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American Morning
Awaiting Passing of Health Care Bill; Sean Goldman back with Dad; Sean Goldman Back with His Dad; Police Investigating Standoff
Aired December 24, 2009 - 05:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. A historic day at the nation's capital. An expanse of health care reform bill about to be signed in just an hour on this Christmas Eve morning.
And good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello, in for Kiran Chetry today.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rob Marciano, in for John Roberts. You want to start with your poem? Come on -- she's been working on this poem. It's Christmas Eve.
COSTELLO: Exactly. I've been working on this poem about the Senate convening to, you know, vote on health care reform. I only had two minutes to write it, this is as far as I got. "Twas the day before Christmas, and all through Washington, creatures were stirring." That's about as far as I got.
Creatures are stirring in the Capitol.
MARCIANO: Many would call them creatures for sure, and they're definitely stirring about, trying to get this health care reform bill passed, and that's going to happen probably in the next hour. And we're going to bring it to you live.
COSTELLO: Absolutely, at 6:45 the Senate officially convenes. We have a beautiful shot of the Capitol we can show people? We're getting it. There it is. Things are happening there, Rob.
MARCIANO: Hoping to get a live shot of the north pole as well because I'm told Santa and his little elves are stirring as well trying to get ready for tonight.
COSTELLO: And many Republicans would be saying that Santa is bringing much better gifts than the Democrats today. Anyway, 6:45, the Senate will convene 7:00 a.m. Eastern time. They'll vote on this health care reform bill and then the real business really starts in January. But we're going to cover all that for you, so stay right here with "American Morning."
MARCIANO: Thank you for starting your Christmas eve with us. Here are the top stories that we're working on, and I'm going to bring them to you in the next 15 minutes. Health care, well it's on the verge. Bleary-eyed lawmakers are heading to Capitol Hill right now to vote on the Senate's version of the bill. The president will be speaking about it before he leaves town this morning, and we'll be covering the latest developments all morning long. >
COSTELLO: Plus the father at the center of an international custody battle is now reunited with his son. What a Christmas gift. A judge in Brazil ordered 9-year-old Sean Goldman to be returned to his father. They've been apart more than five years. We'll have the latest on this emotional reunion. That's coming right up.>
And big stars giving back in a big way. This morning, Martha Stewart talks to Alina Cho about the project that closes to her heart. It's scene you're only see here on "American Morning."
And happening right now, take another live look at Capitol Hill. Senators arriving bright and early on this Christmas eve hoping to put a bow on their version of health care reform. They'll cast the final vote on this bill in exactly one hour. It won't take long, either. Democrats calling it a historic moment. Republicans say it's an historic mistake.
Yes, and it's easy sometimes you get caught up in all the politics for sure, but let's not forget how this all affects you. Democrats claim the bill will improve the nation's health care by making insurance available to 31 million Americans who don't have it right now, and it will make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage for preexisting conditions. They also claim it will improve the economy by reducing the deficit $130 billion over 10 years.
Got all that? No one else has this story covered like we do this morning. Jessica Yellin standing by on Capitol Hill. Kate Bolduan live in Washington too. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is digging through that 2,000-page bill, and Gloria Borger and David Gergen are here to put this all in political and historic perspective.
First, let's go to Jessica Yellin, she's live for us this morning on the Hill. Jessica, set the scene for us there. Senators have been grinding away all week long, and then this vote was moved up an hour to 7:00 a.m. Eastern. So what's the mood like on the Hill this morning?
JESSICA YELLIN, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There's elation among the Democrats, frustration among Republicans. The one thing that crosses partisan lines is exhaustion, Carol.
Members have been negotiating, or have been holding continuous debate for three weeks. There have been more than 800 floor speeches on this. They have wrangled this every way they could see. Republicans threw up every conceivable road block they could come up with yesterday, but failed to stop this new Senate bill, which is moving on the clear path to passage by 8:00 a.m. this morning.
Now, yesterday there was all this discussion initially that this vote would happen at 8:00 a.m., as you pointed out, instead it's at 7:00. When the leader Harry Reid announced that it would be one hour earlier and Senators would have to wake up earlier, one member let out an audible gasp on the floor, a sigh went around the room. They even asked Republicans, would you please let us hold it tonight, meaning last night, just to get it done. Republicans said no way.
It's just shows, it's a measure of the acrimony, the partisan acrimony that these two sides are feeling over this bill that Republicans could not agree to let this vote happen the day before Christmas eve just to let everyone go home.
Carol, let me give you a quick look though at some of the highlights of what is in this bill. I know Rob touched on it, but just because there are so many bills that have been discussed, the Senate bill that will be voted on today does not include a public option. There are not for profit private plans run by a government agency that would allow people who couldn't get insurance in other ways, preexisting conditions, et cetera, to get insurance through this pool.
