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you don't qualify for medicare? / no problem. / we'll wo with your insurance company, even help with financing. if there's a way we'll find it. when they delivered mom's power chair, i expected they'd show her how to use it once or twice. that man stayed for hours! you can just tell they care. / whatever it takes, as long as it takes. that's our guarantee. why do we go to < uch great lengths? because making you mobile is our mission. we'llwork wit your doctor. we'll work with medicare and lçur private insurance. we'll even service your scooter anywhere in the country. call the sco÷"er store today. find out what great lengthsthe scooter store / will go to fo you. / improve lçur m >>> it may be hard to imagine but this sunday does mark the fifth anniversary of hurricane katrina. that storm sent waves of destruction over new orleans and much of the gulf coast as the world simply watched in disbelief. >> our bob woodruff was there five years ago. he reports on what has changed and what has stayed the same. >> reporter:

caller: i am on medicare and medicare part d. i was severely injured years ago, pretty well disabled, and i fell into that donut hole because my prescriptions are close to $1,000 a month. the generic form of it is six other top dollars a month. -- $612 a month. the only income i have is a little over $12,000 a year. to wait another 10 years to get some kind of relief, 2020, when you say a tyrant's out -- when you say eight irons out, i do not know if there's anything in between i can do for myself. guest: yes, there is. you should be on this program called the vote income subsidy or extra help program, run by the social security administration. basically it is a program for low-income or not-so-low-income folks on medicare to get further subsidization, sometimes almost free, part d prescription drug coverage. i advise you and others out there. there is anot -- there is a number of other income guidelines. generally, if you have under $1,200 a month in income, if you are single, under $1,800 a month, if you are a couple and you ha

you don't qualify for medicare?company, even help with financing. if there's a way we'll find it. when they delivered mom's power chair, i expected they'd show her how to use it once or twice. that man stayed for hours! you can just tell they care. / whatever it takes, as long as it takes. that's our guarantee. why do we go to < uch great lengths? because making you mobile is our mission. we'llwork wit your doctor. we'll work with medicare and lçur private insurance. we'll even service your scooter anywhere in the country. call the sco÷"er store today. find out what great lengthsthe scooter store / will go to fo you. / improve lçur m important news for diabetics on medicare! i'm a diabetic and i want you to know over 230,000 u.s. doctors have authorized their patients to receive / their diabetic supplies through liberty medical. and that begins with the one touch ultra 2 meter. easy to use, fast results... at no additional cost! liberty helps keep you on track by delivering diabetic supplies to your door...and filin

you don't qualify for medicare?. / we'll wo with your insurance company, even help with financing. if there's a way we'll find it. when they delivered mom's power chair, i expected they'd show her how to use it once or twice. that man stayed for hours! you can just tell they care. / whatever it takes, as long as it takes. that's our guarantee. why do we go to < uch great lengths? because making you mobile is our mission. we'llwork wit your doctor. we'll work with medicare and lçur private insurance. we'll even service your scooter anywhere in the country. call the sco÷"er store today. find out what great lengthsthe scooter store / will go to fo you. / improve lçur m if you fight to sleep in the middle of the night why go one more round ? you don't need a rematch but a rethink. with lunesta. lunesta is thought to interact with gaba receptors associated with sleep. lunesta helps you get the restful sleep you need. lunesta has some risk of dependency. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel

so you can either choose traditional medicare or a medicare advantage plan. but we have overpaid by about 14%. and everybody else in medicare pays for that-- pays more for their medicare policies. no additional health benefits to the people who choose. all we're saying is gradually over time, that overpayment should start-- we think there is going to be plenty of choice. >> and what is going to happen to those seniors who are on those plans. >> they will absolutely have the choice of those plans. those plans will stay in effect. they will stay in the market. in fact, the senators for medicare services has issued a notice to companies saying there will not be a cut next year. there will be a flat line for medicare advantage plan so come in with your package of proposals. come in with your bid. but we think there are going to be plenty of options for seniors who want to continue on a medicare advantage plan. >> let me ask you about another headache that is medicaid funding for individuals, the poor, a number of states, governors are coming to you to the obama a

