Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

ALS Activist Delivers Powerful Speech; Insurers Reject Interruption Claims; Hundreds Test Positive amid Chaotic College Reopenings. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 19, 2020 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:31:54]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: A man who was diagnosed with ALS four years ago delivered one of the most poignant speeches at the Democratic Convention last night, though he was not able to use his own voice. Ady Barkan spoke with the help of a computer because of paralysis from the disease.

Here's a portion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADY BARKAN, ACTIVIST DIAGNOSED WITH ALS: Everyone living in America should get the health care they need, regardless of their employment status or ability to pay. Even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of people's health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I'm joined now by Ady's wife, Rachael King.

Rachael, it's great to have you here with us this morning. And what a powerful segment that was from your husband. I mean just the juxtaposition of seeing somebody physically debilitated, but mentally and spirit wise so strong that he wanted to speak about health care in this country and speak on behalf of Joe Biden. I mean just tell -- tell us a little bit about the process of making that moment.

RACHAEL KING, WIFE OF ACTIVIST ADY BARKAN: Well, I think, you know, that is what's so powerful about ALS in a lot of ways, that you become totally paralyzed and not even able to speak but, you know, your mind is perfectly the same as before. And so, you know, I think that Ady, almost ever since his diagnosis after, you know, the initial shock of it, has been trying to think about ways that he could use this terrible thing that happened to him and to our family to really make the kinds of connections that you saw last night. And so I think it was -- it was an emotional and a difficult moment in a lot of ways but also a really wonderful moment for him to be able to connect like that. CAMEROTA: Your husband has been devoting his time since being

diagnosed to talking about the health care system and how all Americans deserve health care.

And can you just share a little bit about what it's been like for your family to go through this health care crucible and to watch this debilitating disease take your husband from your young children.

KING: I think, you know, like so many Americans, we were, of course, aware of how broken our healthcare system is but it hadn't affected us personally before. And so I think, you know, even knowing what we knew, it has been shocking, you know, how difficult it is.

We have private health insurance. You know, we have supposedly good health insurance. And it's still been just a constant battle for four years. You know, they initially denied Ady's ventilator, which he, obviously, relies on to breathe. It's, you know, it's hours and hours on the phone every day. He now has 24 hour around the clock care, which usually it's covered by private insurance.

[08:35:03]

It's not covered by our insurance, although we've sort of now come to an agreement. But that as well we haven't yet received any payment for it. So that's tens of thousands of dollars a month for around the clock care.

You know, and if we didn't have that 24 hour care, we wouldn't have been able to have a second baby because I would be the one who was responsible for taking care of Ady 24 hours a day. So if you just think about the -- what -- what our health care system takes away from people, I think that is what we were -- we were really trying to convey with -- with the segment.

CAMEROTA: Well, I think you managed to do that. I mean the -- some of the video that we're watching is from a documentary that you've produced called "Not Going Quietly." And it's just -- you know, look, it's heart wrenching to -- to watch your husband have mobility and be this vibrant, young father to your -- your kids and then to watch his diagnosis. I mean the moment that he's diagnosed, that -- that -- that moment where he's in bed, you know, with the covers pulled up and say -- and he says, today I was diagnosed with ALS. And your kids are so little. Do they understand what -- what's happening?

KING: Yes, I mean, I -- you know, Ady always wanted to be an incredibly involved father. And even though, you know, I've seen parts of the documentary and I've seen the short clip that was shown last night several times, of course, every time I hear Ady's old voice and I see him tickling our son and playing with him, you know, it makes my breath catch.

I think, you know, our kids -- well, one of them is only nine months old, so she doesn't understand. But our four-year-old, he does understand to a certain extent. I think for him, in a lot of ways it's normal and that's -- you know, obviously we don't -- we wish Ady didn't have ALS, but in some ways it's nice. You know, for him it's just totally normal that his dad is in a wheelchair and that his dad uses other technology to speak and they can do things together like watch stories, watch different kinds of videos and play games. You know, Ady controls his screen that he uses to communicate with his eyes, using something called Eye Gaze Technology. And so he does have a certain level of independence even, you know, with his severe paralysis.

So, you know, I think that one of the things that I think we want to show in the documentary is that this seems like such a difficult, extreme thing to happen to people, but in a lot of ways people go through these kinds of things all the time. They're -- you know, they're encountering the healthcare system all the time. And so, you know, our very personal story is kind of universal in a way that people can confront these kinds of challenges and -- and everyone's family is different and this is what our family looks like.