There would be new regulations on insurance companies to limit the kinds of people they can deny. Overall, you would find a mandate for most people to buy coverage, and then government help if you can't afford it. Those are just some of the highlights of the version of the bill that will be voted on shortly, Carol.
COSTELLO: And, of course, just because the Senate is voting on this bill, doesn't mean it's over, does it? What happens after they vote and what happens into January?
YELLIN: Yes, this is the beginning of the final stretch. But what has to happen is you have these two very different versions of the bill, one, the House version and then the Senate version, and you have to find a way to meld them. So folks will go home after this vote today presuming everything goes as expected and it passes.
And then in about a week's time, staff will come back and try to start merging the two bills. About 70 percent can be merged by staff, but then that remaining 30 percent is the huge outstanding issues. Let's look at some of the big differences. The House and the Senate deal with abortion language. Abortion restrictions in very different ways.
They have different kinds of ways to pay for the health care coverage that -- expansion. And then the big question is a government-run health care option. The big dynamic at play is, will the House be forced to accept most of what's in the Senate bill? Already yesterday some leadership was privately saying they know they're going to have to give up a public option. That will upset liberals. But on abortion, how to pay for it, those will be huge fights going forward, Carol.
COSTELLO: Wow, Jessica Yellin, you're going to stay with us through the morning, aren't you? Because --
YELLIN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because the excitement will really happen at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Actually 15 minutes later when the vote is all done, and you see the senators running from the Senate chambers to taxis that's will take them to airports and take them home. That's one of the reasons they're voting so early on this Christmas eve, so they can beat the weather and some of them can get home out west.
Of course, we will have the play by play of all of today's events from the Hill to the White House. The Senate convenes at 6:45 Eastern, voting begins at 7:00 sharp a.m. Eastern so that Democrats will speak at 8:00 then and the president will make a statement live at 8:45 eastern right before he leaves for his family holiday in Hawaii.
Still not clear what that public option is? Still not clear what's in the bill for you? We'll also have answers and all the latest headlines. If you want more information head to cnn.com/health care. >
MARCIANO: And with lawmakers scurrying out after they make their vote, we got to wondering this Christmas eve morning, you know, who has the longest and shortest commute back home for the holidays? Senator Lisa Murkowski has the longest commute, 12 hours back to Alaska by plane, but longer if you walk. Virginia Senator Mark Warner has a shortest trip for just a 30-minute drive away.
COSTELLO: Lucky him, so let's check in with Reynolds Wolf, shall we? To see if any of them will be delayed in Washington even though the vote is taking place at such an early hour. Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. I think D.C. is going to be OK, same sure for much of the eastern seaboard. The place where we're going to have some problems are really going to be in parts of the central and southern plains.
Right now we have a tornado watch that is in effect for parts of Louisiana and Texas that will be in effect until 1:00 Central time. Also that's going to spill in over into portions of Arkansas and in the Mississippi. Now as we speak, we have a couple of tornado warnings that are in effect. You see them shaded in these areas in orange, right along apartments of the i-20 corridor north of Simmsboro.
Also southward north of (inaudible) that tornado warning in effect there. Nothing in terms of visual confirmation, but we do have rotation picked up by Doppler radar. What we do anticipate is to see this spread out possibly, all parts of the southeast from the Florida Panhandle back up to the mid-Mississippi Valley. But at the top of the system, could bring snowfall, also, guys expect that chance of snow in parts of Dallas, some of the suburbs could see 4 inches of snowfall, downtown area about 1 to 2. So winter-like scenario expected for the Dallas Fortworth area.
That is the latest, it should be a busy morning weather wise. We'll keep you posted on the latest. Back to you guys.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Reynolds.
MARCIANO: Also new this morning, 9-year-old Sean Goldman reunited with his father David, it happened just moments ago. We've got the fresh tape in from the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro. All legal processes have been resolved and Sean will return to the United States. The two have been apart for more than five years.
COSTELLO: A suspect in custody this morning after a standoff at a small town Virginia Post Office. State police say the suspect claimed to be a veteran and demanded a talk with the FBI and a bomb tech expert. He was holding three people hostage. They were safely released after being held for hours.
MARCIANO: And a judge in Colorado sentencing the parents of the so-called balloon boy to jail time for the infamous balloon hoax back in October. Richard Henne got 90 days behind bars and four years probation. His wife, Mayumi, received a 20-day sentence. The Hennes will get to spend the holidays with their kids.
