this sort of response is terrible. you'll have to take the various interest groups, and try to bring about change. host: our guest is kevin baker. first up is richard joining us from massachusetts. good morning. caller: you'll never see change in our government. our government, they are all a bunch of crooks. that is the way it is. they have their own insurance, but me, i have a pension from the fire department. they are going to take half away because i get my pension. we as americans, we are proud and honest people. but our government is the most corrupt government and the world. thank you for listening. host: your response? guest: i would agree with a lot of that. the government comes from somewhere. these people did not land from mars. we will all have to get more involved with making the government

how amas does have support among some palestinians. they have to recognize their responsibilities to play a role in of killing palestinian aspirations, to unify the palestinian people -- their responsibilities to play a role of fulfilling palestinian aspirations, to unify the palestinian people. israel must recognize that there justice cannot be denied nor can palestine's. the united states does not except accept the legitimacy of israeli settlements. [applause] this construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. it is time for these settlements to stop. [applause] israel must also live up to its obligation to ensure that palestinians can live and work and develop their society. just as it devastates palestinian families that the humane -- humanitarian crisis in gaza not serve as real security. progress in the daily lives of the palestinian people must be a critical part of the road to peace and israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress. finally the arab states must recognize that their

. >> and had to do with the ama. public plan or some variation on a public plan. >> offering the doctors a seat at the table if they take it. if they do not, is at their own peril. >> the doctors, as everybody have, have had a seat at the table. obviously, doctors are on the frontlines of almost every medical decision. i think the president will walk through the case for health care reform. i think he will touch on many topics that are important to him. i think it will touch on a number of those topics. >> you indicate that because -- that he would push for it. >> that he would not push for a public auction? i do not think i said he would not push for a public auction. i think a fair reading of yesterday's event might denote that he pushed quite clearly for a public auction that as he said, again, yesterday provides toys for the american people and competition that is needed in a marketplace of many different insurers, and i think the president outlined the principles that he would like to see reforms, and this is no

last week, in my address to the ama, i spoke about the urgent need for health-care reform and what willbe required to achieve it. one of the things that will be required is that everyone in our health care community will have to come together and do their part. in recent days, chairman max baucus, who has been doing an outstanding job leading the finance committee on this issue, as well as members of my administration's has been in discussion with the pharmaceutical industry to bring down costs for america's seniors. i am pleased to report that over the weekend, we reached an understanding that will help close the notorious bowknot hole in medicare part d. this is a significant break -- breakthrough on the road to health care reform, it will make the difference in the lives in -- of many older americans. the doughnut hole refers to a gap in prescription drug coverage that makes it harder for millions

[laughter] >> [inaudible] >> i think the ama mr. they put out a statement clarifying where -- yesterday put out a statement clarifying. people involved in the debate are flexible to what goes through congress. >> [unintelligible] >> the doctors have had a seat at the table for quite awhile. doctors are on the front lines of almost every medical decision. the president will walk through the case for health care reform. he will touch on many topics that are important to them that are going to be made in this process about not simply -- about both how medicine is delivered and how that efficiency can be improved. i think he will touch on a number of those topics in his speech. >> does he always [unintelligible] when there is opposition? >> i am confused about what you are referring to. >> because he does not have boats, -- votes [unintelligible] >> that he would not push for public auction -- a public auction? yesterday's event my did note that he pushed quite clearly for a public auction that as he said again yesterday, provides tours

in my address to the ama, i talked about the urgency for health-care reform and what would be required to achieve it. one of the things to be required, i said everyone in our health-care will have to come together and do their part. in recent days, chairman max baucus, who has been doing an outstanding job leading the finance committee on this issue, as well as members of my administration, have been in discussions with the pharmaceutical industry to find a way to bring down the cost of pursuit -- pharmaceutical drugs. over the weekend, we reached an understanding that will help close the notorious the doughnut hole in medicare part d. this is a significant breakthrough on the road to health reform, one that will make the difference in the lives of many older americans. many of you in the press are familiar with the issue. donato refers to eight gap in prescription drug coverage that makes it harder for millions of beneficiaries to pay for it -- before their medications they need. medicare covers up to $2,700 in yearly prescription costs, and then stops. the coverage starts back up whe

