inadmissibility on public charge grounds rule immigrants who have used benefits including the medicare part d. prescription program the supplemental nutrition assistance program snap also known as food stamps or section eight housing vouchers could be considered in eligible for green cards yeah according to this proposed rule immigration case workers will be required to consider the use of public benefits as quote heavily weighed negative factors when considering which immigrants get permanent legal status and in certain cases immigrants will be forced to post cash bonds of at least ten thousand dollars to avoid being denied a green card. well i guess it makes sense seeing as the statue of liberty plaque does say. give me your well rested your rate your isolated only who are already breathing freely on their own and upon second thought don't even really want to immigrate here anymore because the us health care system is more then george clooney it is prime that i understand federal law has always required that people seeking green cards prove they will not be a burden by needing cash assistance but the gov

$69 billion takeover of aetna by cvs took another step forward.ng aetna is selll of the medicare part d prescription drug plan business with 2mb million s to rival ensurer well care. that sent shares of well care to a new hih. h aetna and cvs rose. berth af coombs has the detailsa >> a and cvs health hope the this will is theur final he to winning regularry approval for the $69 merger. >> selling the entire aetna platform really eliminates the concentration issue sin the. d. p market is the major overlap and there is no change in the market after if if anything well care has to retain members and those members have been used to tha aetna brand. >> medicare part d is the only part ofetna and cvs businesses where the two overlap. pharmacy giant cvs ensuring humana and united health have 50% market share in that business. aetna's sale if approved by regulators would triple well care's market share, making it the fourth largest prescription drug plan ensurer. >> this is a big milestone.is s one of the things asked for and it's being done. a lot of people feels in close to the home stretch. >> while fina

to another bill that we passed just recently that prohibits these gag clauses for the medicare part d prescription plans. this is a companion bill to that legislation. the bottom line, madam president, is this -- pharmacists should not be restricted from telling customers if there are other ways for them to purchase needed prescription drugs less expensively. the administration has made banning these clauses a top priority, and this important consumer protection should be written into law. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to oppose senator lee's amendment and to support passage of senate bill 2554. today, madam president, the senate can go on record taking a concrete step to help reduce prescription drug prices for some consumers, and it makes no sense to exclude 85 million americans from this protection, as senator lee's amendment would do. reducing prescription drug prices must be a national priority. madam president, i'm pleased to yield to the leading cosponsor of this bill, senator mccaskill. mrs. mccaskill: thank you, madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from mi

while there is a regulation banning this practice in medicare part d, this legislation will end the practice across medicare advantage prescription drug plans, medicare part d and group and individual insurance plans. these two bills mirror legislation authored by representative buddy carter who is carrying this legislation on the floor today. he is a very valuable member of our committee. and by the way, he is the only pharmacist in the congress. so he understands this from a very personal perspective from behind the counter. he was joined in this effort by representatives welch and rodgers and eshoo, gene green and our chairman of the subcommittee, dr. michael burgess. and i think all of us on the committee are very sforttive of this effort. we moved this bill as you know as an important part of our committee earlier this month and it did pass unanimously. i first heard about the gag ause issue from a pharmacist in grants pass. named michelle. we were talking about these issues about how do we get drug prices down for consumers and told me as a pharmacist, she was prevented, precluded under insurance contracts from telling a pa

medicare supplement plan options to fit your needs. and learn how this type of plan works together with a part d prescription drug plan. lse good to know. with a medicare supplement plan, you have freedom. freedom to go with any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. you're not restricted to a network. ever. and if you need to visit a specialist, you'll have a choice there, too. your coverage goes with you, too, anywhere you travel in the country. we have grandkids out of state. they love our long visits. not sure about their parents, though. call unitedhealthcare now to learn more and ask for your free decision guide. want to apply? go ahead, apply. anytime's a good time. remember, the #1 important thing, medicare doesn't pay for everything. a med supp plan could help pay some of what's left. and this is the only plan of its kind endorsed by aarp. that's the icing on the cake... i love cake. finding the right aarp medicare supplement plan for you could be just a quick call away. so...call. ♪ we're off to see the wizard ♪ the wonderful wizard of oz ♪ if ever a wiz there was ♪ because because because because