COSTELLO: And a group of Italian-American lawmakers in New Jersey are asking MTV to pull the controversial reality show "Jersey Shore" off the air. The show grabbed headlines after video of a man hitting one of show's female stars in the face went viral. The state lawmakers say the show promotes negative stereotypes and they're asking sponsors to boycott the show. So they want the guidos and guidettes gone.
MARCIANO: This Italian-based reality show is not being thrown off the air, at least hopefully not in the next hour and a half.
COSTELLO: If so, we'll give you have the evil eye. We're less than an hour away from the Senate's big vote on the health care bill. Kate Bolduan live in Washington, we'll have a look at all of the lobbying that's got into this bill including some that may surprise you. How about the religious lobbying?
MARCIANO: They're into it, too?
COSTELLO: Everybody has their fingers in the pie. How faith- based groups have a growing role on Capitol Hill. It's nine minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: It is 12 minutes after the hour, and that means it's time for an "AM Original," something you'll only see right here on "American Morning."
Take a look at this. So far this year, lobbyists in Washington have spent nearly $400 million trying to sway Congress on health care reform. Sound like a lot? That's out of $2.5 billion spent overall. Out of the 15,000 lobbying groups and thousands of individual lobbyists, one bloc is growing at a surprising pace, following their faith from the church to Capitol Hill. Here's Kate Bolduan with an "am" original.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SISTER MARGE CLARK, LOBBYIST: So I think at some point we do need to kind of go through question by question.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sister Marge Clark has been a nun for more than 46 years. She's also a registered lobbyist working blocks from Capitol Hill.
CLARK: I think we're always looking through a faith lens. We're always looking at it from the cry of the poor.
BOLDUAN: Her firm network considers itself a catholic social justice advocate, lobbying on issues and legislation ranging from immigration to health care, fair pay, even the f-22 fighter jet program. Why is it important to you to take your advocacy out of the church and on to Capitol Hill?
CLARK: Because the church can't change the systems. It's -- it's law that has to be changed.
BOLDUAN: Sister Marge is far from unique. Political and religious experts say there has been a surge in religious lobbying in recent years, including Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim groups.
ALLEN HERTZKE, POLITICAL PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: If you belong to a church, synagogue, temple or mosque, chances are your denomination or faith has a Washington office. It has become that broad.
BOLDUAN: Alan Hertzke is the author of a soon to be released few study on religious advocacy. He estimates the religious lobby is a multi-million dollar enterprise with more than official and unofficial groups vying for influence in Washington.
While the scope of religious lobbying may be modest compared to the entire lobbying industry, those who study money and politics add it's very difficult to measure the muscle of faith. And skeptics say that is a problem. What they see as undue influence these groups wield, even as some maintain tax exempt status.
BARRY LYNN, AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: I'm not saying people don't have the right to make moral arguments to Congress, but Congress has to make its decisions not based on pressure from any church, but on the basis of the constitutional values of all of us.
BOLDUAN: So is the line separating church and state beginning to blur? Sister Marge says not at all.
CLARK: Jesus was a political activist and He was trying to change unjust systems, and I think that's one of the ties for being a lobbyist.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Now, religious advocacy experts say rather than a legal issue, it's more a question of accepted standards. Where should faith-based organizations draw the line? Well, a few study suggests the American public's view, at least, may be shifting.
Take a look here. In 1996, 52 percent - I'm sorry. In 1996, 54 percent said houses of worship should express their political views. In 2008, 52 percent said they should stay out of it - Rob?
MARCIANO: Kate Bolduan for us, live this morning. Thanks, Kate.
Well, coming up tonight, are Americans putting their money where their faith is? Don't miss our own Christine Romans hosting a special hour, exploring the crossroads between how we worship and how we spend. "In God We Trust: Faith and Money in America" airs tonight at 6:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
COSTELLO: Speaking of money - and we always are these days. Yes, I wish. I wish I had some to give, but I'm busted.
But the banks aren't any more because they're paying back those bailout funds, and what's in it for you and me? What did we get for helping bail them out? What's the back story?
Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 19 minutes past the hour, and you know what that means. You do know what that means?
MARCIANO: It's time for Christine Romans and "Minding Your Business." She's having a hard time minding her children, telling us during the break. That's after cooking (ph) cookies.
COSTELLO: She made these Christmas cookie...
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I made this Christmas - sugar cookies, beautiful icing. I arranged them beautifully. I interviewed Martha Stewart and - and asked her for her recipe, all the stuff. They looked lovely.
Went to the Christmas program, and I looked - opened the box and the icing was licked off. Still perfectly arranged, but all the icing licked off.
COSTELLO: Now, the worst part is she let other children eat them.
ROMANS: Well, I couldn't stop the other kids...