obama's spoke to the ama to discuss the issue. i'm qualified the president for his commitment and i agree we need to make it more affordable and accessible to all americans. of the american people want reform, they want us to fix what is wrong with the system without taking away the freedom, choices and quality of care they now enjoy. during a speech the president to acknowledge these concerns and articulate principles on health-care reform that many republicans share. but it seems to me many friends on the other side of the ashes of listened more closely what the president said. one thing is that america is should not be forced to give up the insurance they currently have and like and be forced into a government plan. the president promised the american people "if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor" end quote. if you like your health care plan you can keep your health care plan. no one will take it away no matter what. republicans agree with the president on that. democrats in congress are making last-minute at its to

i want to work with the ama so we can scale back the excess of defensive medicine that reinforces our current system and shipped to a system where we are providing better care simply -- rather than more treatment. this is going to be a priority for me. i know based on your responses, it is a priority for you. [laughter] i look forward to working with you. it will be difficult. all of this will be difficult. all of it is going to be important. i know this has been a long speech, but we have more to do. the changes that i have already spoken about, that needs to go hand in hand with other reforms. our health-care system is so complex and medicine is always involved, we need a way to continually evaluate how we can eliminate waste, reduce costs, and improve quality. that is why i am open to expanding the role of the commission created by a republican congress called the medicare payment advisory commission which includes a number of positions on the commission. in recent years, it proposed to multibillion-dollar in savings -- $200 billion in savings that never made it into law. it is bei

the ama says it will oppose creation of a government- sponsored insurance plan which president obama and many other democrats see as an essential element to remake the health care system. the opposition could be a mutuamajor hurdle. it is america's largest physician organization with about 2 minute 50,000 members. next caller, how you pay for caller: health care as the europeans do, with a gas tax. you drive a fuel-efficient car and it does not cost you that much. it costs less than some of the averages monthly premiums. individuals paying $800, families paying $1,500. on a similar note, many republicans are being very disingenuous. if john mccain were president at think he would be running the government and the economy almost the exact same way. bailing out the economy, bailing out the auto industry -- and they're blasting obama. i really believe that there are many republicans who want obama to fail even if it meant the economy collapsing, even if it meant a terrorist attack. it is averageoutrageous as a wht the republicans are not getting behind obama and his quest to make sure t

the ama made specific suggestions for reform along the lines that i have described. they also said that they were open to changes that we get the recommendations of the medicare payment advisory commission greater chance of adoption and implementation. the congressional budget office has also outlined a large number of game changing reforms that experts believe could slow cost growth. in our report, we think of the benefits of slowing the growth rate of health care costs, but each of our figures implicitly shows the impact of not slowing cost growth. to help emphasize the importance of doing reform well, i will describe them. what is slowing cost growth does is to free resources. if we were to restrain costs by eliminating waste, we could have the same amount of health care with the resources left over to produce the other things that we value. this causes standards of living to be higher. in our analysis, we considered varying degree of cost containment, in particular, we look at the slowing the annual growth rate by 1.5 and 0.5%. we also analyze the effect of freei

different, the senate passed a bill that will protect children from the dangers of smoking, a reform the ama has long championed. [applause] disorganization went nowhere. when it was proposed decade ago -- i will sign this into law. a [applause] what makes this moment different is that this time, for the first time, stakeholders are lining not against, but in favor of reform. they are coming out, coming together out of recognition that while reform will take everyone in our health care community to do their part, everyone will have to pitch in, ultimately, everybody will benefit. and want to commend the a m a for offering to do your part to curb costs and keep reform. just a week ago you joined of hospitals, labor unions, insurers, medical device manufacturers and drug companies to do something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, you promised to work together to cut national health-care spending by $2 trillion over the next decade relative to what it would have otherwise been. that will bring down costs, that bring down premiums, that is exactly the kind of cooperation we

members of congress, the health care providers, the insurance companies, the ama. this is the first time where everyone understands something dramatic must be done. the president is pragmatic. i cannot quote him, but i have been in enough press releases -- single-payer is difficult to press because it more less eliminates health-care providers. it still gives an opportunity for the health care providers to be part of a program. you cannot just eliminate the entire aspic. that is with the more extreme single-payer folks want to do, which i think as reputable as well. guest: you were talking about why the republicans do not support more fundamental reform and take the burden off of businesses. it is very tempting position. this season that option will not be there legislatively because president obama wants to mandate that employers either provide insurance for employees or pay a fee if they do not. which is why the nfib which had been at the table -- they opposed the deal back in 1993 with clinton, and fought very hard in the last year to be part of this discussion.

