as a result, that they will not take medicaid patients. it is not good for medicaid patients. the cannot see a doctor and you do not have insurance, there is a stigma to have a medicaid. part of that is because doctors will not take you. >> i'll let you finish my statement for the yo. you can save money to cut back on the doctors. medications will not be able to see the doctors. and not had the score. i know how tough it will be for me to get a score. one of the things i want to emphasize right here is that this shows how big the problem is that we are trying to work on. we have never had a bill in the history of the night it state that has incompetence at the the everybody in the country. -- encompassed everybody in the country, every single business, every single provider. we are doing that. we are doing that in one heck of a hurry. we have not had time to talk about this medicate option for people can have a choice if they are under medicaid. i'm willing to bet it is going to be a bigger topic them we can cover in one hour or two hours. anyone of these things could be a sto

and spending and medicaid. they separately do what they do a medicaid provider table. the third table is their medicare table. cbo's footnote of $33 billion is on the covered table. it is what they predict total spend for states on medicaid. that is there $33 billion. on the medicaid provider table is for the drug rebates show up. it is not really have anything to do with coverage. our analysis combined everything to present what we thought was an actual bottom line. had we done to separate tables the way that cbo did, we would have probably broken it up the same way. we have enough difficulty producing one table. i would have been overwhelmed by a second. this is so you could see what the impact of the chairmen of mark would be. >> that in fact that you have is almost exactly what the net impact of cbo has. this talk about a difference is a difference without a distinction. is the difference between showing it in one table and showing it into tables. i hope we do not get distracted by the difference without meaning. beyond that, there is no expansion until 2014. in th

medicaid and medicare eligible. this will lower the price of those drugs. -- there are some may feel that is not the case. -- some who may feel is not the case -- it is not the case. that gap between 2650 $500, called the donuts poll, that they do not get any support -- that gap between $2,600 and $500, called the donuts poll -- donut hole, that they do not get any support. i will reserve time as we go on into this argument to rebut the arguments that the very distinguished senator from iowa is going to make about how he thinks this is going to raise the price of prescription drugs, and i will be happy to rabat. >> senator grassley. >> well, first of all, you ought to know that if they're going to be involved in that deal, they are not going to do it, so i am cynical about any deal, and as a member of the group of six, i maybe ought to make it clear that i as not at any table when any negotiations were made with pharma. i hope you understand that, and i would also like people to have a little patience with me becaus

we touched on medicaid briefly. cattell's what they're proposing. >> the health committee bill would expand medicaid to all individuals with incomes up to $100,000. the house bill would only expand up to 133%. this provision is very costly. it is also very complex. medicaid is administered by states and through a matching program with the federal government. a lot of states have extended their medicaid programs to offer coverage to people at 1 under 50% or even higher in some cases. -- 150% or even higher in some cases. but for states who are going above and beyond and how to help states cannot afford to extend the coverage, the finance committee negotiators had a big conference call with a bunch of the governors before the rest -- before the recess. >> we have about 20 minutes of debate on the expansion of medicaid. >> the amendment i would like to offer, and i will try to respect time is very simple. it says that if congress decides as a result of the work of this committee in this bill to expand medicaid eligibil

but again it is all medicaid. so when we talk about your medicaid, we'r talking about the big program. whever name we talk about it under. in 2007, 19% of immigrants and their us-born children were on medicaid. and we can actually combine the share who are on medicaid with a share who are uninsured and figure to over to my left has of the pie chart that does that. what figure two shows is that 47.6% of immigrants and their us-born children were either uninsured or on medicaid. that means that almost half of immigrants and their children have no health insurance, or have it provided to them by the government. in comparison, the bottom of figure two shows, if you can see it and i don't know if you can, at about 25%. so about one fourth. so it is one half of immigrants and about one fourth natives and their children don't have health insurance or have it provided by medicaid. now the question you are probably all wondering is why? why are so many immigrants in the united states lacking in health insurance? the large