MARCIANO: How could you do that?
ROMANS: It's like holding back the hordes. They were, like, reaching for these cookies and I'm looking, realizing that my son had licked off all the icing.
MARCIANO: Your days in the PTA are over.
ROMANS: I know. And the Health Department is now going to call. Thanks, Rob, for airing my dirty cookie laundry.
MARCIANO: All in the Christmas spirit. (INAUDIBLE) any cookies here. COSTELLO: Now, let's talk about something happier, like bailouts.
ROMANS: OK, great. Some Christmas spirit! How about a big - a big wire to the federal - to the Treasury, tons of money - of your money, back in the Treasury's coffers just in time for Christmas. The bank bailout, big paybacks for a couple of the banks.
Citigroup paying back now $20 billion. We knew that they wanted to. They've been negotiating the details with the Treasury to make sure that they were healthy enough, frankly, to do it. Wells Fargo also wiring in $25 billion. And the Treasury tells me - it is a wire transfer, in case you're wondering. Is it - is it bags of - of money? No. Is it a check? No. You know, is it...
COSTELLO: It's a wire transfer.
ROMANS: It's an actual wire transfer, and they have all these people, worker bees there, to make sure that the money is coming in to the right place.
The repayments now total $164 billion from what's called the Capital Purchase Program. So today the biggest - four biggest US banks have now paid back in full.
Why are they paying back in full? They want out from underneath the government's thumb. They do not want to be beholden to pay restrictions. And now Citigroup is no longer beholden for pay restrictions. And management - for management, it's been a big distraction, a public relations nightmare. They just want out from under.
There are still some other banks that are - that are still, frankly, you know, in our pocket. But these two big ones now are out, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
MARCIANO: What's the - the number? The "Romans' Numeral" for today?
ROMANS: The "Numero Romano," I guess, right? It's the...
MARCIANO: Oh! The (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: "Numero Romano." We could do it in different language (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: It's in honor of two Italians, I would say.
ROMANS: Yes, exactly. There you go.
MARCIANO: Gracie.
ROMANS: It's - it's $16 billion, and this has been such a politically-charged program from the very beginning. We're going to lose money on the overall TARP because of AIG and some other things. But we're going to make some money on these bank - on these bank injections. So $16 billion so far is the taxpayer profit from these injections into the banks and some other places too. So - so taxpayers have received some profit back, about $16 billion.
COSTELLO: Sounds like such a small amount in comparison to the, you know, the big, huge dollar amounts that we - we throw around. But that's still good.
ROMANS: Yes. $16 billion is still $16 billion.
MARCIANO: Like my stock account. I give a lot, get a little bit back.
ROMANS: Isn't that the truth?
MARCIANO: Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
MARCIANO: All right. Well, coming up, she's the hostess with the mostess. A true diva of domesticity.
COSTELLO: Not Christine Romans - I'm sorry. (INAUDIBLE) to the cookie story.
ROMANS: There's still frosting on Martha's cookies, I'm sure.
MARCIANO: Martha Stewart is using her impeccable taste to make life better for others. Alina Cho brings us the next installment of our AM series "Big Stars, Big Giving."
It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 25 minutes past the hour. Top stories only five minutes away.
But first, an "AM Original," something you'll only see on AMERICAN MORNING. All this week, we're profiling celebrities who are giving back, not just now, during the holiday season, but all year long.
MARCIANO: And this morning, Alina Cho goes one-on-one with Martha Stewart. She's a one-woman empire - or empress - and one special project has a special place in her heart. Here's the latest installment of our series, "Big Stars, Big Giving."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTHA STEWART, FOUNDER, MARTHA STEWART CENTER FOR LIVING: Welcome to our show...
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Martha Stewart has built an empire on being the perfect hostess. STEWART: I love this seeded eucalyptus. It looks really pretty.
CHO: Her name is on just about everything. But she'll tell you this project means the most. The Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York.
STEWART: It's not the center for aging, it's not the center for - for preparing to die. It is the Center for Living.
CHO: An outpatient clinic for aging baby boomers where older Americans can come for medical care and age with grace. This Martha built it for Big Martha - her mother, who died two years ago at 93.
STEWART: She was fantastic. And mom had very, very few problems. But she had very good medical care. And I wanted to use her as an example for the rest of the population.
You know, there is something called the Silver Tsunami going on.
CHO: A tsunami all right - American baby boomers number 78 million, and the first of them will begin turning 65 in 2011, a segment of the population Stewart believes gets back burner treatment.
STEWART: The focus has been on youth and - and vibrancy.
CHO (on camera): Why is it so important to you?
