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White House Holds Health-Care Summit; Job Fairs Offer Opportunities for Unemployed

Aired March 05, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing forward in search of a remedy, maybe even a cure. The patient: the U.S. economy. The ailment: paralyzing health costs and millions of people with no insurance.

Need a job? Get in line. No pushing forward here, but we're pushing job search solutions at the fairs and on the Web.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, getting a whole lot more for a whole lot less. It's a simple idea but unbelievably complicated, especially when the subject is health care. It's the challenge at the moment at the White House, where a forum on health care reform is about to get under way. We'll take it live as soon as it starts.

We're pushing the story forward, though, with CNN's Dan Lothian. He's at the White House. He's there in the room. And senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is with me here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Now together, doctors, lawmakers, insurance groups, drug companies, hospitals, all the so-called stakeholders in search of lower costs and wider coverage.

Dan Lothian with us now on the phone. Dan, what's the best-case scenario here?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what the White House is really hoping is that they can get some good ideas. The president will signal that they have their blueprint for reforming health care, but they're also listening. They will be all ears. They want to hear from a diverse group of people. You pointed out some of those folks, doctors and nurses, pharmaceutical reps, as well. That's what this summit is all about.

As the president will point out, he says in order to create jobs and rebuild the economy, he thinks that you need to contain and address the crushing cost of health care.

Now, the format of this, the president will come out. He'll make some opening remarks. And then after that they'll break into five sessions, and those sessions will be moderated by some of Mr. Obama's top economic advisers, including Larry Summers and Peter Orszag.

And then later on, the president will do sort of Q&A, like we saw last week during the last summit, the fiscal responsibility summit.

And one thing, also, that the administration will be announcing today is that, beyond just this summit, they plan to take the show on the road. The president himself won't be selling health-care reform, but they plan to have sort of a listening tour, in various states like Michigan, Vermont, Iowa and North Carolina, California where the governors will be at the regional meetings to get feedback from the public, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dan Lothian. We'll take it live as soon as he steps up to the mike there.

And whether you have great coverage, no coverage or not enough coverage, you're paying more and probably getting less than ever.

Elizabeth Cohen joins me now.

Elizabeth, let's do some triage, shall we say? Which of these groups or issues needs to be tended to first?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, they all need to be tended to, but definitely the needs of the uninsured are certainly tops on the list. You're talking about 46 million people who have no medical insurance. Obviously, a problem for them. Where do they get care.

And also, Kyra, a problem for the rest of us. We all pay for the uninsured. Our health insurance premiums, yours and mine and everybody else's, go up in order to fund the care that the uninsured need.

PHILLIPS: So this has been tried once before, as we well know. What are the chances that it will succeed this time around? What will be so different?

COHEN: You know, things are very different now than they were 15 years ago. First of all, more people are feeling the pain. There were some people 15 years ago who were sort of saying, "You know what? Things aren't really that bad. Things are going OK." Well, more and more people are uninsured now than then.

And also businesses are spending so much money to insure their employees that they're definitely getting on-board with the feelings that, gee, something needs to change. So there is definitely sort of more of a will to have change.

And also, Kyra, another thing, 15 years ago you sometimes heard -- actually you heard quite a bit people saying, "Let's have a single payer system like in Canada. The government is going to be the health insurer for everybody." You don't hear that as much as you used to. So more people are on the same page more than they once were.

Let's take a listen actually to Melody Barnes from the White House. She has something to say about bringing all the different groups to the table.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELODY BARNES, WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL: What the president said during the campaign holds true today. He said, look, everybody can have a seat at the table but no one can own the table.

So that's why we're bringing in the doctors, the nurses, hospitals, people who fought health-care reform tooth and nail 15 years ago, to have this conversation with the president and members of Congress. But at the same time while we're listening to their voices, we also want to make sure that we get the best deal for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: And of course, Kyra, nobody has any illusions. Of course, people are going to fight health-care reform, even now, but maybe the fight won't be quite as vicious as it was 15 years ago.

PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen less than two minutes away from the president. We can see his right-hand man, Rahm Emanuel there, coming into the room and greeting people. Stay with us, Elizabeth. I know you're paying attention to this. Obviously, so am I. Dan Lothian is there in the room, as we wait for the president to step up to the mike.