you don't qualify for medicare?h your insurance company, even help with financing. if there's a way we'll find it. when they delivered mom's power chair, i expected they'd show her how to use it once or twice. that man stayed for hours! you can just tell they care. / whatever it takes, as long as it takes. that's our guarantee. why do we go to < uch great lengths? because making you mobile is our mission. we'llwork wit your doctor. we'll work with medicare and lçur private insurance. we'll even service your scooter anywhere in the country. call the sco÷"er store today. find out what great lengthsthe scooter store / will go to fo you. / improve lçur m [ female announcer ] fact. when pain keeps you up nothing is proven to help you fall asleep faster than advil pm liqui-gels. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. for nighttime pain, make advil pm your #1 choice. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] try fixodent with a time-released formula. use just once per day for all-day hold. it is important to use the pr

you don't qualify for medicare?company, even help with financing. if there's a way we'll find it. when they delivered mom's power chair, i expected they'd show her how to use it once or twice. that man stayed for hours! you can just tell they care. / whatever it takes, as long as it takes. that's our guarantee. why do we go to < uch great lengths? because making you mobile is our mission. we'llwork wit your doctor. we'll work with medicare and lçur private insurance. we'll even service your scooter anywhere in the country. call the sco÷"er store today. find out what great lengthsthe scooter store / will go to fo you. / improve lçur m >>> >>> here are some stories to watch today on abc news. the president is set to sign a $600 million border security bill today. the money will help beef up the mexican border. the senate passed the bill in a rare august special session. >>> asian stock markets are posting mild gains this morning after another -- after the third disappointing day in a row on wall street. investors reac

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medicare's hospital insurance trust fund is expected to remain solvent through 2029. that is 12 years longer than what was projected last year. the record extension of the life of the it trust fund. it has been reduced from 3.88% of taxable payroll to just 0.66% of taxable payroll and projected costs for the medicare supplementary medical insurance program over the next 75 years expresses a share of gdp are down 23% from what was projected in the report last year. the affordable care at also approved -- improved social security's finances. while the recession has taken a toll on social security in the near term, the long-term outlook is nevertheless improved as a result of the affordable care act through provisions that are expected to shift some compensation over time from health insurance earnings. these are very encouraging projected improvements in the financial position of these critical benefits for americans. projected improvements in the financial position of these critical benefits for americans. now it's important to note that for the benefits of these refor

by law, medicare cannot reject any treatment based upon cost. it will pay $55,000 for patients with advanced breast cancer to receive the chemotherapy drug avastin, even though it extends life only an average of a month and a half. it will pay $40,000 for a 93- year-old man with terminal cancer to get a surgically implanted defibrillator, if he happens to have heart problems, too. >> byock: i think you cannot make these decisions on a case- by-case basis. it would be much easier for us to say "we simply do not put defibrillators into people in this condition," meaning your age, your functional status, the... the ability to make full benefit of... of the defibrillator. now, that's... again, that's going to outrage a lot of people and it's... >> kroft: but you think that should happen? >> byock: i think, at some point, it has to happen. >> kroft: well, this is a version, then, of pulling grandma off the machine? >> byock: you know, i have to say, i... i think that's offensive. i mean, i... i spend my life in service of affirming life. i really do.