STEWART: Well, I think I'm going to live for a very long time. I mean, I have it in my gene pool. I - I think that - and - and I don't want to be a burden.
CHO (voice-over): A key reason why the Center for Living is just that. There's yoga, dance, and because this is Martha Stewart, arts and crafts too.
The classes are free. Stewart donated $5 million and her expertise to build it.
CHO (on camera): You are famously particular.
STEWART: Thank you. I hope so.
CHO: How intimately involved were you in the planning, in the building, in the decor?
STEWART: Well, I helped - I helped actually choose the materials that were used in the center.
CHO (voice-over): That's for sure.
STEWART: The floors are a honed granite, which are just so nice. They are not slippery.
CHO: Good for people who are prone to falling. Handrails help too. So do the doors.
CHO (on camera): Something that regular people wouldn't think about, but you have to think about that.
STEWART: No. I mean, heavy, swinging doors that are so difficult. These just zip back.
CHO: It's very Martha Stewart, I must say.
STEWART: Well, it's - I think it's very beautiful.
CHO (voice-over): It was less than five years ago that Stewart emerged from prison after a five-month sentence for lying about a stock sale, leading some skeptics to say the Center for Living is less about charity and more about personal rehab - PR.
Her supporters say it's exactly the reverse and say this project is flying mostly under the public radar.
TINA BROWN, FOUNDER, THE DAILY BEAST: Frankly, at this moment in her life, she's been through such hell, she really does want to just focus on the things she cares about right now, and I think that's really one of them.
CHO (on camera): If Big Martha could see the center today and see how it's thriving, how...
STEWART: Oh, she'd be here. I know she would be a patient here and be very, very happy and thrilled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Yes, she would.
Martha Stewart hopes her center becomes a - a prototype, really, for other hospitals around the country. She believes that every American has a right to age gracefully, just like her mother.
And I asked her, you know, what was the most important thing in building this center for living? And she said, that it would last a good, long time.
So in the same way that she prepares a great meal or makes a great Christmas wreath, she wanted this to be something for the ages, and it certainly is. You can see it.
MARCIANO: And she wanted the doors to swing open easily. I mean, her attention to detail is unbelievable.
CHO: Oh it - it really is. I mean, what was astounding was she came into a conference room. I was waiting for the interview. She came into the conference room and she looked around and she said, "Alina, great to see you," and she looked at the wall and there was a little scuff on the wall and she said, "We'll have to repaint that."
MARCIANO: Fantastic.
CHO: That's why she's Martha Stewart.
MARCIANO: I just love this series. We'd wrap it up tomorrow.
CHO: Thank you.
MARCIANO: Who are you interviewing tomorrow?
CHO: That's right! Richard Branson. You know, he is a - a one- man empire as well. He's the man behind the mega brand Virgin. More than 200 companies under that Virgin umbrella. One of them that means a - a lot to him is Virgin Unite, his philanthropic arm.
Branson takes philanthropy very seriously. He really treats it like a business. So, his philosophy is identify a problem, get a good team to work on it and solve it.
We're going to show you his unique approach tomorrow morning, starting at 6:00.
COSTELLO: Can't wait. Thanks Alina.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Alina.
All right, it's coming up on half past the hour. A look at our top stories this morning.
Army Major Nidal Hasan, accused of killing 13 people in last month's Fort Hood massacre, reportedly asked a radical Muslim cleric if it was, quote, "OK to kill American soldiers." In an interview with Algezera, the cleric claims Major Hasan post the question in an e-mail almost a year before the shootings asking whether killing U.S. military personnel was legal under Islamic law.
COSTELLO: Convicted Ponzi scheme by Bernie Madoff is in a prison hospital this morning. Authorities aren't saying why he was transferred there last week. Officials denied previous reports that Madoff was diagnosed with cancer. This 71-year-old is serving a 150- year sentence for that massive Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of billions of dollars.
MARCIANO: And the little town of Bethlehem is bustling with pilgrims and tourists all gathered to celebrate the Christmas holiday. Some 15,000 visitors are expected at Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birth place of Jesus. Officials are predicting a better year for tourism.
COSTELLO: And as you well know, we're just half an hour away from the Senate health care vote. This is a huge campaign issue for President Obama. Here's a look at what he was saying before he took office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That means passing universal health care. Because people are being overburdened, and unions are having to spend all their time negotiating to keep health care benefits that they've already won instead of negotiating to improve their wages and benefits for the future. That's wrong, that's going to change, and we've got to have a system where every single American can get health care that is least as good as the health care I have as a member of Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: All right, our Chief Medical Correspondent, Sanjay Gupta is here to tell us how the bill stacks up against those campaign promises. So, Sanjay, will this bill cover all Americans?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's interesting to see how things have changed over the last 18 months. And the simple answer to that question is, no, we're not talking about universal coverage, so to speak. At least not the way it's traditionally defined, but more of something known as universal access, really trying to provide access to just about everybody.
