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Public Anger Over Health Care Reform; Two Bodies Still Missing in Weekend's Plane-and-Helicopter Crash; Obama Meeting with Leaders of Canada and Mexico This Hour; Live Coverage of Health Care Town Hall Meeting in Missouri; Clinical Trials Started For Possible Swine Flu Vaccine; GM Starts Trial Period of Selling Cars on eBay Tomorrow; Unemployment Benefits Dwindling; Precautions Being Taken Against Swine Flu in Schools; China Experiements with Three-Dollar-a-Year Health Care Plan

Aired August 10, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look at some of the stories happening right now. DNA testing will confirm if Indonesia's most wanted terrorist was killed over the weekend. Police thought they had their man, but they are now saying a body recovered after a fierce fire fight was too badly disfigured to identify.

Alabama lawmakers called back for a special legislative session at 6 p.m. today. Governor Bob Riley wants a vote to reauthorize an occupational tax on most payrolls in Jefferson County. A judge ruled against continuing against the tax in January but the money is still being collected. Some lawmakers believe it is time to tap into those unspecified funds or risk sinking deeper into debt.

And more than three dozen inmates wounded in a prison riot in California are out of the hospital now. Officials say the riots on Saturday may have been racially motivated. All 10 prisons in southern California were put on lock down as a precaution. Two-hundred and fifty inmates were wounded in the clashes. Fifty-five needed to be treated in a hospital. No prison staff were injured in the disturbance.

The health care debate and what could be a make or break month. Congress is in recess. Lawmakers are back home and voters are on the offensive. They are giving their representatives an earful. And that ultimately could determine how the lawmakers vote. More and more town hall meetings are growing angry and sometimes disruptive. Many lawmakers say they've been shouted down and intimidated. Democrats say many of these protests are orchestrated by Republicans and special interests opposed to health care reform. The opponents deny that. They say they are merely demanding answers on one of the most significant pieces of legislation of their lifetime.

High stakes, strong passions. We are about to go live to a town hall meeting taking place in southeastern Missouri. It's the first of three events like this today for Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill.

Here to set the stage for us, CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar. Brianna, good morning to you.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. This is a rural conservative stronghold in southeastern Missouri. The big claim to fame is and it's on the town, and are on the sign when you roll into town, this is the home town of Sheryl Crow. Folks are very proud of that.

COLLINS: Yes.

KEILAR: Certainly, as I said, it's a conservative strong hold and we are here at a town hall meeting about to get under way, that's why I'm trying to be quiet, for Senator Claire McCaskill. She's a Democrat. She is a supporter of the public option, the government-run insurance program and so she is definitely going to be facing some tough questions from some of her constituents, including one woman that we spoke with who made the long drive down overnight from St. Louis to be here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNETTE REY, TOWN HALL PARTICIPANT: Washington is not hearing us. They don't think that we are real. We have been denigrated and maligned by people in Washington, saying that we are -- our grass does not grow roots, calling us Astroturf. And it's not true. I am a real person. I am not paid by any insurance company or special interest. I have come down here on my own money, gasoline is $2.50 a gallon. I have spent my own money in time to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And I also spoke with a man who is attending this town hall meeting right now, a retired cotton farmer - a little feedback from the microphone. A retired cotton farmer from just a few miles down the street here who said that he recognizes about two-thirds of the people in the audience. So feels that most of these people are locals but just to show you right outside the window here, these are people holding signs as folks come into this town hall meeting.

And these are health care supporters of the Democrats' efforts for health care reform. Things are just getting under way here, Heidi. Senator McCaskill, I believe, is taking the microphone. So we're going to keep an eye on this and see exactly how this town hall meeting goes and what kind of questions are answered.

COLLINS: Yes, of course. Very good. All right. We'll be interested to hear that. Brianna, quickly though, we understand that a forum that was scheduled for tomorrow has actually been canceled?

KEILAR: That's right. Senator McCaskill was supposed to have a similar event in St. Louis at a high school and the high school canceled it, Heidi. They were concerned about security. I have to tell you that there were a lot of police on hand here as well. And university security here so far there has not been any need for it. They said that it was a just in case situation tomorrow. I guess it's too much for that high school to take the risk.

COLLINS: A big, big city. St. Louis, obviously. All right. Well, we're watching alongside you. Brianna Keilar for us this morning in Kenneth, Missouri. Thank you so much. And we do want to hear from you. How are you feeling now about your healthcare. And about healthcare reform. You can go to my blog and tell me all about it at CNN.com/heidi or call the "Hotline to Heidi" number. That number on your screen 1-877-742-5760.