I do want to say, if you have any questions about your health care, we're going to try and bring you those answers, maybe not all the answers, but Elizabeth Cohen and Gerri Willis are coming back later this hour to share their knowledge and their expertise with us.

You can go ahead and e-mail us your questions, if you like, on health insurance, Medicare, the president's reform plans. If you're listening here to this live event as the president comes in, you still have some lingering questions that maybe we didn't ask or the president didn't address. By all means, the address is CNNnewsroom@CNN.com. We will read as many as we can on the air.

Let's go ahead and listen in. It looks like the president of the United States is about to be introduced. Let's go ahead and listen.

BARNES: Well, good afternoon. I'm pleased to welcome you to the White House forum on health-care reform. Many months ago, President Obama promised the country that once in the White House, he would take the steps necessary to reform our health-care system. Not just because we should, but because we must.

Today the president begins to fulfill that promise, joined by engaged Americans, Democratic and Republican members of Congress, doctors and nurses, business and labor, insurers and hospital associations.

One undeniable truth brings everyone to the table: the continuing sharp escalation of health-care costs for families, businesses and the government is simply unsustainable. Reform is needed to bring costs under control, to improve the quality health care you are receiving, and to help those who are losing their insurance. In fact, at the end of last year, motivated by that imperative, thousands upon thousands upon thousands of men and women gathered at health-care community discussions around the country. No longer willing to let the status quo survive, they decided to engage with their neighbors, co-workers and fellow parishioners to speak truth to power.

Today, seven of those men and women are here with us, and I'm pleased to introduce Travis Ulerick of Dublin, Indiana, who will tell us what they discussed and what they believe must happen next -- Travis.

TRAVIS ULERICK, FIREFIGHTER, DUBLIN, INDIANA: Hi. My name is Travis Ulerick. And I'm a firefighter and chief from Dublin, Indiana. Every day on the job, I meet people who don't have health insurance, people who are left out of the current health system. People in my town can't afford health-care costs. They can't afford doctors' visits, and they can't afford ambulance rides.

When I saw on Change.gov that President Obama was encouraging people to host health-care community discussions, I realized I might be able to do something to help. In fact, it was under my -- it was under my mom's influence that I decided I was going to stop complaining and that I was going to do something. So, I decided to host a health-care community discussion in Dublin.

So I signed up to host a discussion and invited other first responders, doctors, and members of our community to the bay of my fire station in January. Apparently, a few other people signed up to host discussions, too. Over 30,000 Americans participated in health- care community discussions over the holidays.

Joining me today is Julia Denton (ph), a military wife and Republican who passionately supports the president's effort for -- to reform the health system. Siava Srilani (ph), a third-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin; Yvonne Ruby (ph), who held a discussion at her church in Brooklyn; James Stouffer (ph), a small business owner and father of five; Jose Olivia (ph), a veteran who hosted a discussion in El Paso, Texas; and Angela Diggs (ph), who runs a senior wellness center in Washington, D.C.

We are honored to be here to represent the thousands of Americans who went to their churches, their community centers and their neighbors' homes to show leaders in Washington that the time is now to reform our health system.

Today we present a report to President Obama that reflects the concerns and suggestions contributed as part of our discussions. This report finds that Americans agree on the problems with the system, that costs are too high and accessing quality coverage is too difficult. Some groups submitted stories that sound familiar to me, especially, about people who were afraid to go to the hospital for treatment, because they didn't know if they could afford it.

The most common theme is that Americans don't believe the current health -- current health-care system works for them. President Obama, thanks to what you are doing today, Americans can believe again that their government is working for them, and with them to solve this problem. Thank you for challenging us to get involved, for listening to us, and for being here, Mr. President.

I am proud to present this report to you and your administration, as we begin to work together as a country to reform the health-care system. And now, I'm very honored to introduce to you President Obama.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well done (ph). Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Everybody, please. Have a seat.

Thank you so much, Travis, for the wonderful introduction. Thank you for, Melody Barnes, who has done more than anyone to help coordinate this forum and its extraordinary work. And so we appreciate her leadership.

We're here today to discuss one of the greatest threats, not just to the well being of our families and the prosperity of our businesses, but to the very foundation of our economy. And that's the exploding cost of health care in America today.