The predictions, the estimates about how many people, of what percentage of people will be covered if these bills are merged and passed, about 94 percent So, you know, it's not universal coverage in the way many people sort of think about that. One of the things that -- one of the words that comes up a lot with regard to this is the idea of mandates.
The way to get there is to get people to buy healthcare insurance if they can, and if they can't, to give them some subsidies to help them do so. So that's really what we're talking here some financial penalties for the uninsured, requiring employers to provide coverage as well. Large employers to do so. A lot of them already do, but not all.
And the final thing is the idea of expanding Medicaid as well. Right now, you talk about people 65 and under, Medicare obviously applying to people 65 and older. But expanding to people who would qualify for Medicaid in that younger age group is also part of all this. As you might imagine, this has been a controversial issue.
It's gone back and forth for some time. But this idea of mandates is probably the real crux point here. You know, people who are opposed to that saying you can't force people to buy health care insurance, they have to want to do it. And the other side, the supporters of this saying the only way we're going to get to this 94 percent level or so is to require people to buy it and then help them if they can't. So that's really the friction point here in the whole thing.
COSTELLO: There's more than one friction point. We want to take another look at where the president campaign heavily for and then get your intake on that, Sanjay. So this is what the president said during the campaign about importing prescription drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Then we'll tell the pharmaceutical companies, thanks, but no thanks, for overpriced drugs. Drugs that cost twice as much here as they do in Europe and Canada and Mexico. We'll stop drug companies from blocking generic drugs that are just as effective and far less expensive. We'll allow the safe reimportation of low-cost drugs from countries like Canada.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, Sanjay, I don't think those promises came through.
GUPTA: I know where this is headed. You're right. That particular promise again, that was a big one. We talk about the overall cost of health care prescription drug costs have become an increasingly large percentage of that. Certainly back over the last 40 years, you know, since we developed Medicare and Medicaid.
It's interesting, if you look overall, this idea that you have drugs that are cheaper in other countries, you can import them and, thus, lower drug costs in this country, that's an idea they gained a lot of traction. But again to your point, it's simply not going to happen right now.
Once something that was promised, at least for the time being it is not part of the Senate bill. The FDA and the pharmaceutical industry is saying, look, are these drugs safe enough to be given to the citizens here? We're not sure of that, so for the time being, this reimportation it's not going to be allowed.
Look that had a lot of opposition as well. There were a lot of people in favor of lowering drug prices this way, including the AARP. Their constituents, large prescription drug users, they really wanted this particular part of the -- this, in the bill, to try to lower those drug costs.
They also pointed out something interesting to us when we were trying to dig into this a little deeper, saying since just over the last 12 months, since this debate has been going on, look at what has happened to drug costs overall. What they point to is that brand name drugs have gone up about 9 percent in cost, again over just the last 12 months. They think that equates to $20 billion, and generic drugs have gone down about 9 percent. So, you know, this idea of trying to lower prescription drug cost was a huge issue for them.
COSTELLO: The AARP spent $20 million to lobby lawmakers to get some of these things through and they failed on that part of the equation. So is there any plan in the Senate bill that would actually lower the cost of prescription drugs?
GUPTA: Well, you know, one thing is worth pointing out as we talked to the White House about this, and asked specifically about that. Because the president had been so clear on wanting this reimportation allowed, it's not in the bill so what's going to happen.
When we asked the White House, they say it eventually is going to happen. It's not part of the Senate bill, it's not going to be part of the merged bill that you guys have been talking about that will come out in January, but eventually it will happen. That's sort of their stance right now on this.
They also point to this idea that the exchanges, the public exchange that allow people to buy insurance and can allow insurance companies to compete for people's business, that will also offer prescription drug coverage, so that will help. One of the big things for seniors, again, going back to this discussion about the AARP, is something known as Part D of Medicare.
Without getting too far into it, there is something known as a donut hole, meaning you spend a certain amount of money on your prescription drugs and then you're not covered for a while until you spend more money. You're sort of going through the doughnut hole. They want to shrink that doughnut hole as well as part of this entire bill.
So those are three strategies, potentially, but again that reimportation promise that was made during the campaign and subsequent to that as well, that's not part of this bill.
COSTELLO: All right, Sanjay, you're going to stick around. We'll get back to you and we'll answer more questions from our viewers, actually. Also we'll look more into what the health care bill does and does not include, Sanjay will help us do that.