i had an opportunity to listen to the president's speech yesterday to the ama. he said that he was not going to advocate a single payer system, but like what we have in the federal government. when i get my insurance statement for my yearly checkup at my primary care physician and i see that the insurance company has negotiated that my primary care physician gets less for my yearly checkup than my mechanic does that i take my car to get serviced. i think there's something wrong with our health system. >> "washington journal" live every day at 7:00 eastern. now we're taking you to the white house where president obama and if the south korean president are holding a joint news conference. lee myung bak also met with hillary clinton, secretary of state today. this is live on c-span. >> good morning, everybody. president lee, on behalf of the american people, it is my pleasure to welcome you to washington. [president obama's speaking in korean] >> thank you. >> the first lady michelle obama is delighted to host your wife. the south korea is one of our closest allies

he was trying to preempt the ama. you look gets some of the concepts that are coming out of the senate in particular. he is trying to prevent them to not launch a full-scale offensive. >> what will you be looking for as lawmakers began a workout that could take weeks? >> the house committee, there is not too much to watch in terms of the action. it is now pretty much democratic territory with a bill that reflects the priorities of most of the senate's liberal democrats. it does not go as far as people like bernie sanders would want in having a single payer system. the finance committee is set to begin marking up its bill. max baucus, a democrat out of montana, has been adamant in wanting to produce a bill that would garner republican support. doing so would make sure that it has staying power of the coming decades, let alone over the next year or two. i would like to see if the sketch of the bill that they markup will leave republicans screening or frowning. >> thank you for talking with us. >> in a few moments, treas

in this case they are owned by the pharma and ama, and the insurers. so we need single-payer. it is simple as that. we ought to join the rest of the civilized world, and what the last fellow said about we have the best health care system in the world, it is just fox news propaganda, republican propaganda. it is not even close to accurate. "the wall street journal," with their talking about sending people to the united states for procedures, well, those people are covered. you know, when we go somewhere else, it is all out of pocket host: let me be clear, it was an editorial by david gratzer. he pointed out that in the united kingdom where socialized medicine with established after world war twii, patients are allowed to choose among facilities, including private ones. he concludes with this point, "americans need to ask the basic question -- why are they rushing into a system of government- dominated health care when the very countries that have experienced it for so long are backing away?" caller: let me just say this. you guys broadcast, probably a year ago, the producer for

president obama is at the ama's annual meeting to explain it. we have coverage of the president's comments in the 10 minutes at 12:50 p.m. eastern on c-span to. -- c-span 2. legislative work starts at 2:00 p.m. eastern. along the inspector general overstanding -- overseeing more spending and limiting the impact of four lawsuits against u.s. journalists. now, i look at conservative leadership with the senior communications fellow at the heritage foundation. this is about half an hour. >> >> cumming caution was one of the smartest things that i did. returning after graduated in hitting the pavement looking for that first job was very critical. you see behind me 3 statements with the clare booth institute. i would like to add focus on changing lives. we will talk about how each when you can impact your culture and her country's future. many times when we're at this age and are high -- in our lives, we felt uncertain about what are calling as -- our calling is. you're calling is to make a difference in the lives of people that are around you. when y

that was the message he was trying to send to them and he is trying to preempt the ama who started to grumble and take a look at the health care concepts coming out of the u.s. senate in particular, he is trying to prevent them from launching a full-scale offensive against the kind of health care reform he wants. >> health committee is scheduled to work on its health-care proposal later this week. what will you be watching for as a mark of that could take weeks? >> well, the health committee in my opinion there's not too much to watch in terms of the action. the health committee process although it has included in the republicans all the way through, now is pretty much democratic territory. with a bill that reflects the priorities of most of the senate liberal democrats also doesn't go as far to the left as people like sanders would include in a single payer system, so what i am interested in is going to occur next week when the finance committee is set to begin marking up its bill. finance chairman max baucus and democrats had of montana has been ottoman -- adamant in garnering signi

the ama is holding its annual meeting in chicago. congress begins work on the plan this week. president obama is on the road to promote it. you can see live coverage of this comment at 12:15 eastern on c-span2. here on c-span, we are live at 1230 as the you -- at 12:30 as a house devils and for morning hour. legislative work begins at 2:00 eastern. among the 20 bills is one allowing the inspector general overseeing afghanistan or spending to hire more inspectors. another is limiting the impact of lawsuits against u.s. journalists that take place in other countries. c-span3 is live at 1:30 as the head of the world health organization's polio eradication efforts gives a speech on disease and prevention. he is expected to take questions on the h1n1 swine flu virus. >> people like to have books. it's a very sticky medium. we've seen this medium be sticky since the 15th and 16th centuries. >> tonight, on quality the communicator's" the owner of random house on how the public -- how the publishing industry is changing. >> when you read something great, you want to be an airline prod