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptions. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! >>> julie pace, washington bureau chief for the associated press. it was between two key senators here, susan collins and jeff flake. jeff flake obviously a key vote on the senate judiciary committee and susan collins facing heat back home in maine. they were seen chatting in a little bit of a huddle a moment ago on the floor. i'm just wondering, obviously to be a fly on the wall, but also might all of this that is swirling create an out for them on this vote? >> well, it certainly could. jeff flake, susan collins and lisa murkowski is another senator t

immigrants getting food assistance, section 8 housing vouchers or using medicare part d for low-cost prescriptionst would make them illegal for resident status. it could affect 382,000 people a year. >>> tv station kdvt reports 18 million worth of cocaine was found in bananas donated to a texas prison. they were given two pounds on friday. one officer said a box seemed different than the others. upon investigation they found 40,000 pounds of cocaine in that shipment. wow, that's a big one. >> that is a big one. >>> used car sales are booming as new cars get too expensive for some people. the average cost of a new car is $36,848. buyers have shifted to more expensive suvs and trucks. buyers are finding more low mileage vehicles available that are only a few years old. >>> the san diego union tribune reports that the game of scrabble has officially added 300 words including ok and ew. it was released today. other words eligible for play include yowza, emoji and zem. >>> a revealing new documentary shows how the queen is preparing other royals like harry and meghan to follow her example. han ahan to

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionr an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. many people living with diabetes monitor their blood glucose every day. which means they have to stop. and stick their fingers. repeatedly. today, life-changing technology from abbott makes it possible to track glucose levels. without drawing a drop of blood, again and again. the most personal technology, is technology with the power to change your life. life. to the fullest. . welcome back. this sunday the cnn original series "this is life" with lisa ling returns for an all new season. in the premier episode, ling takes us to the front line of the battles of ms-13, one of the post-feared street gangs in the country. here's a preview. >> reporter: inside this suburban strip mall is there there you go

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionug benefits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >> will she or won't she? the woman is accusing brett kavanaugh of sexual assault grappling with the decision of whether to testify to congress. her lawyer said she is dealing with death threats that are so serious and frequent, she has been forced to leave her home. her neighbors started a go fund me page to pay for her and her family's security. joining us from palo alto university where she teaches. any sign of professor fort as we await whether or not she will be testifying? >> no sign of her since sunday when she was identified by name in the "washington post" story. her lawyer said she had to move out of her house in palo alto because she and her family members received death

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptiondable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. at fidelity, our online u.s. equity trades are just $4.95. so no matter what you trade, or where you trade, you'll only pay $4.95. fidelity. open an account today. >>> shannon and anna, we wrap up with what our sources are telling us. you can check your phone. we're flexible. you are both working on midterm storys? >> right. trump is going to be traveling two or three trips a week between now and november. my sources are saying to look at a change in the mood of the white house. when the president is gone it's less chaotic, and he likes to be on the road so it emboldens him. >> basically over the weekend i started to hear a lot more from republican operatives that they are very concerned about the senate right

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionrug benefits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. hi i'm joan lunden. today's senior living communities have never been better, with amazing amenities like movie theaters, exercise rooms and swimming pools, public cafes, bars and bistros even pet care services. and there's never been an easier way to get great advice. a place for mom is a free service that pairs you with a local advisor to help you sort through your options and find a perfect place. a place for mom. you know your family we know senior living. together we'll make the right choice. >>> a clear strategy emerging and confronting assault allegations against the supreme court nominee, brett kavanaugh. the administration has a delicate goal. fortify his public image wit