But what about the bottom line? How much will health care cost you under this new plan? Tom Foreman is breaking that down for us. Coming up, we'll have a look at cost per family, depending on how much you earn.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
A lot of Americans looking at the Capitol this morning, wondering just that, why can't we be friends? Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Forty minutes after the hour.
That live look, obviously because today is the day where they'll vote on the health care reform in the Senate, that vote just 20 minutes away. We doubt there will be a secret Santa after that. How much of that health care reform really change your lives? It all depends on how much you make. Tom Foreman breaks it down for us.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The simple equation is this. The less money you make the more this bill will help you. The more money you make, the more you will help pay for it. For simplicity's sake, I'll only talk about the version which has actually been approved, which is the House version, and we're talking about what happens three years from now when this would kick in.
So let's start by looking at those who would gain the most through an online calculator created by the University of California at Berkeley. It says a family of four making $35,000 a year with the oldest adult, 40 years old, if they purchased insurance through the proposed insurance exchange, or the government option as we call it.
They would get substantial government help, and they would pay annual premiums of about $1200. Their annual out of pocket maximum would be about $1500, pushing $1600 and then at the end, their total would be $2,781, that's how much they would pay in the course of a year. Same equation, family of four, same age, but this time let's double their money to $70,000. Now you see how the numbers go up. They're still getting a subsidy, but their premiums are now over $7,000. Their out of pocket maximum spending is also about that high. So their total bill for health care is now $14,000. That's a lot. Now, it's still much better than the $20,000 that would be expected to spend without reform as some experts estimate, but still, $14,000.
Same family, same age, let's give them $200,000. Both patients working, makes $100,000. Let's say they were eligible for government exchange, their premiums would go up to almost $10,000 a year. Their out-of-pocket expenses, almost $8,000 more, that would push it up to $18,000 overall. But, this is important to remember. There are some wildcards in this equation that could make all of these calculations pretty shaky.
For example, this idea of taxing these really hefty health care plans, or the Cadillac Plans, as they're called. Let's say you're a union worker and you have a great plan because your union negotiated for it. Well, you might be making $60,000 to $70,000 a year, but you want to pay more for your health care because you have this kind of plan. If you go with that, the senate wants to do it that way.
And your combined income, if there are two of you working in the house, if you push up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, you could be facing new taxes as well even though you might not see yourselves as really rich people. But even as we sort through all these vague ideas of what the bottom line maybe, bear in mind what we're saying earlier.
Many of the supporters of this and even some of the opponents say it would still be worse for almost everyone if insurance and medical care costs just keep going up. So even some people who don't like this solution still say there's a real danger out there that has to be addressed.
Still have questions?
COSTELLO: I'll bet you do.
MARCIANO: Me too. We've got plenty more answers. Just go to cnn.com/healthcare.
COSTELLO: It's 43 minutes past the hour. Reynolds Wolf will be here shortly. He'll have this morning's travel forecast that will happen after the break, and we are waiting for the Senate to convene. They convene in just one minute at 6:45 Eastern.
The first time they've convened on Christmas eve since 1963. Back then they were debating the Vietnam war on Capitol Hill. But you know what they're debating now, that health care -- actually not debating any more, it's just a formality. Democrats will get their 60 votes for health care reform that will happen at 7:00 a.m.
We'll be back, right after this break.
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COSTELLO: And welcome back to The Most News in the Morning.
A live look at Capitol Hill right now. You're looking into the Senate chambers right now. They're going through the formalities. The official session for voting will start at 7:00 Eastern time. The Vice President Joe Biden will be presiding over the vote. We understand that Senator Patrick Leahy is already -- well, he's not in the Senate chambers, but he's nearby. They're waiting to go in to cast their votes. Democrats need a simple majority to pass health care reform, but you can bet that they're going to get 60 votes, just for a show of strength.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: But just in case, the vice president is there to break the tie if it were to come down 50/50.
COSTELLO: I think that Senator Reid would be really, really upset if that had to happen. Anyway, they'll cast their votes at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. That probably will take about 15 minutes. There will be two speeches I understand, one from the minority leader Mitch McConnell and one from Senator Reid, the president of the Senate and then everybody will run from the chambers, jump into taxis and get to the airports to get home in time for Christmas.
MARCIANO: Because they want to greet their constituents at home.
COSTELLO: Of course. It has nothing to do with their families. Also at 8:45 a.m. Eastern, President Obama will say a few words and then he'll jump on a plane and take off for Hawaii.