those folks would not go into medicaid. they instead would be the population eligible to buy insurance coverage through the new health insurance exchanges that would be set up in the all a states at least under the baucus bill. a combination of state and federal government under some of the other bills. those individuals, as we can see, still are not that high income. even the people who are up at 300% of the federal poverty level. so they need subsidies to help them buy coverage. in the bills that were referred to as affordability credits, these are tax credits that people would get in advance so they could actually take the money kind of like a voucher and go to buy health insurance coverage. now the amount of these subsidies and whether they're generous enough is what's in dispute as betty anne said in her piece. basically if you step back and say, what are people going to be required to do, well, there's the mandate that's going to require them to have coverage. it's going to require people to go to the exchange. how bi

we touched on medicaid briefly.cattell's what they're proposing. >> the health committee bill would expand medicaid to all individuals with incomes up to $100,000. the house bill would only expand up to 133%. this provision is very costly. it is also very complex. medicaid is administered by states and through a matching program with the federal government. a lot of states have extended their medicaid programs to offer coverage to people at 1 under 50% or even higher in some cases. -- 150% or even higher in some cases. but for states who are going above and beyond and how to help states cannot afford to extend the coverage, the finance committee negotiators had a big conference call with a bunch of the governors before the rest -- before the recess. >> we have about 20 minutes of debate on the expansion of medicaid. >> the amendment i would like to offer, and i will try to respect time is very simple. it says that if congress decides as a result of the work of this committee in this bill to expand medicaid eligibili

we touched on medicaid briefly. cattell's what they're proposing. >> the health committee bill would expand medicaid to all individuals with incomes up to $100,000. the house bill would only expand up to 133%. this provision is very costly. it is also very complex. medicaid is administered by states and through a matching program with the federal government. a lot of states have extended their medicaid programs to offer coverage to people at 1 under 50% or even higher in some cases. -- 150% or even higher in some cases. but for states who are going above and beyond and how to help states cannot afford to extend the coverage, the finance committee negotiators had a big conference call with a bunch of the governors before the rest -- before the recess. >> we have about 20 minutes of debate on the expansion of medicaid. >> the amendment i would like to offer, and i will try to respect time is very simple. it says that if congress decides as a result of the work of this committee in this bill to expand medicaid eligibil

they are not on medicaid., not keeping them there in the home where they have lived for 65 years. i think most americans feel that way. we got a waiver to use our medicaid dollars to keep more people at home. we have saved millions of dollars over the last couple of years through that effort. i think that long-term care has to be a part of it. it is not the biggest piece of the program, especially as the population ages. >> considering that vermont is the second coldest day, what was the public response to the so-called death panels. >> i mentioned earlier that vermonters are independent. it is fair to say that we are quite simple in our public discourse. one of our senators it serves on the health committee. he had several well attended forums as other members of congress did around the country during the august recess. there were no disruptions similar to what we saw in other places. people had opinions. and they express them. sometimes strongly, but in a very respectful and civilized way. the range of publi

they are not on medicaid.annot imagine if we have a choice, not keeping them there in the home where they have lived for 65 years. i think most americans feel that way. we got a waiver to use our medicaid dollars to keep more people at home. we have saved millions of dollars over the last couple of years through that effort. i think that long-term care has to be a part of it. it is not the biggest piece of the program, especially as the population ages. >> considering that vermont is the second coldest day, what was the public response to the so-called death panels. >> i mentioned earlier that vermonters are independent. it is fair to say that we are quite simple in our public discourse. one of our senators it serves on the health committee. he had several well attended forums as other members of congress did around the country during the august recess. there were no disruptions similar to what we saw in other places. people had opinions. and they express them. sometimes strongly, but in a very respectful and

who qualifies for medicaid? should a person like myself qualify for medicaid?ow can the viewers not see that this is a monopoly that the health-care system has? guest: the issue of medicaid is by each state. every state can set the limits. it's usually based on income. every state is changing all the time. the state of maryland increased the eligibility requirements. they did that by increasing how much over the poverty level in come was necessary. i cannot specifically answer your question for your state, but each state has requirements. host: next call, buffalo, new york. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i am calling to talk about efficiency questions. i am in the medical field. i am involved in emr systems. that is creating a lot of deficiencieefficiencies and redt of the error. a single payer system would be a lot more efficient from what i've seen fit i have dealt with all the insurance companies, the government, medicare, medicaid, and all those things. from my experience, it is very painful working with insurance companies. they're very