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptiondable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >>> okay, you are watching the president here, he is in new bern, north carolina, as he is getting a better sense of the damage that florence has left behind. he has just visited a church that's giving aid to victims. there was significant, significant flooding early on in this town, on the coast, the city, actually, more than 300 years old. it was a colonial capita of north carolina. you saw reporting from new bern as the area was inundated for hours, the days on end. let's listen in for a moment. >> how many? >> go sign up at the front door and we'll get you signed up, okay? >> he's checking in with the recipients and asking if they needed anything. he's there with a number of officials there to assess the d

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescription drug benefits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >>> the worst is still to come. that's the message from officials right now in the carolinas today, with rising rivers and catastrophic floods, a very, very dangerous threat still. the remnants of hurricane florence are now moving through virginia, but still, drenching the carolinas in misery. the storm has been blamed for at least 19 deaths. ait's knocked out power to more than half a million customers and it's turned some cities into just islands. flooding has essentially cut off the city of wilmington, north carolina, right now. and that is where cnn's kaylee hartung is at the moment. what's the latest you're seeing and hearing from folks? >> there's no way in or out of wilmi

including including food assistance or housing vouchers or received discounted prescription drugs through medicare part d. the national immigraration law center slammed the proposed rule change saying it would rig the nation's immigration system so green cards would only go to the highest bidder. the group said -- "this is a regulatory backdoor approach to separate more families." the mayor of los angeles eric garcetti vowed to fight the rule change saying -- "hundreds of thousands of our neighbors may be unable to see their doctors, keep a roof over their heads, or afford a trip to the grocery store if they wish to remain in t the united d sta. that is simply wrong and un-american." "the new york times" is reporting deputy attorney general rod rosenstein suggested last year that he secretly record president trump in the white house to expose the turmoil insidede the administration following trump's firing of fbi director james comey. "the times" also reports rosenstein discussed recruiting cabinet memembers to invoke the 25th amendment to remove trump from office for being unfit. rosenstein, who oversee

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionl for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >> let me give you a step-by-step in the breaking news we were notified a short time ago from john kennedy who says there has been an agreement on how to move forward with this investigation remember, the agreement was for the fbi to do a very short-term investigation. but we were also just informed by our white house producer jake gibb son who said that the fbi so far has not been asked to do this investigation. let's bring in steven mull roy a former federal prosecutor for the justice department's civil rights division and constitutional law professor at the university of memphis. break this down for us. the fbi has not been notified. and in their letter, the fbi was asked if they could get thi

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionug benefits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >>> high school classmates are rallying behind the woman accuse canning brett kavanaugh of sexual assault 30 years ago, and even though they don't have any details of the incident. and one of them joins me now. and tell me about the woman that you know and her credibility and the seriousness and how political she is or isn't. >> well, christine is a very serious person in terms of her intellectual pursuits. she has proven that through her success as a professor and colleague. she is a biostatistician, and someone who has devoted her entire career to accuracy and data and facts. >> do you know anything about brett kavanaugh or mark judge the other boy allegedly in the room when this

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescription drug benefits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. ♪ hawaii is in the middle of the pacific ocean. we're the most isolated population on the planet. ♪ hawaii is the first state in the u.s. to have 100% renewable energy goal. we're a very small electric utility. but, if we don't make this move we're going to have changes in our environment, and have a negative impact to hawaii's economy. ♪ verizon provided us a solution using smart sensors on their network that lets us collect near real time data on our power grid. (colton) this technology is helping us integrate rooftop solar, which is a very important element of getting us to our renewable energy goals. ♪ (shelee) if we can create our own energy, we can take care of this beauti

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionfits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >>> the breaking news now, cmn can report that the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein is expecting to be fired by president trump. a source telling cnn's laura jarrett here, the deputy attorney general, long enough fire from the president, that coming to a tee in the last several days when it was reported, including by c dmrxnn discussed wearing a wire. even invoking the 25th amendment to remove him. laura is joining us. what are you hearing? >> so far, all we know is the deputy attorney general, rod rosenstein, is expected to be fired today. this comes on the heels of that explosive report about the deputy attorney general musing about wearing a wire on the president and musing about