Search crews back on the Hudson River this morning where a small plane and helicopter collided over the weekend. Seven bodies found so far. Two others still missing. Susan Candiotti is joining us now live from Hoboken, New Jersey with the very latest. All right. So Susan, obviously they are still trying to recover those two bodies.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And they've been at it for about three hours now. The work isn't easy, as you can well imagine. They've been at it since Saturday trying to see what they can find. Usually when they spot something, they will put up orange buoys to mark that spot as one that they want to concentrate on. Taking a look now, you see one of the platform boats out there. New York City Police Department and when they do retrieve something, they will bring it up to the surface, usually put it on that boat and transfer it to another boat or to a pier. Up river and down river, so that they can hold on to it for National Transportation Safety Board investigator to take a closer look.

There is a raft with divers just beyond that boat that you are looking at this time. And they've been at it really as we said for full speed for the last two days. Yesterday they managed to pull up the wreckage of the helicopter on which there were five Italian tourists and of course, the pilot as well. Investigators will be picking apart that heavily damaged helicopter to see what they can learn from it, about the point of impact in particular and also looking at the gauges on board.

Yesterday when they brought up the helicopter, we understand that there were two victims that were trapped inside. All the other victims have been retrieved from the water. Now the conditions that these divers are working on under is not a very easy one. Near visibility. There's a strong current there and so they can barely see in front of them. And that's what is taking them so long, not only to locate the victims but also even using sonar to locate and pinpoint where the wreckage is of the small plane. They think they know where it is at this time.

But among the questions people keep talking about, of course, why did the collision have to happen and do they need tighter rules governing the air space here over the Hudson River? We spoke earlier today with the National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Debbie Hersman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH HERSMAN, NTSB CHAIRMAN: This is a congested corridor. I think we're going to have to see what the investigation develops and what the facts tell us and then we will look to determine recommendations, to prevent something like this from happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: So among the many things investigators are doing today is to try to locate more still photographs and any videos that might exist that were taken at the time of that collision. As you know, when we had the crash landing in the Hudson earlier this year, that helped investigators a lot, of course a much happier ending in that case. But here, those videos will be specially crucial to try to get down to the bottom of what happened here. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Susan Candiotti for us with the very latest on that mid air collision that happened over the weekend. Susan, thank you.

President Obama meeting this hour with the leaders of Canada and Mexico. The North American Summit taking place in Guadalajara, Mexico. Trade issues and the on-going drug war, swine flu also on the agenda. Our Suzanne Malveaux is covering the summit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dubbed the summit of the three amigos. President Barack Obama with Mexico's Felipe Calderon and Canada's Steven Harper.

All smiles in front of the cameras but in the space of 20 hours, it is serious business. Starting with the swine flu, which originated here in Mexico and since has spread throughout the world.

With the fall flu season expected to be even more deadly. A senior administration officials say the leaders talked about the need to coordinate their efforts to contain it.

ANDREW SELEE, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: We want to keep this cooperation going. We want to keep our borders open but we also want to make sure our medical establishments are working with each other to prevent this.

MALVEAUX: Trade is another key issue. The U.S.'s crumbling economy has met job losses in Canada and Mexico. How President Obama steers Americans out of the devastating recession will impact our neighbors.

SELEE: Maybe the most important relationship we have, Mexico is our second largest commercial partner, second largest destination for exports, largest commercial partner.

MALVEAUX: Mexico is also a partner in the war against drugs. A war, Mexico's president is far from winning as the drug cartels gain strength. President Obama says the U.S. shares responsibility. It provides the market for Mexico's drugs and as the source of many of the guns that have made the cartels so powerful.

But the U.S. Congress is holding off on sending $100 million in aid to help fight the drug battle until it's reassured that the Mexican military is not involved in violating human rights. A senior official said that Mr. Obama addressed this with Mr. Calderon emphasizing that defeating the cartels in the long run would require the commitment and confidence of all of the countries affected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Suzanne Malveaux is joining us now live from Guadalajara. So Suzanne, what is the country actually doing about the H1N1, the swine flu, as this flu season approaches. And down here we've got school starting already, so there's a lot to talk about.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. I actually flew commercial to get here. And one of the things that happened when I was at the airport in customs, the first thing you are met by a customs agents who has a bottle of Purelle who squeezes it in your hand before you get through to get your luggage. That's one of the things that they're doing here.

But I was here with President Obama when he went to Mexico City back in April. And that is when it was just percolating, the swine flu, President Obama didn't know. His entourage didn't know. None of us knew. One of his aides actually got sick from the swine flu and ended up being fine. The president never came down with any kind of flu or flu-like symptoms. But it definitely was a lesson for the administration.