it has been talked about so that the medicaid program works. right now, this program reimburses doctors lower than private programs do. in our state and across the country, about 40% of doctors don't see medicaid patients. if we choose, we ought to make sure they have a doctor to see. that's like saying here's a ticket for the bus but no bus. what would this cost? governor barber in mississippi said this would cost $300 billion a year. in florida, their rolls have grown for $2.6 billion. those are the state costs of the medicaid program which are about 40% of the total cost. >> what does that mean in real dollars? i tried to compute that. if tennessee had to come up with $1 billion or more in two years that was cost shifted back to the states, that would be equated to the income tax. i doubt if pennsylvania or vermont or georgia has anything like that kind of money. i know it is assumed by saying we'll pay for it. i want to make sure a federal government starts out paying for it and ends up paying for it. and that states don't find out that the

they are not on medicaid. i cannot imagine if we have a choice, not keeping them there in the home where they have lived for 65 years. i think most americans feel that way. we got a waiver to use our medicaid dollars to keep more people at home. we have saved millions of dollars over the last couple of years through that effort. i think that long-term care has to be a part of it. it is not a big -- the biggest piece of the program, especially as the population ages. >> considering that vermont is the second coldest day, what was the public response to the so- called death panels. >> i mentioned earlier that vermonters are independent. it is fair to say that we are quite simple in our public discourse. one of our senators it serves on the health committee. he had several well attended forums as other members of congress did around the country during the august recess. there were no disruptions similar to what we saw in other places. people had opinions. and they express them. sometimes strongly, but in a very r

i applied for medicaid and they told me my unemployment pays me $21 a month too much to be ok for medicaid. so i don't have anything. i have some raging dental problems that i just cannot do anything about. >> so you would like to see dental care included? >> yes. >> why are you uninsured? >> i am not working. i have not worked since christmas. i am collecting unemployment and and looking for work but i do not have anything. i am stuck. unemployment does not even cover my bills as it is. i am trying very hard to hang on to my apartment. it is really ridiculous now to make ends meet. >> do you foresee health-care reform will pass this year? >> i can only hope and pray that it does. the military gap called it a little while ago, he was paying less than $500 a year, i thought that was amazing. that is totally reasonable i don't know what he has to pay for bells on top of that or whatever. that seems really, really fair. the woman that just called saying all of this fraud. i don't know about fraud. i just know that there are a lot of the people that need coverage. >> another committee and the

there was no mandatory drug coverage under medicaid. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> those who were moved into medicare part d got a significant benefit. >> senator menendez, a prescription drug coverage is optional under medicaid. it has been before part d. every state provided coverage to the category lee needy -- categorically needy. >> but was there not restricted formularies? >> yes, there was. >> so when i go to senator shimmers comments, yes, we are the purchasers. -- senator schumer's, is, yes, we are the purchasers, but the limitations in those states in the number of prescriptions you have, it is fundamentally different. at the end of the day, i think they're very different. we have no mandatory coverage on the medicare. we had very prescriptive formularies. that makes a fundamental difference in what we're looking at here and with the chairman is pursuing by making a very significant coverage of the gap. >> are we ready to go to? >> no. >> the senators are ready to go. >> i agree, but you will let me finish >> can we let him say somet

one is the question of medicaid eligibility irk the importance of making medicaid stronger, not weaker this but he has had hassles, endless hassles, with the private insurance companies about what they covered it is terrible to be fighting an illness and worried about your child and at the same time, having to fight your insurance company. the third thing is these lifetime limits. the legislation that we're debating in the congress would eliminate those and that's absolutely critical. and the fourth thing then is insurance discrimination. if -- if mr. simmons was to change jobs or lose jobs, he is absolutely right, he would be priced out of the market totally and so, eliminating discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions is also a key aspect of reform. his story brings into focus very sharply the importance of reform on all four of these fronts. >> it's interesting, when you look at the numbers, david and congressman price, that 75% of the money that gets spent on health care goes to people who need a long-term medical care. is this a long-term conversation about what happe