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescription drug benefits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. ♪ traders -- they're always looking for advantages. the smart ones look to fidelity to find them. we give you research and data-visualization tools to help identify potential opportunities. so, you can do it this way... or get everything you need to help capture investment ideas and make smarter trading decisions with fidelity for just $4.95 per online u.s. equity trade. fidelity. open an account today. ♪ >>> welcome back to "velshi & ruhle." president trump is again, viciously attacking his own attorney general jeff sessions. in an interview with the hill on tuesday, he said, quote, i don't have an attorney general. it's very sad. >> the president's been criticizing sessions ev

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptions. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. ♪ hungry eyes ♪ one look at you and i can't disguise ♪ ♪ i've got hungry eyes applebee's new 3-course meal starting at $11.99. now that's eatin' good in the neighborhood. >>> that will do it for the 3:00 p.m. hour. again, i know it's weird. i'm not ali velshi. i'm katy tur. ali had to run to catch a last-minute flight. he's going to be in wilmington, north carolina, tomorrow. please do join him and all of us at msnbc as we follow this zo . storm. in the meantime, "deadline white house with nicolle wallace" starts right now. >>> hi, everyone. it's 4:00 in washington. donald trump is facing two monumental tests as his presidency is racked with the crisis of confidence from within. some of the

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionl for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >>> okay. kasie is with me. thank you for helping me out. we're going to be doing the same thing tomorrow. i want to clear up a couple things. >> okay. >> a few people tweeted me about an audio issue. they've been hearing something. it's cicadas. we're not hearing them right now but it's very quiet right now. this is the literal calm before the storm but they've been our third co-anchor during the whole thing. >> they are very loud. cicadas are very loud. >> yeah, very loud. more important than that, we've had a number of people asking me why i'm wearing a flannel shirt. it's not flannel. it's cotton gauze. it's very, very thin. i guess it looks hot. it's making people around me feel hot. but it'

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptionbenefits. all for an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. [vo] now you can fly southwest one-way for just 69 dollars for your fall travel. and if you think these sale fares are low, you should see what we charge you for two checked bags. low fares. no hidden fees. that's transfarency. [clap clap ding] >>> finally, i can say. i choose to go to the moon. >> that is japanese billn yon their yusaku mazeawa who is paraphrasing president kennedy's famous words, but now let's look at who this guy is. the 42-year-old is worth $2.9 billion according to forbes which ranks him japan's 15th richest person. he is the founder of the largest online fashion retailer and think of it as cross of amazon and macy's, and the shopping site success allowed him to

medicare supplement plan options to fit your needs. and learn how this type of plan works together with a part d prescription drug plan. else good to know. with a medicare supplement plan, you have freedom. freedom to go with any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. you're not restricted to a network. ever. and if you need to visit a specialist, you'll have a choice there, too. your coverage goes with you, too, anywhere you travel in the country. we have grandkids out of state. they love our long visits. not sure about their parents, though. call unitedhealthcare now to learn more and ask for your free decision guide. want to apply? go ahead, apply. anytime's a good time. remember, the #1 important thing, medicare doesn't pay for everything. a med supp plan could help pay some of what's left. and this is the only plan of its kind endorsed by aarp. that's the icing on the cake... i love cake. finding the right aarp medicare supplement plan for you could be just a quick call away. so...call. a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! >>> the l

medicare supplement plan options to fit your needs. and learn how this type of plan works together with a part d prescription drug plan. to know. with a medicare supplement plan, you have freedom. freedom to go with any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. you're not restricted to a network. ever. and if you need to visit a specialist, you'll have a choice there, too. your coverage goes with you, too, anywhere you travel in the country. we have grandkids out of state. they love our long visits. not sure about their parents, though. call unitedhealthcare now to learn more and ask for your free decision guide. want to apply? go ahead, apply. anytime's a good time. remember, the #1 important thing, medicare doesn't pay for everything. a med supp plan could help pay some of what's left. and this is the only plan of its kind endorsed by aarp. that's the icing on the cake... i love cake. finding the right aarp medicare supplement plan for you could be just a quick call away. so...call. >>> president trump appreciates north korea's decision to leave its long-range missiles out of the country's 70th anniversary pa