let medicare be voluntary.these are such great programs, why do you have difficulty with people being free to choose. paul ryan and i will give every social security recipient in america that chooses to stay in this system, a better guarantee that will be as they know it today than the democratic party will because the democrat party is going to make changes -- >> there's certainly a separate debate to be had about medicare and social security. senator mcconnell doesn't appear to be on board with what paul ryan is talking about. when you talk about a hostile takeover of the republican party, are leaders of republican party today part of the problem? >> the fact that he only has 13 co-sponsors is the big reason why our folks are agitated against the republicans as well as democrats. the difference between being a co-sponsor with ryan or not is a thing called courage. we have watched american public policy dominated by democrats that don't care and republicans that don't dare for a long time. we're saying to the

medicare by itself doesn't cover everything. i don't want to spend my life worrying about what would happen if one of us got sick. [ male announcer ] now more than ever, you may be wondering: do i have the right medicare coverage? talk to the health plan experts at securehorizons to get the answers you need. [ woman ] life's too short to worry about health care. i hate to worry. [ male announcer ] in these changing times, the name on your medicare health plan may be more important than ever. choose a company you can depend on. call now. . >> larry: two rallies were held in washington, d.c. this past saturday. 47th anniversary of dr. martin luther king's historic "i have a dream speech" one a revival style gathering at lincoln memorial orchestrated by conservative commentator glenn beck, the other called "reclaim the dream" organized by reverend al sharpton. al sharpton is here, civil rights activist, and dana lash, conservative talk radio host, host of her own program with kftk, 97.1, and tea party-tv, with pjtv.com. al, do you

got a lot of medicare patients.also have a lot of regular patients. so hospitals, doctors, everybody starts getting more efficient as medicare gets more efficient. the key is making sure that we're not just cutting benefits. and, frankly, this is an argument that i have with my friends in the republican party sometimes. one big change that some of them have advocated is to voucherize the medicare system. you basically -- instead of once you have medicare, you knowing that you can take that and go get care anywhere you want, we would just give you -- all right, here is whatever it is, $6,000 or $7,000 or whatever. and suddenly, you've got seniors who find themselves way short of what they need in terms of providing care. we've got to change how the health care system actually operates. and that means more prevention -- more preventive care. it means better -- that we reimburse people for checkups. it means we reimburse doctors when they're consulting with people on things like smoking cessation and weight control and

medicare's hospital insurance trust fund or h.i. is now expected to remain solvent through 2029, 12 years longer than projected last year, a record extension of the life of the h.i. trust fund. the 75-year shortfall has been reduced from 3.88% of taxable payroll to just 0.66% of taxable payroll and projected costs for the medicare supplementary medical insurance program over the next 74 years expresses a share of gdp are down 23% from what was projected in last year's report. now, in addition, the affordable care act also improves social security's finances. while the recession has taken a toll on social security in the near term, the long-term outlook is nevertheless improved as a result of the affordable care act through provisions that are expected to shift some compensation over time from health insurance to earnings. these are very encouraging projected improvements in the financial position of these critical benefits for americans. now it's important to note that for the benefits of these reforms to be realize, they have to pr

can you fix medicare? -- charles fixed social spirit for us. can you fix medicare? >> in one minute? >> i will be a minute and a half. we need the prospect of hanging that will concentrate our minds wonderfully. we propose more and more mandates without wastepaper these things. this is the reality -- without ways to pay for these things. this is the reality we have to face. at a point where we are spending what we don't have, we have a huge debt overload, it is not just a political argument, but it is a major financial issue that the country is facing, and we are not stepping up to that at all. >> 30-second cure for health care -- tort reform, a full taxation of benefits and employment, and lastly, allow people to purchase health insurance across stateines. all three are essentially left out of obamacare. >> all of the points, the arcane argument points, are fascinating. the reality is this -- we spent 24% of our gdp and tax 13.5%. that is a formula for financial chaos and crisis and calamity. until we address that, where we balance the budget only under bill clinto

drives up costs in medicare it drives up costs across the health care system because it's -- medicare is so influential within that system. and this is what i was frying to talk about a lile earlier. taking the savings that democrats have endorsed in medicare and use it to try to reform the system. can i address the henry waxman thing? host: really quick. guest: that is really insane. what he's saying, the troublesome members, i'm assuming he's talking more moderate members of the democratic caucus. these are what nancy pelosi talked about as majority makers. here you have a very liberal guy and a very safe seat sayayi see you >> this is the senate. they are voting on a minute taken. she is expected to get if your boats that sonia sotomayor york, who last year received 68 votes during her senate confirmation. we're going to continue to watch during the rest of this vote. >> once again, eminem taken has passed the threshold necessary to be confirmed as a supreme court justice. the senate continues to vote. -- elena kagan has passed the threshold necessary to be confirmed as a supreme c