In the last eight years, premiums have grown four times faster than wages. An additional 9 million Americans have joined the ranks of the uninsured. The cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds. By the end of the year, it could cause 1.5 million Americans to lose their homes. Even for folks who are weathering this economic storm, and have health care right now, all it takes is one stroke of bad luck, an dent or an illness, a divorce or lost job, to become one of the nearly 46 million uninsured or the millions who have health care but really can't afford what they've got.

We didn't get here by accident. The problems we face today are a direct consequence of actions that we failed to take yesterday. Since Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform nearly a century ago, we have talked and we have tinkered; we have tried and fallen short; we've stalled for time; and again, we have failed to act because of Washington politics or industry lobbying.

And today there are those who say we should defer health-care reform once again, that in a time of economic crisis, we simply can't afford to fix our health-care system, as well. Well, let me be clear: the same soaring costs that are straining families' budgets are sinking our businesses and eating up our government's budget, too.

Too many small businesses can't insure their employees. Major American corporations are struggling to compete with their foreign counterparts, and companies of all sizes are shipping their jobs overseas or shutting their doors for good. Medical costs -- Medicare costs are consuming our federal budget. I don't have to tell members of Congress this. Medicaid is overwhelming our state budgets. I don't need to tell governors and state legislatures that. At the fiscal summit that we held here last week, the one thing on which everyone agreed was that the greatest threat to America's fiscal health is not Social Security, though that's a significant challenge. It's not the investments that we've made to rescue our economy during this crisis. By a wide margin, the biggest threat to our nation's balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care. It's not even close.

That's why we cannot delay this discussion any longer. That's why today's forum is so important, because health-care reform is no longer just a moral imperative; it's a fiscal imperative. If we want to create jobs and rebuild our economy and get our federal budget under control, then we have to address the crushing costs of health care this year in this administration.

Making investments in reform now, investments that will dramatically lower costs, won't add to our budget deficits in the long term. Rather, it is one of the best ways -- in fact, maybe the only way to reduce those long-term costs.

I know people are skeptical about whether Washington can bring about this change. Our inability to reform health care in the past is just one example of how special interests have had their way and the public interest has fallen by the wayside. I know people are afraid we'll draw the same old lines in the sand and give in to the same entrenched interests and arrive back at the same stalemate that we've been stuck in for decades.

But I'm here today, and I believe you are here today, because this time is different. This time the call for reform is coming from the bottom up. And from all across the spectrum -- from doctors, from nurses, from patients, from unions, from businesses, from hospitals, health-care providers, community groups, it's coming from mayors and governors and legislatures, Democrats, Republicans, all who are racing ahead of Washington to pass bold health-care initiatives on their own.

This time there's no debate about whether all Americans should have quality affordable health care. The only question is how. And the purpose of this forum is to start answering that question to determine how we lower costs for everyone, improve quality for everyone, and expand coverage to all Americans.

Our goal will be to enact comprehensive health-care reform by the end of this year. That is our commitment; that is our goal.

Now, in the past month alone, we've done a lot more to advance that goal than we've done in the past decade. We've provided and protected coverage for 11 million children from working families, and for 7 million Americans who have lost their jobs in this downturn. We've made the largest investment in history in preventative care, invested in electronic medical records that will save money, insure privacy and save lives. We've launched a new effort to find a cure for cancer in our time.

We've also set aside in our budget a health-care reserve fund to finance comprehensive reform. I know that more will be required, but this is a significant down payment that's fully paid for, does not add one penny to our deficit. I look forward to working with Congress and the American people to get this budget passed.

Now, as we work to determine the details of health-care reform, we won't always see eye to eye. We may disagree, and disagree strongly, about particular measures. But we know that there are plenty of areas of agreement, as well, and that should serve as the starting points for our work.

We can all agree that, if we want to bring down skyrocketing costs, we'll need to modernize our system and invest in prevention. We can't agree that, if we want greater accountability and responsibility, we have to ensure that people aren't overcharged for prescription drugs or discriminated against for pre-existing conditions, and we need to eliminate broad waste and abuse in government programs.

I think most of us would agree that, if we want to cover all Americans, we can't make the mistake of trying to fix what isn't broken. So if somebody has insurance they like, they should be able to keep that insurance. If they have a doctor that they like, they should be able to keep their doctor. They should just pay less for the care that they receive.