And immediately after that is when the administration as well as the Mexican government got together and started talking about this. What were they dealing with? How many cases? Possible vaccines. All of these things. This is a dialogue that has continued. Ever since then these three leaders, these three countries addressing this issue. There was talk initially about the need to close the border, never happened. They don't want to close the border this go around but they know that it's going to be deadly in the fall and they make sure that they share information so that folks don't panic. Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us, traveling with the president in Guadalajara, Mexico, this morning. Thank you, Suzanne.

Meanwhile, clinical trials for the H1N1 vaccine happening now. Who is participating in the trials and when can we expect results? Those answers coming up in today's "Daily Dose."

I quickly want to show you this now. Happening right now, we've been mentioning Senator Claire McCaskill, who you see right there in Kenneth, Missouri today, rural area of the state, talking about health care reform. It's one of those town hall meetings that we've been telling about. We want to show video from our Brianna Keilar is actually there, monitoring the situation.

We want to go ahead and bring up the sound on the senator, quickly here and see what is going on.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: ... information from all of the health care providers out there about what's frustrating now and what can we do. There is nothing in the bill on planned parenthood. There is not one dime for any abortions. There is nothing in the bill that mandates any kind of abortion coverage. That's just simply not true and finally how are we going to pay for it? Well, that's one of the hard things. I won't vote for a bill that's not deficit neutral - I won't vote for a bill that is not deficit neutral.

You know, I got this weird voting record that kind of, I think, makes me uniquely a Missourian - I don't vote with my party as often as most members of the Democratic Party. I split ways. In fact, I split ways on a variety of different things. But most of them have to do with the way that we spend money. And I'm the only member of the Missouri delegation that doesn't earmarked.

I am one of a few in the Senate that doesn't earmark. Because it's a flawed process. It's about who you are and who you know instead of whether or not we've done a thorough job of analyzing whether it's the best way to spend money. And if you're an appropriator, you get a lot more money than if you are not.

I will give you one example. We just did an appropriation bill a few weeks ago. And the two head of appropriators on this committee, one Republican and one Democrat were from Utah and North Dakota. This had to do with water and energy. Now, with all due respect, with folks in Utah and North Dakota there's not a huge amount of people in Utah and North Dakota. Those two senators alone spent almost 150 million in earmarks. The entire state of Pennsylvania got $500,000. That gives you an idea of how out of whack this is.

You know, it's what committee you serve on as opposed to whether or not your proposal has merit. So I'm pretty focused on how we pay for it. The proposals are varied. None of them tax anyone that makes less than $250,000 a year. All the proposals, in fact, (INAUDIBLE) most small businesses in America on the proposal exempts 75 percent of small businesses in America and another one goes further than that because of all these proposals that are floating around. The proposal that probably will come out of the finance committee will in fact tax insurance companies. And hopefully somebody will talk about insurance companies today.

I'd like to run through some statistics for you about what has happened in the health insurance industry in the last decade. Just so you know. The average salary, the 10 largest health insurance companies in the country, the average salary of their CEO is $10 million a year. $10 million a year. Let me just give you these facts, so you guys can take this home. This is about health insurance reform, this is not about the government taking over.

The health insurance companies in the year 2000, the 10 largest publicly traded health insurance companies that insure most of you sitting here made 2.4 billion in profits. In 2007 they made 12.9 billion in profits. So we've got to do something about health insurance reform. And they have the right if you get really sick, they have a right to say, we're not going to insure you anymore. If you get really sick and lose your job, they had the right to say, we're not going to give you insurance. That's what we're really -- that's the focus. That's my focus.

And I think it's most of the members' focus is how we fix that problem and in the process, hopefully, bring down costs. So the finance version in the Senate is going to be funded by taxing some of these insurance companies. And we'll see what we end up with but we all of us know that we got to figure out a way to pay for it in the short run. But in the long run, I think it's going to bring down costs.

How many of you have seen an ad for a scooter? OK. Now, I'm not saying that there are a few people out there that need scooters. Have any of you guys seen an ad for scooters on TV? Well, have you noticed it's free. You know what free means, don't you? You're paying for it. You know, how do we get to the point that in order to encourage people being healthy, we bought everybody free scooters so they didn't have to walk. Now that's kind of dumb. That's what we're doing right now. There maybe a few people that needs scooters but I guarantee you all know those people that got free scooters, don't need them. That's what we're trying to work on.

How many of you have had the same test performed on you three different times within a month, depending on whether you're in a doctor's office, a hospital, or another doctor's office. Raise your hand. OK. That's what we're talking about. Is the multiple tests, same tests done over and over again that don't set any value in terms of your health care. That's what we're working on. And I think we've got a good shot of making some an improvement. OK. Next question.

