department of healthcare policy, harvard medical school; patrick hendry, senior director of consumer advocacy, mental health america; john o'brien, senior advisor for behavioral health financing, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human services. john, healthcare reform, why was it necessary? what benefits are we going to see out of it? well, ivette, we have about 50 million individuals in this country who don't have any insurance at any given point in a year. a number of them use emergency rooms and/or hospitals and that has a very significant cost for both people who have insurance, as well as employers who pay for insurance. we spend about $17.2 billion dollars on uncompensated care for those individuals. we also know that there is a significant number of people with substance abuse disorders who have benefits and don't access care, but there are a significant number of individuals who can't access care because they don't have insurance benefits. and richard, what are the major ways the affordable care act will affect the behavioral hea

at 4:41, a consumer advocacy group is attempting to simplify the relationship you have with your credit card company. >>> pay it off. >> the obama administration stops the fda from making the morning after pill available to teenagers. >> we're back with your weather first in two minutes. you're watching 9news now. >>> it is 4:39. a breezy morning out here. we'll see less wind as the day wears on. northwest winds 10 to 20 with gusts to 30. this afternoon looks better. look at the winds by 3:00, west at 8 with highs today only about 45 degrees. i'll be back with the weekend forecast in five minutes. right now, here's monika samtani. >> big problem this morning. it is going to be high standing water in the area and even flooding that has shut down, for example, route one between route 212 and wrights way in beltsville. more on area road conditions in my next report. back to you, andrea. >> it is time for the first your money segment of the morning. >> it is indeed. jessica doyle is here. >> good morning to both of you. for wall street, it will be another day of watching the economy and the

the consumer advocacy agency says a quarter of cereals for children meet government guidelines for limits on sugar. >>> it's going to be a tough way to start the holidays for thousands of citigroup workers. the company now handing out pink slips. >>> and it was not cash or coins but something more precious being dropped in a salvation army kettle in kansas. we will look in a bit. time for birthdays. janice moore is celebrating her birthday. a big fan of abc2. john is the one who sent this in. janice thanks for watching every morning on "good morning maryland" thanks for being with us. if you have a birthday or photograph birthdays or anniversaries pets, morning show at wmar.com. get the weather pics in a let us see what you had overnight. we are back in a bit. they're for keeping us traditiotogether.t for keeping. ♪ [ boy ] to dad, love sam. [ mom ] say "merry christmas." [ boy ] merry christmas. [ female announcer ] hallmark recordable storybooks. [ boy ] charlie brown spotted a small, scraggly pine tree. ♪ >>> we come back. the live holiday-side the studios. citigroup plans to lay off 4

using providers, using consumer advocacy groups, using recovery organizations to get the word out and maybe help people understand what insurance does for them and then understand the process. we've done some studies over the country based on how to communicate with the consumer community and the digital divide with the mental health consumer community is gigantic. less than 40 percent have access to the internet, so we've got to find very creative ways to get these words out. and i think that that actually will be a very solid role for consumer organizations and we've made a lot of gains in recent years towards organizing in all of our states. so hopefully, we will be doing that. but it goes back to how do you get in touch with people that you don't know exist. and i really want to come back to all of those consumer issues because there is yet another layer to the aca, which is the whole issue of electronic records that i would like to get into. we'll be right back. [music] for more information on national recovery month to find out how to get involved or to locate an event t near y,

. >> the utility reform network has consumer advocacy group agrees. >> electricity and gas are absolutely necessities. they are not luxuries. and they will not stop fighting until utilities turnoff is a thing of the past. >> a final hearing is at least two months away. we'll stay on top of it and keep you0p8t >>> salvation army bell ringer has broken the record for rick go the bell. they did that for 51 hours, 10 minutes and 25 seconds. he started thursday in front of macy's. he broke the previous record of 36 hours but unable to set a new one. there are five ringers around the country who lasted a little longer, but congratulations to bush and his effort. lisa has the final check of the forecast. >> a little cooler, 12:00 clearing, spare the air. raiders today, 59, 60 in fremont. we're going to warm it up a little bit and next couple of days, warming up by christmas but still no rain. >> that is going to do it for us. thank you for joining us. i'm carolyn tyler along with lisa argen. next newscast starts at 5:00. have a great sunday. happy hanukkah, merry christmas to everyone.