And finally, we can all agree that, if we want to translate these goals into policies, we need a process that is as transparent and inclusive as possible. And that's why I've asked all of you -- representatives of organizations, interests and parties from across the spectrum -- to join us here today. In fact, this was the hottest ticket in town.

That's why we asked concerned citizens like the folks on this stage to organize open meetings across America where people could air their views. As Travis said, more than 3,000 meetings were held in all 50 states and D.C. More than 30,000 people attended. I thank them for their input and their ideas and look forward to reading the report that Travis has presented to me.

In this effort, every voice has to be heard. Every idea must be considered. Every option must be on the table. There should be no sacred cows. Each of us must accept that none of us will get everything that we want and that no proposal for reform will be perfect. If that's the measure, we will never get anything done. But when it comes to addressing our health-care challenge, we can no longer let the perfect be the enemy of the essential. I don't think anybody would argue that we are on a sustainable path when it comes to health care.

Finally, I want to be very clear at the outset that, while everybody has a right to take part in this discussion, nobody has the right to take it over and dominate. The status quo is the one option that's not on the table, and those who seek to block any reform at all, any reform at any costs, will not prevail this time around.

I didn't come here to Washington to work for those interests. I came here to work for the American people, the folks I met on the campaign trail, the people I hear from every single day in the White House. Folks who are working hard, making all the right decisions, but still face choices that no one in this country should have to make: how long to put off that doctor's appointment, whether to fill that prescription, when to give up and head to the emergency room, because there are no other options.

I've read some of the many betters they've sent asking me for help, and they're usually not asking for much. I don't -- I don't get letters where people are just asking for a free ride, for a handout. Most of them are embarrassed about their situation. They would rather not have to ask for help. They start usually by saying that they've never written a letter like this before. Some end by apologizing, saying they've written to me because they have nowhere else to turn, asking me not to forget about them, not to forget about their families.

But there are a lot of people out there who are desperate. There's a lot of desperation out there. Today I want them and the people like them across this country to know that I have not forgotten them. We have not forgotten them. They are why we're here today: to start delivering the change they demanded at the polls in November, that they have continued to demand since the election. And if we're successful, if we can pass comprehensive reform, these folks will see their costs come down. They'll get the care they need. And we'll help our businesses create jobs so our economy can grow.

So it's not going to be easy, and there are going to be false starts and setbacks and mistakes along the way, but I'm confident, if we come together and work together, we will finally achieve what generations of Americans have fought for and fulfill the promise of health care in our time. And what a remarkable achievement that would be. Something that Democrats and Republicans, business and labor, consumer groups and providers, all of us could share extraordinary pride in finally dealing with something that has been vexing us for so long.

So, let's get to work. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Now it's officially kicked off, the White House health-care summit led by the president of the United States. And we're going to be dissecting that all day today. Gerri Willis and Elizabeth Cohen coming back with us to answer your e-mails about policy questions, everything health care throughout the afternoon.

Also don't worry: we're not going to leave you with doom and gloom and negative numbers, either. When it comes to the economy, our mission is to push forward and find real solutions to real problems. One major problem: finding a job. Well, there is opportunity out there. Matter of fact, it's happening right now. We're going to tell you where.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN LINDSAY, IREPORTER: The Obama administration is all for raising the capital gains tax back up to 20 percent. And of course, that really makes you think twice about buying stocks, even if they're down at the bottom of the barrel here or maybe going even further, because then you have to say to yourself, how many years do I have to wait to recapture my investment? And to make it make sense for me? I mean, we may not live long enough to see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Investing, a matter life and death for iReporter Jean Lindsay there. For a lot of other seniors, as well. They say that time is running out, and they're wondering if they can outlive this recession.

Jean Lindsay's certainly watching the market, and so are we. Right now Dow Industrials down 203 points and adding to investor gloom, a drop in factory orders for the sixth straight month. New questions over whether General Motors will be able to keep operating, and disappointment that China has not announced new steps to stimulate its economy.

Do you want to draw a crowd? All you have to do is say two words: job fair. These days standing in a long job fair line sure beats standing in a long unemployment line. Just ask the thousands of people that are now flocking to job fairs across the nation, like this one happening right now in New York city.