OK. This is from Leah Mobley (ph). Is Leah here? There you are. OK.

(INAUDIBLE)

MCCASKILL: Sure.

COLLINS: Sorry, I was just trying to get you the question there. Obviously, the audio is pretty difficult for us to hear. But just giving you an idea, a little flavor of what's going on today in Kenneth, Missouri.

We're listening in to a town hall meeting being held by Senator Claire McCaskill there. She is taking questions from the audience. She is reading the names of the person who put the question to here and asking if they are there. So they can go ahead and ask their own questions going around the room and handling anything that comes her way there.

So, again, our Brianna Keilar is in the area and listening in to this and monitoring it, we, of course, will stay on top of it for you. Actually, we're going to go back to her right now. Let's go ahead and listen in. Once again.

MCCASKILL: Yes. OK. I'll talk a little bit about that. So I can hopefully clarify that we're going to let the doctors decide what test she has. That's the idea here. Right now, insurance companies are deciding way too often whether or not you get a test and how many tests you're entitled to. So we want to make sure that those decision are with the patient and with the doctor and not with an insurance company and not with the government. So, who wrote the bill? Well, in the House, the Senate bill that came out of committee which is the only bill that I've got, a Senate bill to look at, there were 55 hearings. There's, I think, 10 Democrats and eight Republicans on the committee. The markup lasted three days. Markup is where everybody puts their ideas in and amendments were submitted. OK. There were 47 democratic amendments added to the bill. There were more than 130 amendments added to the bill.

So -- and I'm happy to give you those details. I can get you all the amendments and the sponsors of all those amendments. It would be fair to say that this bill was written by a combination. Now, after all of those Republican amendments were on the bill, none of the Republicans voted for the bill. But there were literally over 100 - I want to say 142. I don't want to give you a number. It's not exactly right. But literally there were way more Republican amendments. So they helped write the bill but they didn't vote the bill.

(INAUDIBLE)

MCCASKILL: Sure. Well, I can tell you how you can find it. it's very easy, if you go on the government website and you can go to the health committee website which is very easy to find help, it's health education labor and tension committee. All of the members on that committee are listed right there and those are the people that wrote the bill.

(INAUDIBLE)

MCCASKILL: Well, if you want the names of - do you want us to give you the copies of the amendments and who sponsored them? We're happy to do that. It will take a while but we'll be happy to do it. It may take us a week or two.

(INAUDIBLE)

MCCASKILL: I love it. Now, this is what we're talking about. We'll get together later, guys. Get together later. OK. Next question.

COLLINS: All right. Once again, we want to give you a little bit of flavor. Because we've been seeing a lot of these town hall events taking place across the country, regarding health care reform being that Congress is in recess now. Lawmakers are going home and listening to what their constituents have to say at the town hall meetings. This one taking place with Senator Claire McCaskill there at the podium in Kenneth, Missouri. We will continue to watch that. Our Brianna Keilar is there, she will let us know if anything takes place that we need to let you know about it.

Meanwhile, fighting for the swine flu. Testing for the H1N1 vaccine is happening now but will the vaccine work and will it be ready when it's supposed to be? We'll talk with our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Protection against the swine flu. Clinical trials testing a possible H1N1 vaccine that started on Friday. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us now. That's kind of a big deal. What's the status of the new vaccine?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a very big deal. The status is that as we speak they are beginning the process of giving shots to 2,400 people. That's 2,400 people, young people, old people, men, women, all sorts of ethnic backgrounds to see if the swine flu shot works and to see if it's safe. let's take a look. At the eight different centers where they are doing this.

They are everywhere from Texas to Ohio, Georgia. As you can see that they are all over the place. And what they are going to do is they are going to say is it safe and is it effective. And if it is, they hope by mid-October to start vaccinating people. It won't be available to absolutely everyone at the beginning. There will be sort of a first choice people, people who will be in front of the line. You and I talked about this last week but I think it bears repeating, who is supposed to get a swine flu shot once they start.

Pregnant women? Everyone ages six months to 24 years? Parents and caregivers of babies who are under six months of age, since babies that young can't get the shot. Emergency and health care workers and senior citizens with any underlying health conditions.

COLLINS: OK. So obviously, I think whenever you get a new vaccine or even just a new drug on the market, people are wondering how safe is it.

COHEN: Right. That's the big question. I've been talking to infectious disease experts about this and they said that they are really not terribly worried and the reason is it's a flu shot. Flu shots have been around for many, many years. This is a new strain of flu that they're going to put in that shot but the strain has now been around for what four or five months now. They said it really is when it comes down to it, just a flu shot.