medicare part d, and the fact that we have not pulled the trigger yet on part of that. i put that trigger in there. i was really worried. wyoming only had two people providing any medical prescription insurance. i was afraid that when we went to this medicare part d, that we would lose both of those. i thought there ought to be some alternative to go in there. my mom was one of the people that was eligible for it. i did ask her if she was going to need help on figuring out her prescription costs, and she said that she could use help. i don't know if you remember the books that came out were about this thick for all of the seniors to look through to see if they qualify. i tried out every mechanism that there was for making the selection though that i could possibly help try the systems. the reason that book is so thick is because, we have competition. this was virtual pricing done on that. anyone who put the prescriptions in, could see what each of the companies would provide on that. my question is, are there things that transparency could help solve some of those problems? >> one of the issues that has been successfully addressed is the ship program with the initiative. sometimes,

medicare part d plans. carla is living with metastatic breast cancer, which is breast cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. she's also taking prescriptiontase inhibitor, which is for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive her2- metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. common side effects include low red blood cell and low platelet counts, infections, tiredness, nausea, sore mouth, abnormalities in liver blood tests, diarrhea, hair thinning or loss, vomiting, rash, and loss of appetite. carla calls it her new normal because a lot has changed, but a lot hasn't. ask your doctor about ibrance. the #1 prescribed fda-approved oral combination treatment for hr+/her2- mbc. i love you, basement bathroom of soli

medicare part d. the fact that we have not pulled the trigger. their.he trigger in people are providing medical prescriptionand insurance. we wentaid that, when to this part d, we might lose both of those. i thought there might be some alternative to go in there. my mom was one of those people who was eligible. so i asked her if she would need any help on figuring out her prescription. she said she could use a little bit of help, i don't know if you remember the books about that. i tried out every mechanism that there was. so that i could maybe try these systems. the reason that book is so thick is because we have got a competition. it was a virtual pricing that was done. anybody who put their prescriptions and could see what each of the different companies would provide on that. therequestion is, are some other things that transparency could help solve some of the world problems? -- rural problems? issues that has been adddressed is the program with the senior health initiative program. but the navigators we have in volunteers.y are the money i sused to train those people to help seniors. i often refer peo

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescriptione monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. >> will finally, we are going to kick off our book to her this weekend. we are going to be added bookends. >> is that allowed? a preemptive sale smirk >> stop by, stay high, shake my hand, and we will find your book. >> "the happy cookbook." go by my canal. >> bill: good morning everyone everyone. we are back at it again. 30 minutes away from a key vote on supreme court judge brett kavanaugh. i am bill hemmer. ascender is off today. where have you been? >> we have been all through the same thing. what an incredible week. good morning to you, i am martha maccallum. it's good to be here with you. really incredible. and we are going to see more about this morning. dr. christine blasey ford, her allegations against a

prescription drug coverage isn't included. but, with an all-in-one humana medicare advantage plan, you could get all that coverage plus part d prescription an affordable monthly plan premium, and in some areas, no plan premium. it's all described in this free book. call for yours, and discover how an all-in-one medicare advantage plan from humana could save you money. there is no obligation and the book is free. call or go online right now. nothing says fall like a homecoming football game, so let's promote our fall travel deal on choicehotels.com like this. touchdown. earn a free night when you stay just twice this fall. or, badda book. badda boom. book now at choicehotels.com >> brett kavanaugh is looking for a seat on the supreme court, that he will have for the rest of his life. if he's going to have that seat legitimately, all of these things that should be investigated because from what i experience, i don't think he belongs on the supreme court. and i just want the facts to come out. and i want it to be just, and i want the american people to how those facts and a judge for themselves. >> bret: that is julie swetnick. she is the l