medicare and medicaid have much lower administrative costs and insurance companies. that is right, but medicare and medicaid just simply process claims and do not drive down costs. i know i am a broken record here, but unless we get the financial incentives to align the right way, we cannot afford the current system for 04 -- or reform. it was good evening, senator warner. thank you for coming here tonight. i have several questions here that we of research and carefully written out, but i have a question for all of you, for all of you in the media, and for all of you nationwide. just because there is a difference of opinion between each side of the health care bill does not mean if you do not let the bill, that you were making in a race issue about the president. that has to stop. [cheers and applause] >> i don't think anyone has suggested that, but i do believe -- i do find it very unsettling. i did not agree with president bush on a lot of his policies but i never questioned his commitment or his patriotism. you may not agree with president obama, but i absolutely

we should also tell you that this proposal expands medicaid, right now medicaid covers children up to the age of 5 and also pregnant women below the poverty level and also one-third above it. under this proposal, medicaid would cover everyone whose income is up to that one-third above the poverty level including more children and those who do not have children. >> how much does this plan cost? and what does the senate propose to pay for this plan? >> reporter: right now 9$900 billi billion. that's significant because it's about $100 billion less than any other plans that are before the congress. in part it would be paid for by a new tax on those so-called cadillac insurance plans, those high end insurance plans that some say encourage consumers to overuse health care. this would be a tax on the companies not on the individuals, but critics say it will be passed on to everyone that has health insurance. there's certainly debate over the merits of that tax. >> we will have the president's speech on wednesday night, and cnn will have all those details. >>> the tea party express today con

he says should only increase state costs lightly. >> .89% increase in the state medicaid obligations over the baseline. >> if the federal government wants to create the universal healthcare, the federal government ought to pay for t >> yesterday, three governors and three former u.s. governors now republicans all blasted the bill predicting sharp increases in medicaid costs. >> it is not a partnership we're creating with the states. it is just yet another unfunded band-aid. >> mitch daniels says indiana is looking at medicaid costs of over $700 million and california governor arnold schwarzneggar says his state could be on the hook for an additional $8 billion. harry reid in a statement said his home state of nevada can't afford the increased costs of med medicaid in the baucus bill, when state budgets are a mess. the center on policy priorities say only montana and florida started the budget year with surpluses. three states started with balanced books. the rest are in the hole. 29 states have shortfalls of up to $2 billion. 14 are $2 billion to $10 billion in the red and three stat

david: the employer, medicaid, medicare and insurer. >> yes. and whenever you hear a poll station talk about waste, abuse i'm trying to sell you a program that doesn't add up. >> one reason the savings will never happen is the government doesn't spend any money on enforcing the law. that is why it touts how the administrative costs are so low because it doesn't spend money policing itself. >> and medicaid and medicare cover half of the country's healthcare costs. that is why there is abuse. they don't have the people to track it. david: debate over healthcare getting ugly this week and that could bring in an upswing for the economy. first, right here a new warning from sarah palinuse, faster andr than ever before? well now you can, introducing the new... powerful... lightweight... oreck xl platinum vacuum. anncr: you don't vacuum open floors, you vacuum rooms filled with furniture. anncr: and the xl platinum makes cleaning under, around, and behind them, fast and easy! anncr: and now david oreck has a payment plan that can fit every budget! so,

the biggest driver other than interest are rising medicare and medicaid costs. obviously the biggest driver of medicaid and medicare costs are riding health care costs so no neart what one thinks of health care reform discussion if you take seriously thedea we have to get ahold of our deficit, we have to get ahold of the national debt before it so constrains thehoices of our kids and grandchildren, that we do not provide them the kind of opportunity they should have we have to do something about the medicaid and medicare lines and that means health care reform. this shows there's no way to cut yourself out of the problem with discretiary spending cuts and is slideust shows if we don't do anythin differently, now, we're all binge to be talking about tax cuts in the future that none of us would ever reasonably support. so my vie is that we do face a very significant fiscal challenge in this country and that health re reform is not sufficient to solve that problem. but it is a important step and, in fact, the problem cannot be solved without addressing health ca. a