. >> the utility reform network, a consumer advocacy group agrees with the proposal. >> electricity andas are absolute necessities. they are not luxuries. >> they will not stop fighting until utilities shut off a thing of the past. >> a final decision is at least two months away. we will stay on top of it and i will keep you posted. michael finney, 7 on your side. >> gas prices continue to drop. the average price of a gallon of gas is down $.05 cents over the past two weeks. the national average is $3.24 a gallon and as $2.83. albuquerque has the nation's lowest price and san francisco has the nation's highest at $3.57 a gallon. >>> it is a game show that has become a cult hit. the host of "cash cab" talks about the weirdest fare he has ever had, and sometimes he roots against the contestants. >> and how evening land is a new hotspot and the amazing discoveries. >> hi, everyone. leigh glaser here. dense fog north of the golden gate bridge, but we are looking for some sunshine by tomorrow afternoon. partly warmer temperatures. we will look at the the droid razr by motorola. the newest dr

a consumer advocacy group has found only one in four kids' cereals actually meet proposed governmentgar. recommending cereals have no more than 26% added sugar by package weight. here are three of the most sugary: kelloggs fruit loops marshmellow more than 48% sugar, mike. quaker oats cap'n crunch all berry and original which contains 44% sugar. some major brands that got a good rating: >> now we know what mike likes ii -- [ unintelligible ] >>> new survey shows 72% of employees surveyed said a cash bonus was among their top choices for office holiday perks. getting a raise second followed by paid time off and 23 would choose a grocery gift card, only 4% a holiday party even one with an open bar. more than 2500 work questioned for the survey. >>> i must be in that 4%, because i want to party with you guys. >> oh. [ talking over each other ] >> we have kids, really you want to come party with us? >> a little sugary cereal. >> [ talking over each other ] >> they give you serving size 3/4 of a cup and you put it in the bowl it is three cups, crazy. over abundance of moisture, a lot of f

secretary of defense said for years that apple juice is, indeed, safe to drink, and it still does, consumer advocacys claim that may not be the case and that the standards should be tightened. trace gallagher is live in los angeles. what are the government standards, trace? >> right now the government says that apple juice can have arsenic levels of 23 parts per billion. that is a very small amount. but keep in mind, it's more than twice the level the government allows for drinking water. look at the numbers here for bottled water, the government says it can have ten parts per billion of arsenic. now, much of the apple juice that was tested in this study came in at 13.9 parts per billion and now consumer groups want that number dropped down to the bottom there which is three parts per billion. dr. oz is one of those pushing to lower the arsenic level standards. listen. >> at least let's get it to a room level. why would you buy apple juice for your kids that might have more arsenic in it than your tap water? why would i pay cash for that? >> dr. oz says at the very least, get the levels below the st

. >> the utility reform network, a consumer advocacy group, agrees with the proposal. >> electricitygas are absolute necessities. they aren't luxuries. and turn will not stop fighting until utility shut offs are a thing of the past. >> a final on extending the protection to low income customers is at least two months away. we will stay on top of it and keep you posted. i'm michael finney, 7 on your side. >> yesterday we shod you a bell ringer trying to break the record. he rang the bell far longer than anyone imagined he could. anyone imagined he could. that story up next.0ú8t look what denny's left for my dad, santa! christmas cookie pancakes. milk & cookies shake. i think santa needs a helper. come try arthur christmas's favorites. only at denny's. and see arthur christmas only in theaters. a salvation army bell ringer has broken the record for bell ringing. [bell ringing] >> butch of pacifica did just that for 51 hours, 10 minutes, 25 seconds. he started thursday in front of macy's in san francisco's union square, butch broke the previous record of 36 hours, but he did not set a n

. >> the utility reform network, a consumer advocacy group, agrees with the proposal. >> electricity

the internet community and consumer advocacy groups support the bipartisan. hulu, google, facebook, i.a.c., apple, the center for democracy and technology, and the future of privacy forum are among those who see h.r. 2471 for the simple modernizing amendment that it is. the vvpa contains strict privacy, opt-in consent. the proposed amendment to the vvpa keeps the opt-in standard fully in tact. h.r. 2471 enhances the protection provided by the vppa by ensuring that the opt-in consent required must be separate and distinct from any other end user agreement. this measure further empowers consumers to make decisions about their information in a manner that is fully informed. none of the examples provided by mr. watt illustrate a disagreement between the commenters he highlighted with the consumer empowerment measures that h.r. 2471 provides. h.r. 2471 simply gives consumers the freedom to share what they've watched with their friends if they would like to. it grants consumers the same right to share movies and television shows that they've enjoyed as is already p