CAMEROTA: Well, you and Ady do it with a lot of grace and the idea that Ady has become an activist for other families is just really moving.

So the documentary again is called "Not Going Quietly."

Rachael, thank you for sharing the story of your family with us. It's been really powerful.

KING: Thank you so much.

CAMEROTA: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:54]

BERMAN: A new look this morning at the struggles facing small businesses. One daunting reality, insurance does not cover their losses from coronavirus. At least not so far.

Cristina Alesci has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN POLITICS AND BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Delores Tronco-DePierro was living her dream, running a successful restaurant in New York City's famed West Village. Drawing from life savings, investors and a small business loan, Tronco-DePierro poured nearly $1 million into this space. Business was booming when she opened in December 2019. Then Covid-19 hit New York City.

DELORES TRONCO-DEPIERRO, OWNER, THE BANTY ROOSTER: Coronavirus would hit 96 days later and it would be the beginning of the end of what was that life-long dream.

ALESCI: The first place she turned to for help was her insurance company. She had hoped for a payout from what's called a business interruption policy.

TRONCO-DEPIERRO: I filed the claim March 17th. I got a phone call on the 20th letting me know that our claim had been denied.

ALESCI (on camera): That fast?

TRONCO-DEPIERRO: Yes. None of us hoped to get rich or have an insurance windfall. I think we just hoped that maybe our insurance companies would, at the very least, credit us back our premiums for the year.

ALESCI (voice over): The parent company for Tronco-DePierro's insurer, Axa, told CNN it doesn't comment on specific client claims. Tronco- DePierro received funding from the Payroll Protection Program, but it's not enough. She can only seat a fraction of the guests at outdoor tables while her monthly rent of $23,000, remains.

ALESCI (on camera): So when you finally leave and you turn off the lights and you shut the door, how are you preparing yourself for that?

TRONCO-DEPIERRO: I don't -- I don't think I can prepare myself for it.

ALESCI (voice over): After the 2003 SARS outbreak, the insurance industry changed most policies, excludes losses tied to viruses. In many cases, a policyholder must stipulate physical damage, like fire or flood, to collect.

SEAN KEVELIGHAN, CEO, INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE: A virus does not trigger the direct physical damage that's necessary to enact a business insurance or business interruption policy. And we've actually seen that play out already in court.

ALESCI: About 1,000 lawsuits have been filed in more than 40 states according to the University of Pennsylvania. Attorney John Houghtaling represents restaurant owners suing insurance companies to force payouts. Many of his clients do not have virus exclusions in their policies. But he argues the virus itself constitutes physical damage.

JOHN HOUGHTALING, ATTORNEY: Who believes that Covid-19 doesn't -- is not dangerous physically? They're ignoring the words of their policies and a lot of businesses are suffering as a result of this.

ALESCI: The scale of the problem is massive. One insurance trade group estimates the nation's business losses related to Covid at its height could total nearly $1 trillion a month. The insurance industry stance, businesses need help, but only the government can afford these astronomical sums and payouts could cripple the industry.

[08:45:02]

KEVELIGHAN: We would see systemic strain on the industry within a matter of months. It would cost anywhere from $150 billion to $400 billion a month.

ALESCI: Congress could create a government backstop to help, but any future legislation is unlikely to help Delores Tronco-DePierro, who's permanently shuttering her New York City restaurant.

TRONCO-DEPIERRO: I take it as it comes. One day at a time. And the only way is to look to the future and to find the things I can be thankful for and to remember that if only for 96 days I did it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALESCI: A heartbreaking outcome for Tronco-DePierro for sure, John, but a small glimmer of hope for other businesses that are fighting insurance companies. A judge in Missouri recently allowed a group of hair salons and restaurants to proceed with their suit and sue for direct physical losses. Undoubtedly, this is going to take years to play out in the courts but a small glimmer of hope for now, John.

BERMAN: It is. I mean these businesses, they've come so far. But, look, there's still so far to go. We just don't know where this is heading or for how long they'll have to hold out.

Christina Alesci, thanks so much for being with us.