COLLINS: OK. All right. Well, because they are just beginning these trials though, are they really going to be ready to vaccinate people, I think, mid-October?

COHEN: Mid-October. It's hard to imagine, I mean, August 10th and they really are now just getting under way. They have to give everybody a shot. Then they have to wait three weeks and give them a second shot.

COLLINS: Yes.

COHEN: And then they have to wait two weeks to assess whether they have an immune response. So that's five weeks just to get the shots done, basically, and then they have to take all that data and assess it and all of that but the federal officials who were at a White House briefing that I was out last week, they said they are really hoping to have this underway and done by mid October but they did stress that's a best case scenario.

COLLINS: Yes.

COHEN: So it might not actually be mid-October.

COLLINS: Yes, probably not. All right. Well, we'll watch closely. Sure do appreciate it.

COHEN: Thanks.

COLLINS: Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen.

Protecting students from the swine flu. As kids get ready to go back to class and some of them already in class as we speak, we're going to be talking with school and health officials about what is being done to keep them from getting sick.

The fate of your health care. A hot button issue. People are going off over the president's healthcare plan. And the war of words as both sides fight for reform.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to take you live now to southeast Missouri where a town hall meeting on health care reform is under way. As you see there, Senator Claire McCaskill at the podium. It's a first of three events like this today for the Democratic senator. Many lawmakers have been greeted by angry crowds and short tempers. I'm sure you've seen -- let's go ahead and check in now with our CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar who is there this morning. So Brianna, this is a conservative strong hold, this area in Missouri, right?

KEILAR: That's right, it is. Here in rural southeastern Missouri, and, o course, Senator McCaskill is Democrat, not only that she supports that public option, the government-run insurance program. So that's part of the reason we wanted to be here, Heidi, to see what kind of question she feels, especially since a lot of the folks that we've spoken to in this crowd of about 150 or 200 are certainly critics of the Democrats push on healthcare reform.

So Senator McCaskill, I have to tell you, Heidi, she came prepared and she came ready to try to diffuse some of the concern and some of the (INAUDIBLE) over healthcare reform. She started out by saying, raise your hand if you are so mad about federal health care reform that you just can't see straight. And a lot of people raised their hand. She actually picked some of them to both questions from a bucket of questions that the people here in the audience have put together.

And the first question she got, Heidi, was does she agree with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that people who have been speaking out at town halls are un-American or does she think this is really the lessons of American democracy. And she said, no, this is democracy in action. Many people should be voicing their concern. She was also asked, have your read the bill, does it have money for planned parenthood. How will Congress pay for it. She held up here Kindle and said, I have been reading this bill page by page, it doesn't have money for planned parenthood and I am not going to vote for a bill that does not - that makes the federal deficit grow. So she's really here to try to make sure that this group does not get rowdy but she certainly feeling a lot of a tough questions.

COLLINS: Yes, we've been listening in, and I know you have as well. It seems it's generally, really an interesting discussion. A lot of questions getting answered, at least to the best of her ability to do that. I know that you are watching for us. Let us know if we need to come back to you. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

Health care forums like the one we just showed you in Missouri have been going on across the country. You've seen some of these people getting mad and getting loud. Our Elaine Quijano has more now on this hot-button issue and the debate on both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It reads like something that was brought up in the early 1930s in Germany...

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With lawmakers back home, anger is boiling over. Democratic senator Tom Harkin got shouted down at this health care meeting in Iowa.

In Georgia, signs the debate is taking a toll.

REP. DAVID SCOTT (D), GEORGIA: Those of you are here who are taken and came and hijacked this event that we are dealing with here

QUIJANO: Democratic congressman David Scott lashed out after a doctor from his district asked...

UINDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you voting for a health care plan that is shown not to work in Massachusetts, and why are you going to institute that in the statewide -- in the nationwide...

QUIJANO: At first, Scott said he wasn't sure how he would vote. Then he let loose

SCOTT: Don't come and take advantage of what these individuals have done. You want a meeting with me on health care? I'll give it to you.

QUIJANO: In Texas, where Republican Congressman Michael Burgess...

REP. MICHAEL BURGESS (R), TEXAS: This doesn't look like a mob, this looks like home.

QUIJANO: ... the crowd stayed calm. But some of the questions, pointed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the Republicans controlled Congress and the Senate, why didn't you introduce and pass health care reform?

QUIJANO: In Austin, supporter of health care reform are getting fired up. This crowd booed as Republican senator John Cornyn tried leaving after touring a community health clinic.