medicaid provides no beneficiary protection against cap, because. the president promised that everyone be discovered -- would be covered for catastrophic costs. as with medicaid, if you cannot see a doctor, you do not have health care. today we weep -- we will be marking up this, 220 page summary, not all the legislative language. it will be many times that big. but i've noted that we have two volumes of amendments, 564 amendments to try to change that. these are in some reform as well. we have talked about the need for senators to read bills and had the actual language, because sometimes the devil is in the details. outlining some of the significant problems, and what also like to commend the leadership of chairman bought the suez worked with ranking member grassley and other republicans and democrats for months. i know the fed seems like years as well, but in an attempt to develop a bipartisan health care reform bill, you saw all wide range of ideas and tried to develop the best possible bill they could gain broad support in the senate. this effor

with medicaid, medicaid is a government program.d by each state as well as the federal government and actually it is actually created for and was designed for indigent person. it is actually a form, a modified form of a welfare program because you have to have no assets or resources in order to qualify for medicaid. >> which leds me to the question about cost. i know this is one of the more costly forms of disabilitity. and a lot of cases people that buy it early won't use it for a few years and hopefully decades and like you mentioned beforehand maybe not at all. >> it can be costly. on average if you get the insurance before the age of 40, the cost could be 800 or less. by the time you are at 60 it could be 2400 to $3,000 a year, which actually eats in though budget if you are on a fixed income. >> and the best advice is buy young. >> that's my ultimate advice, buy young. it is absolutely more affordable. an analogy i use is like car insurance. you insure your vehicle with the hope you never have an accident, and long-term care is

of that, $406 billion is going to come from cuts in medicaid. now, that means the seniors on medicaid right now, the benefits are going to go down or they're going to get taxed more. >> on the taxes. >> this is never going to fly. by the way, down the road, these are automatic medicaid cuts that have to be approved by congress. there is no congress in the world that's going to use medicare and medicaid. >> rob, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that they're going to be taxing insurance companies with so-called high-dollar health plans. even democrats, however, are saying that the income limits on that are just way too low. >> well, that's the part where i see the tax. i don't know necessarily if i agree it on the middle class. if anything, it is in black and white that it is the higher wage earners but you're right. >> a lot of the workers, unionized workers, frankly, have these kind of plans and they are the ones who would be hit. yes, but i think it's more targeted and i guess they call it the cadillac tax for the people who are getting

david: the employer, medicaid, medicare and insurer. >> yes.nd whenever you hear a poll station talk about waste, abuse i'm trying to sell you a program that doesn't add up. >> one reason the savings will never happen is the government doesn't spend any money on enforcing the law. that is why it touts how the administrative costs are so low because it doesn't spend money policing itself. >> and medicaid and medicare cover half of the country's healthcare costs. that is why there is abuse. they don't have the people to track it. david: debate over healthcare getting ugly this week and that could bring in an upswing for the economy. first, right here a new warning from sarah palin that just might save american jobs. david: sarah palin's plan to bring back jobs to america. david: sarah palin sending a message to president obama. you want to get americans back to work? then cut taxes on all americans. steve forbes, he couldn't agree more. right, steve? >> right. and to those folks who don't like her, look at the message, not the messenger. this joh

who qualifies for medicaid? should a person like myself qualify for medicaid?an the viewers not see that this is a monopoly that the health-care system has? guest: the issue of medicaid is by each state. every state can set the limits. it's usually based on income. every state is changing all the time. the state of maryland increased the eligibility requirements. they did that by increasing how much over the poverty level in come was necessary. i cannot specifically answer your question for your state, but each state has requirements. host: next call, buffalo, new york. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i am calling to talk about efficiency questions. i am in the medical field. i am involved in emr systems. that is creating a lot of deficiencieefficiencies and redt of the error. a single payer system would be a lot more efficient from what i've seen fit i have dealt with all the insurance companies, the government, medicare, medicaid, and all those things. from my experience, it is very painful working with insurance companies. they're very ine