Our senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, is actually there. What kind of stories are you hearing, Allan?

ALAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, there is no doubt, thousands of people here are hungry for work, and they have been standing in line since early this morning, extending through this hotel in Times Square and all the way out onto the street, some waiting for several hours just to get in here, have a chance to talk to some of the recruiters.

There are about 90 companies here. They have about 1,000 openings with the potential for many, many more. Some of these recruiters work for employment agencies. So openings are coming up all the time.

And they say it's very important to keep in mind that, even with the economy declining, even with a lot of pessimism out there, when companies lay off, other companies are hiring and even some of the companies that do lay off hire at the same time.

We've got one recruiter over here, Joe De John (ph). Joe is with a security company, DGA Security.

Joe, you guys are still expanding this economy.

JOE DE JOHN (PH), DGA SECURITY: Yes, we are. We see ourselves as very fortunate because we're in a position to expand in this economy.

CHERNOFF: What is your advice to job hunters? What should they be doing, especially at an event like this?

DE JOHN (PH): It's very important when you're job hunting to still be positive. You have to be very positive and secure and confident in yourself. I think it's important when you go for a position and you approach one of these tables to do a little research, know exactly what you want and how you fit into that position and how you're going to benefit that company.

CHERNOFF: Be ready to sell yourself.

DE JOHN (PH): Absolutely. You have to be ready to sell yourself at all times, for any position.

CHERNOFF: Good advice. Thank you very much, Joe.

Kyra, as you see, the jobs are out there. It's just a matter of people to go and get them. And it's not easy. It's not easy, of course, to be positive in this environment, but that's what people have got to do -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And you know, Allan, Deb Feyerick showed us a job fair in New York. Thousands of people showing up at 5 a.m. in the morning. Now we're talking to you about this job fair. It sort of gives us this idea of whether it's you guys out there covering these job fairs live or leaving it to us to look for other job fairs. That's what we've decided to do, to be dedicated to the viewer on being able to find some type of job right now, Allan.

If you're one of those millions of Americans that are out there and you want work, well, we want to push you to two various sites that we were able to find. One was CareerBuilders.com. And right -- if you click onto this site, and you go down to the very bottom of the page, there's actually job search tools right here. And there's a section that you can click on. Career fairs may be in your hometown.

If you click on to that, sure enough, right here on the right side of the career fairs, everywhere from Philadelphia, Tucson, Anchorage, Houston, Anaheim, all the way down. You'll see the list of where all these job fairs are going to be and details about their job fairs. OK.

Another Web site that we found: Monster.com. Go down to Monster.com, and there's a section right here: Keep America Working Tour. And you can click onto that. And here you go, all across the United States. It tells you where this tour is going to be from New York, D.C., New Jersey, Cincinnati, all the way to Minneapolis. It tells you the date and information on where you can find out where those job fairs are going to be.

So once again, it's builders -- CareerBuilders.com. Also Monster.com. We're trying to push this forward -- this story forward, rather, bring you as much information as we can about various job fairs across the nation on a daily basis. There even might be a job fair in your neck of the woods. And so you just keep with us, keep up on these Web sites. We'll bring you as much information as possible. Well, call it the perfect storm of misfortune. A woman loses her job, and then her life takes another turn for the worse. We're going to have her story and how it relates to health care, the economy and all of us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: OK, well, how much health care will $2.4 trillion buy you? Well, apparently, not nearly enough. That's how much Americans spend every year to get or stay healthy. Yet tens of millions of us still don't have insurance.

We're pushing the issue forward this hour with an eye on a White House brainstorming session that brings together doctors, insurers, advocates, lawmakers, some of whom opposed reforms that President Clinton tried and failed to pass 15 years ago. Well, President Obama says that the current system is hazardous to the economic health of the nation, and he wants a new plan by the end of the year.

Well, she lost her job. That's bad enough. But as they say, all things can get worse. And that's the case for a Florida woman whose problems highlight the economic and health care challenges facing all of us today. Here's our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): In early 2008, life was going great for Pamela Rinchich. She had a good job and was about to get married. Then in March, the plant where she had worked for more than 20 years in Sarasota, Florida shut down, and she lost her job. And with it, her employer-paid health insurance.