medicare part "d." >> the purpose of the hearing was medicaid fraud, but lawmakers also asked about prescription drug prices, opioid abuse and other issues their constituents are dealing with. you can see the entire senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee hearing on medicare and medicaid issues tonight starting at 8:00 eastern. here on c-span3. >>> tonight on "the communicators," a roundtable discussion on social media regulation and censorship with tech freedom president berin szoka and herald fell. >> we can have a debate about what twitter can do. i want to emphasize it's not a political question, not a question of policy, what the government's role should be. we can have an ethical debate about that like we can have ethical debates. i would be upset if that happens. i don't think that's going to happen. twitter and facebook have been very reluctant, especially twit e when they take down users. it's been extreme examples like alex jones. the fact i keep bringing up the president, the fact he's continued to allowed to use the platform just illustrates how much twitter has erred

an incomplete view of the opioid risk and color -- in medicare part d, because it does not require the plan sponsors to report on the prescription waste fraud or abuse in this area. as a result, ems quote is unable to determine whether it is related oversight effort are affected should be adjusted. senator robert portman and i reached the same conclusion and report released in 2016, which found mandatory reporting of waste fraud and abuse could in fact help the ms monitor plan sponsors. i asked ken brandt also in april of this year at the finance committee about the lack of reporting. she stated the quote was exploring making that mandatory. i prompted her to issue a rule of reporting fraud and abuse as soon as possible, because this is much bigger than taxpayer dollars. this is about saving lives. we had 644 people in my state to digest in 2016. i personally watched my mother get addicted to opioids at the end of her life, through the medicare part d program. i had to inject myself into her myriad of doctors to make sure everyone understood that much of the pain she was complaining about was the pain of withdrawal. what progres

medicare part d. >> the purpose of the hearing was medicaid fraud, but lawmakers also asked about prescription drug prices, opioid abuse, and other issues their constituents are dealing with. you can see the entire senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee hearing on medicare and medicaid issues tonight starting at 8:00 eastern here on c-span3. >>> tonight on the communicators, a round-table discussion on social media regulation and censorship with tech freedom president and public knowledge senior vice president harold feld. >> we can have a debate about what twitter should do. i just want to emphasize, it's not a political question. it's not a question of policy or what the government's role should be. we can have an ethical debate about that just like we can have ethical debates about how we behave towards each other. perfectly valid conversation. i would certainly be upset if that happened. i don't think that's going to happen. twitter and facebook have been very reluctant, especially twitter, to take down users. when they've taken people down, it's been extreme examples like

medicare part d and the fact we haven't pulled the trigger yet on part of that. i put the trigger in there. i was really worried, wyoming on it the people that were providing even medical, any prescription insurance, and i was afraid that when went to this part d that we might lose both of those. so i thought there ought to be some alternatives to go in there. my mom was one of the people that was eligible for it, and so i asked her if, you know, she's going to need any help in figure after prescription d or not. she said that she could use a little bit of help. i don't know if a member of the came out were about that thick with really thin pages or the seniors to look through to see if they could qualify. so i tried every mechanism that there was for making the selection so that i could maybe also try these systems, but find out how they work. the reason that book is so thick is because we've got competition. it was kind of virtual pricing. anybody who could put their prescriptions and could see what each of the different companies would provide on that. so my question is, are there some other things that transparency could help solve some of the row problems? >> -- rural problems. >>

prescription drug prices. earlier this year, i released a report, and i hope you've read it, administrator, that shows the average price of the 20 most popular brand name medicare part d program have risen ten times the rate of inflation for five years running. and last month, i released a second report showing that if the federal government could negotiate directly on prices for these drugs, like they do in every other country, except the good old united states of america, where the american people are being asked to provide all the profits to these companies, the taxpayers could save up to $2.8 billion a year. secondly, we can stop the overprescription of opioids. for too long, opioid manufacturers have used illegal marketing and sales techniques to expand their market share and increase dependency on powerful and often deadly painkillers. we need to do more to ensure the perpetrators of opioid addiction crisis are held accountable. i would like us to revisit the dea's ability to hold distributors accountable and stop the shipments that are outside the bounds of reasonable before they occur. so, we're not sending thousands and thousands of pills to a community that