they're not on medicaid, just for the record. i cannot imagine if we have a choice not keeping them there in the home where they have lived for 65 years. most americans feel that way. we got another waiver from the feds to use medicaid dollars to keep more at home. we have saved literally millions of dollars over the last couple of years. long-term care must be a part of it. it is not the biggest piece of the medicaid program, but important. especially as the population ages. >> considering vermont is the second oldest state what was the public response thereto the debate over the so-called death panel bac? >> i mentioned earlier that vermonters are independent, but it is also quicker to said that we are civil in our public discourse. one of the center serves on the health committee. -- one of the senators serves on the committee. he had several well-attended forums and there were no disruptions. people had opinions and expressed them. sometimes strongly, but in a very respectful and civilized way. i think the range of public opi

know, the cbo says at least 10 million people will move into medicaid. people will move from private sector into medicaid. it has to be somewhere between that and i can bet your bottom dollar that lewin is a lot closer to the truth than the congressional budget office at this point. lewin is highly respected until we got into the partisan aspects of the bills. you add it all up and it doesn't make sense. and look, it is not an $880 billion bill. they don't count the first four years. only bill has six seven, years. >> bottom line with the possible exception of olympia snowe and maybe one or two others that this is going to be a democratic bill if it comes through? >> no question about that. i really sincerely doubt if olympia or susan will go with them. i -- really sincerely doubt that chuck grassley and senator enzy will go with them. the one thing the president said where people can get insurance across state lines, anywhere in the country, lowest possible prices they can, that's a good idea but that's an idea that republicans came up with long ago. th

we have medicaid in place to take care of a lot of that, medicare and medicaid. people who are wealthier, it is the same concept of saving for retirement. if i opt not to do that, that's my problem. maybe i think i will strike it rich later. maybe something is going to happen. my choice. same with medical insurance. if i don't want to dish it out every month, i run the risk of paying the bills if god forbid something happens. i don't think the government should force us to save for retirement, to pay for health insurance, to do anything. i work hard. i make the choices of what to do with my money. >> what i find interesting is that this is the idea of garnishing wages if you don't pay medical bills i'm thinking that the government is going to come in an garnish my paycheck, because i forgot to pay a bill and maybe i lost my job. it seems a little harsh. >> i hate the socialist outlook that this administration has. i think they have overstepped their bounds grossly. when you fire the c.e.o. of general motors, a publicly traded company you have overstepped your bou

they can't afford the medicaid roles. >> taxes are another area. what's under consideration in that regard. the most likely major source of revenue on the senate side is a tax on very valuable health insurance plans. most people have no idea what the value of their plan is. many high income and union workers get generous benefit that's kind of flow through the system without being taxed. >> because it is part of their package? >> right. a lot of conservatives would like to start taxing those benefits. it's the largest loophole in the tax system. but that's not going to happen. because so many union workers benefit from that. sort of like a mortgage deduction. doctors and hospitals practice this in order to avoid lawsuits. this has created a lot of doctor shortages across the country. could this receive the negotiations? >> we'll hear from the government in this 20 minute debate or so over med i call liability. >> this amendment is to improve access and medical care. improving access to improve rural communities and essentially among primary care ph

the medicare expansion. -- the medicaid expansion. we took several conference calls, agrippa 6, and on the conference call yesterday, maybe a dozen governors, bipartisan, explaining what the net result would be to governors with an expansion of medicaid. essentially, when you factor in the rates that of assam is going to pay -- that local sam is going to pay -- that all sam -- uncle sam is going to pay, when you factor in chip flexibility that states will have, and some other provisions -- on and net basis throughout the country, states will say, according to the most recent calculations, 0.89% increase in the state medicaid obligation over the baseline, other than what they would otherwise pay. i can take a few more questions. sorry? [inaudible] >> anything that would affect physician payment in medicaid? >> well, a key point here clearly is delivery system reform. that is a key point of this bill, and regrettably in my judgment as has been lost in most national debate on health care reform. we have to begin to change the way that we

and this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want to speak directly to seniors for a moment. because medicare is another issue that's been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. and that -- that is why not a dollar of the medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. the only -- the only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud as well as unwarranted subsidies in medicare that go to insurance companies, subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but don't improve the care of seniors. and we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the years