PAMELA RINCHICH, UNEMPLOYED CANCER PATIENT: I was upset, but I thought I'd be all right.

COHEN: But two months later, an even bigger bombshell.

RINCHICH: I found out I had breast cancer.

COHEN: Rinchich does have insurance, but she's paying through the nose for it. Her unemployment check is $900 a month, and she pays $368 of that just for insurance. And the insurance has high copays and deductibles, so now she's $20,000 in debt because of her medical expenses. One doctor has even refused to see her until she pays her bills.

According to the Department of Labor, more than 1.7 million jobs were slashed in the past three months. Analysts believe half of the people who lost jobs also lost their employer-paid insurance.

(on camera): When people don't have health insurance, they often end up here in the emergency room, and that costs all of us. It's one of the major reasons why insurance premiums have skyrocketed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In many respects we all are paying for the uninsured. Those who don't have health insurance are actually impacting those who do.

COHEN (voice-over): And despite efforts from the president, Congress and others...

RON POLLACK, EXEC. DIRECTOR, FAMILIES USA: I think there's no question that it is likely to get worse before it gets better.

COHEN: As for Pamela Rinchich, she's done with her chemotherapy, and for now, she's cancer-free. But more surgeries lie ahead.

RINCHICH: I just try to keep a positive attitude.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, we know that you've got a lot of questions and concerns about health care reform. You can send them to us at CNNnewsroom@CNN.com. But joining me now to answer some of your questions, our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, and in New York, our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis.

Let's go ahead and start with our first e-mail. Elizabeth, I'm going to take this to you. Allen wants to know, "My son has cystic fibrosis. He has always had good care through my employer. He will lose coverage in July, and I'm worried that other insurers won't take him due to his precondition. Will the health care plan address this?"

COHEN: I have to say right away, first thing, there is no Obama health care plan as it is. We can't say here's the plan, because he hasn't come up with it. That's part of what this summit is about.

But if you look at what he talked about during the campaign, Obama did say two things that might help this woman. One is, he says he wants to require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so that it would help women like this -- families like this.

Also, he wants to establish a national health insurance exchange where you would get big pools of people, and that would also help people with pre-existing conditions. But, Kyra, this is -- these are expensive things to do. And so, it remains to be seen whether what he promised during the campaign will actually end up happening.

PHILLIPS: We'll see what the discussion's like at the summit.

COHEN: Right.

PHILLIPS: All right, Gerri, this one's coming from Brian. He says, "What if you're laid off or had your salary slashed or you're just getting by each month and you get a toothache. What financial arrangements or options do you have?"

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, Brian, you know, to answer your specific question here, you want to call your dentist in this case and explain your situation. They may be able to work out a payment schedule. Maybe they have medical samples that you can use if you aren't able to pay for it. But bottom line here, you might be able to negotiate with health care providers on a one-off basis if you're in this kind of situation -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth, this one coming from Walter. He wants to know, will Medicare remain a separate part of the health program?

COHEN: It certainly looks like it will. I mean, you don't hear people talk about encompassing Medicare into everything. Medicare has been around since the mid-1960s. You don't hear about a huge revamping of Medicare.

PHILLIPS: OK. Gerri, this one coming from Jerilyn in Wisconsin: "Could you please let me know the Web site addresses of the places where people can try to find health insurance." And as you know, Gerri Willis is our Web expert. She's always got a couple of good Web sites, whether it's housing, Medicare, what -- or medical needs. What do you have for us, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, they're great tools, right?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

WILLIS: I mean, so much information on the Web now. And with more than 45 million people out there who are uninsured, it's a big problem. So, go to the Web. You can visit covertheuninsured.com and healthinsuranceinfonet.com to find state-by-state breakouts of programs available to the uninsured, and discount drug programs. Now, if you don't qualify for state programs, there are other places to go -- ehealthinsurance.com, for example, will give you quotes from private insurers. They'll be high, but they'll be something. Obviously, you're going to have to pay out of pocket for this coverage.

But remember, if you have a big medical disaster, you're unemployed, you have no health insurance, that is a sure way to going into bankruptcy. So many people end up in bankruptcy because they have a big medical health problem. They can't pay for it. So, you've got to make sure you've got some kind of coverage.