got a lot of medicare patients.a lot of regular patients. so hospitals, doctors, everybody starts getting more efficient as medicare gets more efficient. the key is making sure that we're not just cutting benefits. and, frankly, this is an argument that i have with my friends in the republican party sometimes. one big change that some of them have advocated is to voucherize the medicare system. you basically -- instead of once you have medicare, you knowing that you can take that and go get care anywhere you want, we would just give you -- all right, here is whatever it is, $6,000 or $7,000 or whatever. and suddenly, you've got seniors who find themselves way short of what they need in terms of providing care. we've got to change how the health care system actually operates. and that means more prevention -- more preventive care. it means better -- that we reimburse people for checkups. it means we reimburse doctors when they're consulting with people on things like smoking cessation and weight control and exercise.

it comes through in our medicare costs. so it affects all of us. >> it's a cost clearly that's passed around. and as your study finds, much of these cost mistakes are directly related to health care. about 87%. but clearly not all of them. you have 7% with indirect costs and 6% have just lost productivity of the folks recovering from those medical errors. so as you look at that big top line number, almost $20 billion what are the options of the payors, insurance companies and ultimately you and i, the patient approximates? >> well, insurance companies have not been focusing on this in the past. and that's why the costs are passed through to the consumers. but i think going forward they're going to be taking the q from-- cue from the federal government which has made certain types of errors, what they term never events. and for a never event such as operating on the wrong site, the government will no longer be paying for those expenses through medicare. insurance companies could do the same thing. >> what about the transpare

first, you say you want to phase out medicare. you want to privatize social security. i have to say there are a lot of people in alaska who are on medicare and are getting social security. isn't that position going to be a problem for you in the election... in this general election? >> i would suggest to you that if one thinks that the constitution is extreme, then you would also think that the founders are extreme. we just simply want to get back to basics. restore essentially the constitutional foundation of our country. that means the federal government becoming less onerous, less involved in basically every item of our lives. what that means is there does have to be some transition. with respect to social security, what we've said consistently throughout this race is that if you've paid into the system, if you're dependent on the system, we have got to get the fiscal house in order at the national level so that we can continue to pay those benefits. but to suggest that there is nothing that can be done, that we have to continue as the way things are ignores the fac

let me talk about medicare generally. medicare, i think, is one of the cornerstones of our social safety net. the basic idea is -- you have been working all your life, and to retire. just like you have got social security that you can on, you've got health care that you can count on and you are not going bankrupt just because you get sick. in the same light as a security has to be tweaked -- in the same way that social security has to be tweaked because the population is getting older, we have to renew medicare to make sure that it is going to be there for the next generation as well. the key problems are not just that more people as they retire are going to be part of medicare. the big problem is just health care inflation generally, but costs keep on skyrocketing. the wrong way to deal with it is under-reimbursing our providers. the right way to deal with it is to work with the providers to figure out how to make the system less wasteful, more efficient overall. that way we are paying -- your boss, if the s spending a d

medicare should be paying first for your care. in some cases, medicare is not primary. there have been some instances where an insurer that is primary is shifting the cost to medicare. certainly, that is something that we are interested in following up on, because we want to make sure that the right plan is paying. usually, medicare is primary for retirees. it sounds like you are a retiree, and it is appropriate to that medicare be primary, but once again, call 1-800-medicare and talk to them about this problem, and if they feel there is fraud involved, there is a special unit you can call to. hopefully that will be useful for you. host: joseph baker is the president of the medicare rights center. thanks for being with us. guest: my pleasure. thank you for having me. host: tomorrow we conclude the health-care series and look at the impact of the law on estates. we will have two attorney general's on the program on both sides of the issue. thanks for joining us this morning. we will be back tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. [captioning performed by national captioning