And more fuel to stoke the fighting. On her Facebook page Friday, Republican Sarah Palin wrote, "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's "death panel" so his bureaucrats can decide whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."

In his weekly address, President Obama fired back at opponents.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform euthanasia or cut Medicaid or bring about a government takeover of healthcare. That's simply not true.

QUIJANO (on camera): This week, the president heads to New Hampshire for a town hall meeting on health care. Later, he'll visit Montana, home state of Max Baucus, a key Democrat trying to negotiate a deal on health care reform.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, The White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The CNN Express guest, ready to go on a long-distance tour through a half dozen states. The tour begins right here in Atlanta. Along the way, Ali Velshi and his team will visit areas that could play a big role in the health care debate.

And we are asking you to sound off on health care this morning. Why don't you just find out how you feel about your health care? Give us your two cents, if you would. We're going to go over to the Heidi Mac now and take a look at some of your comments.

Right here, this first one coming from Dr. Charles West. "As painful as it is to say this, the whole health care world has changed. In the 1950s, we got sick, got a penicillin shot, and went home. Now, there are CT scans, MRIs, organ transplants, joint replacements. And as much as we would all like to have these for free, nothing is for free. It's painful. But some form of rationing is inevitable."

The next one here, Brian from Los Angeles. "We do need to reform the health care system in this country, but we need to do it right. Before we slingshot a bill through Congress and spend a trillion, we need to know that the bill is efficient and solves the problems."

And this last one for now, from John. "Even if we really needed massive health care reform, must it be added to our out-of-control debt while we're trying to recover from a major recession?"

Well, I want to remind you that it's not too late to weigh in. Tell us what you feel about health care reform. The health care that you have right now, give us your two cents. Go ahead and contact us on our blog. CNN.com/heidi. Or you can always call the "Hotline to Heidi" at 1-877-742-5760.

The new General Motors says that it has a plan to expand the showroom from the dealer parking lot to your laptop. But will it be enough to return the automaker to profitability? That's clearly the question. Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange will look at GM's latest offering, the latest idea. Hi there, Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, buying a new car just got a lot simpler. No kicking the tires or taking a test drive like we used to. GM now wants buying a new car to be as easy as clicking a button. GM plans to sell its new cars on Ebay. The trial period starts tomorrow and lasts four weeks. 225 California dealers are going to list about 20,000 vehicles. If this program is successful, it could expand nationwide. And this new ways of selling cars will hopefully turn them to profitability now that it's exited out of bankruptcy. Heidi?

COLLINS: Hmm. I don't know. I don't even buy shoes on the Internet.

TAYLOR: Me either. I sort of can't get my head around that idea.

COLLINS: But when it comes to buying expensive things, though, like cars, a lot of people like to see and touch, obviously. Can gm realisitically overcome that kind of thinking, especially for a purchase that big?

TAYLOR: I don't know. It's hoping to. And obviously, starting out in California is really the key market. Ebay says that Californians are more tech-savvy -- I don't know. People already buy used cars online. And many use the Internet to research cars. GM says getting directly involved in online sales should give car buyers more security about buying on the Internet.

It's not that much buying on Wall Street now. Stocks retreating following a big run-up on Friday. The Dow right now just fractionally down about 11 points. That's about a fifth of one percent, and the NASDAQ and S&P are following.

COLLINS: Is that what that is? A fifth of one percent? You are good. You are good.

All right. Felcia Taylor. Thank you. We'll check back later on.

The pace of job losses is slowing, but the next bubble in the recession could be about to burst. Unemployment benefits running out for hundreds of thousands of Americans. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our breakdown now on this. Good morning to you, Poppy. Upsetting here.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It's interesting, Heidi, because the focus has gone away so much from how many people are unemployed to the folks that are unemployed, and when will their benefits run out? Numbers showing up. 650,000 Americans will have used up all of their unemployment benefits, including the extensions by next month. That will be 1.5 million by the end of the year. That's according to the National Unemployment Law Project. Those are scary numbers.

The benefits, you should know how many you have in your state because it varies state by state. We used to have just that standard 26 weeks. But take a look at this map on CNN Money. They've been extended in some places as long as 20 -- 79 weeks. Take a look at Michigan. You've got the highest unemployment rate in the country. 15.2 percent. You're going to get up to 79 weeks of unemployment benefits there. That is good news, welcome news, news that they need.

When you look at Alabama, they are in the middle. They have 10.1 percent unemployment. They have 59 weeks of coverage, so make sure you file for those extensions. Then look at a state like Utah. Utah riding out this recession pretty well. 5.7 percent unemployment. That is it. The national average, 9.4 percent. Forty-six weeks of benefits in Utah. So it varies state by state.