PHILLIPS: All right. Gerri, thanks. Elizabeth, thanks so much. We're going to continue to do this, of course, throughout the afternoon and through the end of the week as we're following all of your questions about medical and housing and the president's new plans for both of those.

All right, well, a slowing economy, rising unemployment, talk of a stimulus package. Sound familiar? Well, it's not the U.S. It's china. We're going to get an update from Beijing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Yes, Barbie's about to turn 50. Can you believe it? You're leaking at the original 1959 model, who's seen, well, a few changes over the years. Still looks great for her age though, don't you think?

But there are signs of a midlife crisis. Oh, yes. Meet totally stylin' tattooed Barbie, inked up and ready to go. But don't worry, Mom and Dad. These tats are hearts, flowers, butterflies. So far no skulls or naked Ken.

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PHILLIPS: When it comes to the economic slowdown, America's certainly not suffering alone. Today, the European Central Bank cuts its main interest rate by a half percentage point to 1.5 percent. That drops the cost of borrowing money in the 16 countries that use the Euro. The Bank of England also cut rates by half a point to a new low of 0.5 percent.

Meantime, at the opening of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China's premier defied expectations and did not announce any plans to increase China's $586 billion stimulus plan.

Well, people in China are now facing the same kinds of challenges as people here in the U.S.: a slowing economy, fewer jobs and fewer opportunities for unemployed workers. CNN's Emily Chang reports from Beijing.

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EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chen Hongbing came to Beijing to make money after his shoe factory in (INAUDIBLE) Province failed. Now, he sells pork at a local market and earns much more than the average migrant worker. Still, it's only enough to pay for modest living quarters he shares with five others.

And with the economy in crisis, he says people just aren't buying as much pork as they used to.

CHEN HONGBING: SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

CHANG: The restaurants are definitely ordering less, he says, and many of them went bankrupt. His neighbors tell the same story.

(on camera): This village is filled with migrant workers who've come from faraway provinces to make a better living in the city. But people here tell us it's getting harder and harder to find jobs. The government officially estimates 20 million migrant workers are out of work. And that number could rise as the economy continues to slow.

(voice-over): The jobless, one of the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's top concerns as he addressed the National People's Congress on opening day.

WEN JIABAO, CHINESE PREMIER: SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

CHANG: we will stimulate their employment through government investment and the launch of major projects, he said. Before nearly 3,000 delegates from across the country, Wen detailed China's $586 billion stimulus plan and said China will maintain 8 percent growth.

Some analysts predict growth will actually be much lower as overseas demand for Chinese goods slumps, but say China's leaders are doing exactly what they need to do: Maintain confidence.

JAMES MCGREGOR, CHINA ANALYST: They want the delegates to go home and to get people to feel comfortable that things are OK and that they should spend money and consume.

CHANG: At least one delegate who represents migrant workers is convinced.

LI HAIYAN, NPC DELEGATE: SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

CHANG: I think if the migrant workers get better training, they'll be able to find a job, said Li Haiyan from Hunan Province.

But some migrants aren't. Chen Hongbing thinks it will take much more than $586 billion to turn China's economy around.

CHEN: SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

CHANG: It's not enough. It's definitely not enough, he says. He's seen too many people lose their jobs, too many people with nowhere to go.

Emily Chang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, breaking one of the Ten Commandments is bad. Breaking one by robbing a church? Better watch out for that lightning strike, buddy.

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PHILLIPS: Well, you might want to snooze just a bit more over the next few days. You're going to lose an hour this weekend. You better watch that time change. Chad Myers watches the clock and the weather for us. Uh-oh.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I...

PHILLIPS: The little one is going to be up even longer.

MYERS: I'm the smart guy. I planned a trip for us this weekend. We're going to leave for a little while. We're going to go on Sunday morning. A 6:30 a.m. flight, because it was cheap. Now really, this was a 5:30 a.m. flight, so that's why it was so cheap.

PHILLIPS: Might as well pull an all-nighter, my friend.

MYERS: I'm afraid so, Kyra. So, yes. Does it seem early? It is, because Congress a couple years ago said we're going to spring and we're going to fall back. We're going to do it for a longer time, and then we're going to save some more energy. I don't know if it ever worked or not, but whatever.