So this morning, if you're in charge of a college campus, you have some tough choices to make. Lives could depend on it. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:50:42]

BERMAN: So this morning we're seeing coronavirus outbreaks on university campuses across the country. Iowa State, 175 new cases discovered during move-in. At UNC-Chapel Hill, 130 cases in the first week of classes. And Notre Dame, 146 new cases since August 3rd. UNC and Notre Dame just went to all online learning, reversing decisions for in-person classing.

Joining us now is Dr. Robert Robbins. He's the president of the University of Arizona and a cardiac surgeon. Also with us, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Dr. Robbins, I want to start with you.

Obviously, a lot of the trend lines in Arizona have been positive. The case rate is going down and that's wonderful news.

However, you know, the positivity rate in terms of testing is still at 16 percent. North Carolina is at 8 percent. UNC just had to reverse a decision for in-person classes. So what's a going to keep Arizona from having to reverse your decision to have students go to class?

DR. ROBERT ROBBINS, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: Well, that's a good question and I've been following and talking to the presidents at the University of Miami, the University of Kentucky and at North Carolina Chapel Hill. And I'm -- I'm sad to see that they had to reverse their decision, but I'm really not surprised but what -- what I think we are learning is a lot of this is about human behavior and about following the rules.

I think it -- we know that if you cover your face, wash your hands and maintain good, physical distancing, we can mitigate a lot of these cases. But that's just simply is not the case. And we're seeing it play out on campuses around the country. And I'm very concerned about our campus. I'm glad that the numbers

have gone down in Arizona. I think our -- our not value is 0.77, the lowest in the nation. But, still, if our students, faculty and staff don't follow the rules, we're going to suffer the same fate as the other universities.

BERMAN: Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I know, I mean that makes sense.

I am curious, though, you know, Doctor, you are a cardiac surgeon. You know, you tend to evaluate risk, you know, as a medical doctor. With that positivity rate and what you're seeing now, it seems like you've been given plenty of clues. I mean I know how you felt about football. You said it made sense for the Pac-12 not to move forward. Why not just delay this? I mean I just wonder, you know, when you look back on this, you say, in the middle of a pandemic like this, with the numbers a thousand fold higher than when you decided to pull kids out of school, why you think now it's a good time to put kids in school? I get the urge to want to do it, but why not just wait a bit?

ROBBINS: Yes. Well, I think that's a reasonable approach, Sanjay. We've been watching the numbers every day and we continue to see numbers go down in Arizona, particularly here in the Tucson area. We've had over 7,000 individuals going to our campus every day over the summer. We've had less than 100 cases.

Our research labs have, by and large, stayed open. We've got about 80 percent of our research labs open.

Now, that's different than having thousands of students come back and live off campus and go to parties and not follow the rules. We're fairly confident on the campus that we can socially distance and have them follow the rules. It's that what they do off of campus and then bring it back to campus.

So it's a good question. We're going to start by having about 5,000 of our students go to essential courses, so organic chemistry lab, gross anatomy lab, go to their research labs and do their work and we're going to see how our robust testing, tracing and treating programs work over the next couple of weeks.

But we'll be very quick to watch the numbers every day. And if we see that it's not sustainable, then we'll do what the other universities have done and go on -- all online.

BERMAN: What's the metric though? I'm very curious, do you have a number, a set number, this many cases and we're all online?

[08:55:00]

ROBBINS: No, I don't have a set number. I thinking one of the things in North Carolina, one, I don't think they tested students before they're moving into the dorms. We're testing every student. We have tested over 3,000 students -- BERMAN: Notre Dame did, though. Notre Dame did.

ROBBINS: Yes. Yes. To be fair.

We've only had five positive cases.

So I think what I've said going all the way back to late March and early April, if we can have enough beds to isolate students, if the hospitals have enough inpatient beds and ICU beds and we can manage the cases and they're not severe enough, then we'll give it our best shot to try to do that. We've got over 400 beds. We were planning for 300 positive cases out of the five -- 5,000 or 6,000 students moving into our dorms and we've seen only five cases. So we've got a lot of capacity to -- for a surge. And we'll see how it plays out over the next couple of weeks.

BERMAN: Dr. Robbins, we appreciate your time. We wish you the best of luck.

ROBBINS: Thank you.

BERMAN: Obviously a lot of people watching and a lot of people, you know, keeping their fingers crossed.

Sanjay, as always, thanks to you as well.

GUPTA: You got it, thank you.

BERMAN: All right, a lot of news this morning as the Democrats prepare for the next night of the convention. Also some news on coronavirus.

Our coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:08]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.

END