And Heidi, there is just some pressure among people on their lawmakers to pass another extension on top of what was on the stimulus package to extend those benefits even further beyond what they've been extended. Some opposition, though, because the pace is falling a bit, Heidi.

COLLINS: OK. Tens and thousands of people have already used up their benefits. How are they getting by at this point?

HARLOW: We're putting a face on this crisis, right? Because we talk about the numbers and there's an interesting gallery on the Web site that we want to point out to you on the site. We want to show you some folks right now who are watching those safety nets just fall apart. They break, they don't have anything left.

I want to point out Mary Ortega. I just talked to her on the phone about half an hour ago. She's 42 years old from Pensylvania. She lost her retail job in May 2008. Her benefits expired last month. She told us this morning -- just found out she may be eligible for additional line of unemployment benefits. She's waiting to find out. In the meantime, she's got a job at the local mall.

But she said that she and her partner want to have a kid. They can't afford to right now. They can't even afford to repair the dishwasher, so you see how dire the situation is. Hopefully, Mary will get that extension.

And then there's Patrick Erwin. He's 40 years old, and his benefits ran out last month. He lost his job as a writer back in December. He even applied, Heidi, at Target. He was told he was overqualified so he couldn't get the job even though he wanted it. I'm going to quote him here to leave it there. He said, "It's like someone pressed the erase button on my entire working career. I feel powerless."

So, share your stories with us. And if you're looking for extensions, you need to know how many are in your state. You can find that map here. It's right on the site.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, great information. We sure do appreciate you sharing it with us. Poppy Harlow, thank you.

HARLOW: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Getting the right classes, making new friends. Where to sit in the cafeteria. To these back-to-school fears, add the swine flu virus. How districts are getting ready as your kids go back to school.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: New lunch boxes, new notebooks, and new health concerns for kids going back to school now. Some began the school year today in parts of the country. How are districts preparing for possible outbreaks of swine flu?

Donna Mazyck is with the Maryland State Department of Education. She's joining us live from Baltimore. And Dr. Elizabeth Nipseed is the director of disease control for Jefferson County, Alabama. She is live from Birmingham this morning for us. Ladies, thanks for being with us. I guess I just want to begin with a general question. Elizabeth -- Dr. Nipseed, I should say, how worried are you about swine flu?

DR. ELIZABETH NIPSEED, DIRECTOR OF DISEASE CONTROL, JEFFERSON CO., ALABAMA: Well, I think we need to be prepared to see an uptick in influenza activity as the children return to school. We expect to see this every year in the fall and winter as the weather cools off and people come indoors and spend more time close together in congregate settings. But I think this year, the return to school will likely correspond with an earlier than usual and potentially a more widespread increase in flu activity.

COLLINS: OK, so, Donna Mazyck, as you hear that from the doctor, how do you feel about the situation, being with the state board of education in Maryland?

DONNA MAZYCK, BRANCH CHIEF FOR SCHOOL HEALTH ISSUES, MARYLAND DEPT. OF EDUCATION:Well, the Maryland State Department of Education and the state department of health and mental hygiene have already collaborated. We've convened. The local school superintendent and local health officers in July to begin to prepare for this school year. We're feeling that we have that preparation under way, and we have messages that we want to give to families, to students, and school staff to help them be safe and healthy throughout the school year.

COLLINS: OK, so are you doing anything different? Are you really focusing in on this particular strain of the flu, if you will, the H1N1, differently than any other year as you go back to school?

MAZYCK: Absolutely, Heidi. We are doing some things differently. Local school districts are collaborating with their local health departments, their emergency management partners and other community partners so they can determine what is the best way to handle perhaps selective school dismissals, it that's required. School nurses are prepared to screen students and staff to be sure that they have a handle on influenza-like illness and to handle that as appropriate.

COLLINS: OK. Dr. Turnseed (sic), I have to say, I sent my third-grader back to school this very morning, and there was no talk among the parents about the swine flu. I didn't see anything different going on. Can you put it in perspective for us? It's clear that we should all be aware, but it's still the same type of hygiene that we are always supposed to be doing, right? Washing the hands several different times - we just saw one of the custodians there on the video that we were showing cleaning off the desk with anti-septic and so forth. Same procedure?

NIPSEED: I think that's absolutely right. Back-to-school time should be an exciting time. I think we have to be aware that the flu is here, but it's certainly not a time to have panic or even excess anxiety. I think remembering the basics -- what our grandmothers always told us about washing hands regularly, covering coughs and sneezes. And one of the things that is very important is educating parents and teachers that sick kids really do need to be home. They don't need to be in class, and I think that is an important point.