right now, medicaid has been busting every state's budget.he increase and inflation of medicaid costs has been outstripping the revenue of the states for a decade now or longer, so the notion of expanding medicaid because we have to expand subsidies is just going to be another buster for states, and i think in many cases, it is going to require tax increases, which states have been struggling with. neil: apparently it is one of the big reasons why senator olympia snowe has been saying this is one thorny issue for her and one big reason why she might not support health-care reform, even though she has been largely counted on to be perhaps the lone republican senator who would. you kind of thing this could be the sleeper issue? >> there is no question about it. as i said, the confusing thing in this whole debate, and the message keeps changing from the administration, is on the one hand, it is increasing coverage. we have universal health care. anyone that is sick that prisons themselves needing care gets cared for. this is a discussion about u

this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want to speak directly to seniors for a moment. medicare is another issue that's been subjected to distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. and that -- [ applause ] that is why not a dollar of the medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. the only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud as well as unwarranted subsidies in medicare that goes to insurance companies. subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but don't improve the care of seniors. and we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the years ahead. now -- [ appla

and this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want to speak directly to seniors for a moment. because medicare is another issue that's been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago, this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a mile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. and that -- that is why not a dollar of the medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. the only -- the only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud, as well as unwarranted subsidies in medicare that go to insurance companies, subsidies that do everything to pad their profits, but don't improve the care of seniors. and we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying ways to make you heal

and this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want few speak directly to seniors for a moment. because medicare is another issue that has been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. and that -- [ applause ] and that is why not a dollar of the medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. the only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud as well as unwarranted subsidies in medicare that go to insurance companies. subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but don't improve the care of seniors. and we will also create an independent commission of doctors d medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the

so for emple medicd, the plan calls for expanding medicaid by $300 llion so medicaid hmo also doell. medicarehmos are going to get cuts it could be a wa for the insance industryoverall. >> one issue aut heal-care costs are busisses are so concerned about t big and small. how do businesses makeut? >> well, big businses are probablyoping that they're going carry less of the nancial burden for emoyers who don't provide verage. that's always been a big complaint of big businesss whpay a lot for heal insurae. small employers dot have a mandate at leastn the senate versionohere's a lighter mandate that would only app for employers who have over 50 employees so they might feel good thou that they're escaping a more draconian version in the house whi calls for an 8% payrollax on ployers. >> and then what about people who already hav insurae. either thrghheir work o through medice,hey have to pay more or is it status quo. >>t's a little uncleahow that's going to rk out. w we've heard a lot about people sing you are a he not going to give up your corage. and this i very kat call cause voters t

and this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want to speak directly to seniors for a moment. because medicare is another issue that's been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago, this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. [applause] that is why not a dollar of the medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. [applause] the only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud as well as unwarranted subsidies in medicare that go to insurance companies. subsidies that do everything to pad their profits, but don't improve the care of seniors. and we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the years

and aetna's medicaid and children's health insurance program business. miss farrell has also served as senior vice president for strategic planning. mr. james h. bloom. is that the correct pronunciation? bloom. mr. james h. bloom. mr. bloom is senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer for humana incorporated. he has primary responsibility to supervise all accounting, actuarial, analytical, financial, tax, risk management, treasury and investor relations activities for that company. thank you for being here. mr. thomas richards. appreciate your attendance here, mr. richards. mr. richards is senior vice president for product management, and new product development for cigna health care and cigna's choice link subsidiary which provides customer benefits and online enrollment. previously, mr. richards ran cigna's stop loss business, which provides reinsurance to middle market and national segment customers. during his career, mr. richards has held a variety of project managements, including the marketing department where he designed and br

uncle sam, we ain't doing too good with medicare and medicaid either. can we afford that risk pooling subsidy? >> well, that's a good question. at some point in time there has to be a device in which we include them but at a cost that's rational. >> there seems to be really a national consensus about interstate insurance deregulation. >> blue cross and blue shield can operate among all state. the way to foster that is to let them go across state lines. >> this is a republican proposal, a moderate democrat proposal. just put it in. >> who's going to oppose it? it's got to make the system more competitive. that's what you're looking for. >> let me bring in andy bush. listening to the new max baucus proposal, what happened in the market today? what happened in the stock market? it's not a good day for health care as i understand it. >> no, that's right. they were hit because of the proposals. the 50% cut is for this plan and what it means for their companies. >> what's the 50% cut, andy? >> for the drugs that are going to be included. if you want your drug