(WEATHER REPORT) PHILLIPS: Well, 3 1/2 years after Hurricane Katrina, the recovery is far from over. The Obama administration has now pledged another $438 million to still struggling Gulf Coast communities. Right now, top administration officials are touring that region, measuring how far it's come or hasn't come. And among them, homeland security Secretary Janet Napolitano, housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, and also FEMA chief Craig Fugate.

Now, FEMA's been accused of not providing enough money and supplies and not preparing enough for another disaster. So, we're pushing the story forward next hour. Joining us, General Russel Honore.

Seriously, some people have no shame. And anybody who'd rob a church definitely qualifies. Listen to this story. A Nebraska church lost all of last weekend's offerings to a crook posing as an armored car guard. The guy was wearing a uniform, said his name was Carl. He just walked into the financial office and told an employee he was there for the weekly deposit.

Well, Carl left with $145,000 in cash and checks. Nobody saw the getaway car. And all I can say is, it's time for confession, my friend. We're going to send Russel Honore after you is what we're going to do.

Well, he's been over in Iraq getting the job done for his country. But now a Navy reservist is out of his job as a firefighter. The New Bedford, Massachusetts, Fire Department just laid off Leo Pike, Jr. and about three dozen others.

The chief says his hand was forced by city budget problems and state rules that dictate layoffs be done by seniority. So, let's get this straight. Leo's over there fighting for our country, and he gets laid off when he comes back home. You can imagine his family's pretty fired up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEO PIKE, SR., FATHER OF NAVY RESERVIST: It's scary to come home and not have a chance -- you know, he's been gone, so he has no chance to set up another job. He's coming home to no job.

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PHILLIPS: Not just scary, it's wrong. The firefighters union plans on appealing Leo Pike's case on his behalf. They say that he never got a hearing, which by the way, is required by state law.

For a lot of older Americans, it's a bad case of deja vu.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELVIRA GRADY, GREAT DEPRESSION SURVIVOR: When I get the little change that I get, I try to hold on to it. I call it a dollar. Because we're going to have bad days just like we have now. And if you don't have nothing, as far as I'm concerned, you can go hungry here.

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PHILLIPS: Well, they've lived through the Great Depression, and now they're pinching pennies in this recession. And they've got some great advice for all of us.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's getting a little easier now because the people are more motivated. For a while there, it was very difficult, because people felt the market was going to bounce back real quick. Well, it's not happening. And we don't see that happening for several more years. So right now, the only way to really make things happen is to do exchanges or trades.

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PHILLIPS: Well, California homeowners trying to ride out the recession are turning to some creative ways to keep a roof over their heads. Some of them swapping homes, trading down to save money on their mortgages, and there's even a Web site to help them find just the right place. Go to swap.org. Experts say it could be several more years before the housing market in California actually bounces back.

Well, In these tough times, words of wisdom from Americans who've been there, done that. One woman who grew up during the Great Depression shares her story and advice on making it through this recession with CNN's Sandra Endo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 86 years old, Elvira Grady has gone back to work. Serving meals at the senior senator she's belonged to for eight years. Miss Elvira, they call her, needs a paycheck since her Social Security check doesn't go as far as it used to.

GRADY: My Social didn't take care of my bills. You know, the gas bill, the light bill and other bills you have.

ENDO: Here in Washington, D.C., the landscape is completely different from where she grew up in South Carolina, daughter of a sharecropper, just before the Great Depression.

GRADY: I call it down home. You didn't have any money there. We didn't have too many clothes because we had nothing to buy the clothes with. And sometimes you didn't have, you know, food like we wanted to.

ENDO: Miss Elvira has known tough times before, and she has some tough advice for people coping with the current economic downturn: Save everything you can. GRADY: If you have leftovers, put it in those little containers and put them away until you get ready to use them.

ENDO (on camera): So, it's good not to throw things out like that. Having learned many of life's lessons the hard way, she imparts this wisdom.

GRADY: You just don't run through the money like that. When I get the little change that I get, I try to hold on to it. I call it a dollar. Because we're going to have bad days just like we have now. And if you don't have nothing, as far as I'm concerned, you can go hungry here.

ENDO (voice-over): For Miss Elvira, tightening her belt when times get tough is something she's overcome before.

GRADY: So, I don't know what we're grumbling about. I really don't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)