medicare advantage will go away. a 11 million -- maybe 25% of our seniors to get coverage through medicare advantage because they do not have to buy supplemental health policies, as much as $150 per month, annual physicals, fee-for-service -- traditional medicare does not cover that. a lot of screenings are offered under medicare advantage which traditional medicare does not offer. there are other cuts to physician reimbursement, hospital reimbursement, folks that provide medical equipment, durable medical equipment. they are taking deep cuts. even the hospice program is being cut significantly. we all understand the compassionate work of a hospice program for people who are terminally ill. to care for them in those last six months. to me, it is almost an insult as a medicare participants, because i am past age 60 -- age 65 to get some glossy print out f, telling me how much better my program is going to be because of this cut. this brochure is paid for with my tax dollars it is a bit of an insult. thank you for your

it is not just a question of medicare. it is during our healthcare system to providing quality care. >> i am sure you are right, the whole health care system needs to be addressed, but if you put all of the european union health spending projections together, their numbers are just as bad as powers in terms of containing future health care spending. all systems across the industrialized world have similar problems, demographics, and aging population, and increasing use of technology. to what extent you give people access to those technologies? >> this is the reality, people are getting older, health care is getting more expensive. but in the midst of all of this, the point on the making, we have a lot of problems. some of my friends will conclude that the way you solve these problems is by punishing lower class, middle class people. i think when you have a society that is moving, in many ways, toward an oligarchy -- >> [inaudible] >> some of them are in the room. we talk about oligarchies with the top 1% owning 90% of the

it could be an unwelcome surprise for seniors who hadn't intended to make a change during medicare's enrollment season this fall. the analysis a leading private research firm, estimated that more than 3 million beneficiaries will see their prescription plan eliminated as part of a new effort by medicare to winnow down duplicative coverage and offer consumers more meaningful choices. state lawmakers are working on several bills that would help state implement a national health-care reform as senate approves two bills it would allow people to shop for health insurance the assembly approved a bill to prohibit and an additional co pay for insured patients getting preventative care. >> health officials are urging parents to get their kids caught up on vaccinations before heading back to school this morning coming as the whooping cough epidemic reaches its peak more than 3000 cases have been confirmed justice your seven babies have died from the illness children who are not vaccinated may be required to stay home. >> we will be right back as the news continues from the bart station we are

you can imagine of medicare rates go that low and all the medicare beneficiaries are also finding it difficult to find physicians who will see them, the political is not going to stand for that so price-cutting is not cost-cutting and health care per se and that is what this bill does and supposedly uses that to make these costs go down. lastly, on the gimmicks side i also can't not mention the class act. this is a long-term care insurance program put into the bill. this is a gimmick of all gimmicks. the only reason they put it in the bill was that it supposedly created $70 billion in additional revenue in the first 10 years of this program but of course that $70 billion is needed after the first 10 years to actually pay claims on long-term care insurance when they come do. they have double counted these premiums. take that out of the equation, again the bill's cost and the burdens go out. finally, let me just mention quickly that even if one worked -- were to assume this this is neutral it is already clear it is a massive tax increase on the american people. i don't think people foc

it is not just a question of medicare. it is during our healthcare system to providing quality care. >> i am sure you are right, the whole health care system needs to be addressed, but if you put all of the european union health spending projections together, their numbers are just as bad as powers in terms of containing future health care spending. all systems across the industrialized world have similar problems, demographics, and aging population, and increasing use of technology. to what extent you give people access to those technologies? >> this is the reality, people are getting older, health care is getting more expensive. but in the midst of all of this, the point on the making, we have a lot of problems. some of my friends will conclude that the way you solve these problems is by punishing lower class, middle class people. i think when you have a society that is moving, in many ways, toward an oligarchy -- >> [inaudible] >> some of them are in the room. we talk about oligarchies with the top 1% owning 90% of the