what good is medicare and medicaid if doctors refuse to cover them? if all of a sudden, by luring the reimbursement rate to at 80% or 85% -- by lowering the reimbursement rate, it is below what they can get. obviously, they are making up the difference on private insurers, but that will not last that long. it is not going to last if we do not change what we are doing, so we on our side would like to see some significant changes in medicare and medicaid to make sure that we do get the reimbursement that the doctors and hospitals deserve. that is why i am not for the current public option that has been put before us, and i thank the chairman. >> thank you, senator. senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i apologize for not being here right at the reconvening of the committee, and i do want to speak in support of senator rockefeller's amendment, but i want to ask a question first, which is we have had a lot of discussion about medicare and medicare rates as that it pertains to the way it is drafted, and it is my understanding that you would pay medicare ra

and this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want to speak directly to seniors for a moment. because medicare is another issue that's been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago, this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. [ applause ] that is why not a dollar of the medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. [ applause ] the only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud as well as unwarranted subsidies in medicare that go to insurance companies. subsidies that do everything to pad their profits, but don't improve the care of seniors. and we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the ye

those are peop who are or but not in medicaid. wh because medicaid eligibility rules vary from state to state. the are also pvisions of deral law that ep certain poor people off medicaid. for example, adults who d't have dependent children do not qualify except in some states for medicaidoverage. so the bills all across the board, the democratic bis would all raise th level of eligibility fopeople in medicaid. it would go up to 133% of t poverty level and put on a lot of tho so-called childless adults. that part of t safety net woulde swelled. it would grab all of those people i that blue rt of the pie and a little bit merging into the green partf thpie. >> woodruff:nvolving subsidies from t government. >> directly paid fo by the dicaid program. e medicaid program which now cove 63 millionndividuals would grow by a substantl margin. now, up the income sle. thosfolks would not g into mecaid. they inste would be the population eligie to buy insurance coverage through t new health insurance exchanges that would be t up in e all a sta

and this is also true when it comes to medicare and medicaid. in fact, i want to speak directly to seniors for a moment, because medicare is another issue that's been subjected to demagoguery and distortion during the course of this debate. more than four decades ago this nation stood up for the principle that after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors should not be left to struggle with a pile of medical bills in their later years. that's how medicare was born. and it remains a sacred trust that must be passed down from one generation to the next. [ applause ] and that is why not a dollar of the medicare trust fund will be used to pay for this plan. [ applause ] the only thing this plan would eliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and fraud, as well as unwarranted subsidies in medicare that go to insurance companies. subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but don't improve the care of seniors. and we will also create an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the

says it won't add a penny to the deficit it will be found from eliminating waste from medicare and medicaid. >> a lot of people skeptical. >> we'll talk with one, coming up. stay with us. 16 after the hour. the great taste of splenda® no calorie sweetener and added a little fiber? sweet! sweet! (together) sweet! (announcer) now for the first time, a gram of healthy fiber in every packet. sweet! (announcer) splenda® with fiber. progress... it starts with more models than toyota or honda with an epa estimated 30 miles per gallon highway or better.

they do not have to go through insurance -- i have medicaid. will not be bankrupt as i am already poor. but to have people who have no jobs to our kept by wal-mart purposely without health care, tell them they have to buy it now from the bullies and still get nothing, have to go to work sick? because there will not get paid. republicans, if you give up on this public option, i cannot even any more look at you. it is worse than we expected from people who hate our own citizens. from this nurse who loves all of you, i fought for 30 years to take care of your health. please take care of your fellow person. this is not a widget. if you want to be a capitalist, fine. do not use people. host: how is your help today? how are you feeling? caller: well, it is chemo, and i have lost a few family members who are afraid that i might take their money. you see who your real friends are. thank god there are some beautiful people. i will survive and be a better earners, a strong burners. but i cannot keep up this fight. -- i will be a better nurse, a stronger