MARCIANO: Aloha. Let's say aloha, I think we're going to Reynolds. Hey Reynolds, a lot of folks traveling, buddy. This storm looks nasty for different people, different things. What's happening?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: This morning's top stories just minutes away, including at the top of the hour, oh, that big vote begins. We're taking a look at a live picture right now and you're looking at Senator Harry Reid. He's giving his opening remarks before the official vote begins. The Senate poised to pass its version of health care reform and I believe Senator Reid is talking about being on the doorstep of history. We're live on Capitol Hill and standing by for any surprises.
MARCIANO: And its passage is all but certain. So at 8:00 Eastern, we're going to hear from Senate Democrats who are anticipating a victory lap for sure.
COSTELLO: And then at 8:45 Eastern, the man who wanted health care for Christmas, President Obama will make a statement on the Senate bill before he heads to Hawaii for the holidays. Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is 53 minutes past the hour. Normally at this time, Jeanne Moos would be entertaining us with one of her wonderful stories. But there's something historic going on.
MARCIANO: Yeah. We've got the health care bill likely to be passed today, at least the Senate version. That is certainly high on the president's wish list this Christmas, but he's got a long list of things that he wants to accomplish in his first -- four years, possibly beyond. Dan Lothian I believe is live for us in Washington, DC with a look at what might be next in 2010. Good morning, Dan.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, the president, still going to be working hard here at the White House to get that health care bill on to his desk and to sign. But you're right, they will be turning their attention to something much different. With the unemployment rate at about 10 percent right now, the president will be working very hard in the new year to create more jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN (voice-over): Even as the economy shows signs of stabilizing, high unemployment remains a major concern for the Obama administration.
OBAMA: I am entirely dissatisfied with where we are right now in terms of jobs and the fact that families out there on the eve of Christmas are still really worried about being able to pay the bills.
LOTHIAN: Top White House aides say the president plans a laser focus on the issue in early January working with Congress to get a jobs bill and to create a so-called cash for caulkers program, a home weatherization plan, aimed at saving energy and creating jobs. But the president, who recently met with the CEOs of big financial institutions and those from small and community banks, will also keep pressuring them to increase lending to small businesses, the life blood needed to spark new hiring.
JAMES MCPHEE, PRESIDENT, KALAMAZOO COUNTY STATE BANK: They know that the community banks of this nation did not create this train wreck. They know that we're common sense lenders and that we have traction going in the communities of this nation and we're working hard and he's very much in support of that.
LOTHIAN: All of this will be complicated. Republicans think spending your way out of an economic downturn will bankrupt the country and some liberal Democrats don't think the administration is spending enough. And there are political consequences. The pace of recovery could impact fellow Democrats in Congress worried about losing their jobs in next November's elections.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Democrats really need a rebounding economy, strong growth in jobs and a good salesmanship job I guess on the health care bill if it becomes law to convince voters to keep them in power.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: The president will be laying out his message of jobs and economic recovery before the American people in his state of the union address. Already White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that from the president right down to staff members, they've been busy working on that message, holding several meetings, including one just on Tuesday, Rob.
MARCIANO: Dan Lothian live for us, waiting for the president's remarks at 8:45 and I guess gassing up Air Force one and then heading off to Hawaii. Thanks Dan. We'll be back to you. That live coverage of his address at 8:45 later this morning, that's Eastern time, after the Senate's vote.
COSTELLO: I was a little distracted there. I was listening to what the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was saying on the floor of the Senate chambers.
MARCIANO: That he loves this thing? He's very happy? It's a great bill?
COSTELLO: I think not. Senate Reid in fact talking, but Mitch McConnell said just moments ago that he assures President Obama that the fight is not over. The public is truly outraged by this bill. They were told health care was going to be fixed. By what the Senate is passing, he said that's certainly not happening. We'll bring you more from the Senate chambers, because the vote is just about to happen in three minutes. It's 57 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Good morning, it's Thursday December 24th. Welcome back to this special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rob Marciano in today for John Roberts.
COSTELLO: And I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran Chetry. Of course there's breaking news right now. You're just about to look at a live picture on Capitol Hill, senators arriving bright and early on this Christmas eve, hoping to put a big bright red bow on their version of health care reform, at least the Democrats.
Here's a look inside the chamber. You can see Senator Harry Reid is talking about the health care reform package that's just about to be voted on by his fellow senators.
Just a short time ago, he said I know we're going to have to go home. We're going to hear an earful from our constituents, but he's going to try to sell the good in this bill. He also was quick to add that this is not the end result of health care reform.
This is just the beginning because of course the House and the Senate bill have to merge. And they'll come up with something sort of new, although people really expect this to reflect the Senate bill pretty much.
MARCIANO: And then after that, it could be years of tinkering with additional amendments until we evolve this plan into something...
COSTELLO: I think they'll vote on a final version of this bill sometime in February.