COLLINS: Yes. Very much so. In fact, Donna, when we talk about this switch in thinking that happens just a couple of weeks ago, we talked about it here, regarding whether or not school systems should actually close down if there is an incident or a case of swine flu in their schools. And at the beginning, it seems like it seems drastic to close the schools down. But it really seems to work, and now we are hearing sort of a backing off of that. Not to be too quick to shut down schools.

MAZYCK: That's right, Heidi. The CDC has issued new guidance on how to determine when schools need to close because of swine flu or H1N1 outbreak. And that -- the decisions are made on a community level, and that's why school districts have the partnership with local health departments and state health department, the state department of education so that they can make those decisions as they are required. But I would repeat that keeping hands clean, washing them at least 20 seconds, maybe while singing Happy Birthday twice, covering coughs. That's important.

COLLINS: OK. Very good. Before I let you ladies go, I want to know what you thought about this vaccine. Because just a few minutes ago, we were talking with our senior medical correspondent about the fact that the swine flu vaccine is being tested right now. I believe it began on Friday, it's going to take a while to get through that testing process and actually be able to have the vaccine available to people. What do you think about the process so far, Dr. Turnipseed (ph)?

NIPSEED: Well, we are anticipating a vaccine, and a safe and effective one most likely. And everything that we are hearing is still that the vaccine will very possibly be available in mid-October. So, we are enthusiastic about that. But I think you raised the point earlier that is very relevant, we can't be surprised if it is in fact later in the fall. And I think -- we do anticipate a vaccine.

The flu is already here. In fact, it's been circulating all summer. And I think the timing underscores that basic hygiene, the basic measures we can all take to minimize the chance of infection. I think - we hope we will get the vaccine, but we can't hang our hat on that. We need to try to take some basic safety precautions.

COLLINS: All right. Donna Mazyck, last word here.

MAZYCK: I would like families to know that they can get further informations and updates at flu.gov.

COLLINS: Good point, ladies. We appreciate the discussion. The school year has begun, that's for sure. Donna Mazyck, Maryland State Department of Education and Dr. Elizabeth Nipseed, thank you so much.

MAZYCK: Thank you.

NIPSEED: Thank you.

COLLINS: Well, it is August. It's supposed to be hot, right? But there are some excessive heat warnings to tell you about across the country. We'll show you where in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: All right. Quickly want to get over to Rob Marciano, our meteorologist in the Severe Weather Center, because we are talking about some really, really high temperatures. And also this video, unbelievable.

MARCIANO: Yes. I want to start off with that because it's just crazy. This is in Taiwan, a six-story hotel going splash. I mean, a belly flop into that river. It's always great to have a waterfront property, and when you get -- we're talking parts of Taiwan and inland China got over seven feet of water, of rainfall from this. It's huge and the moisture plume is there. That is the use of Chinese vernacular. And that is -- well, I don't have (INAUDIBLE) Chinese vernacular -- do I have the Iowa shot?

Let's go stateside. Look at this damage out of Iowa. This is the strongest storm that damage-wise, came through this year. Serious amount of damage went through this house. Seventy-mile-an-hour winds with hail.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Well, all right. We know that you are on top of it. Sure do appreciate it. Rob Marciano, our meteorologist there staying on top of all the stories today.

Meanwhile, health care in Communist China. It's a poor country with a huge population. So, how do find affordable coverage for uninsured citizens? We'll take a look at 15-cent health care experiment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In a country where many make less than a thousand dollars a year, getting good health care can be difficult. But China is experimenting with a plan that charged $3 a year to provide treatment for 30 basic illnesses with 74 common medications. CNN's John Vause has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zhou Yujun is bedridden, broke and dying. "To get treatment, we need money. I don't have money for hospital," he says.

A year ago he was healthy. Then his kidneys began failing. Within a month, hospital bills wiped out the family's life savings, almost 7,000 U.S. dollars, so he borrowed from his parents. When their money ran out, Joe says the hospital sent him home. His wife, Gin (ph), works double shifts at a Beijing juice factory. Her wages barely cover the costs of joe's medication.

"This is for his kidneys, this is a diuretic, this is a hormone," and on and on she goes. Total 150 U.S. dollars each month.

"We just eat noodles or bones," she says. "Eating well and eating to fill our stomachs is the same thing."

Jo's (ph) story is common in a country where hundreds of millions can't afford even basic health care. But not here in the small village of Shinshwei (ph) in northwest China. Under a trial program, Dr. Na Jing (ph) charges patients just 1 yuan. That's 15 U.S. cents. Villagers like Lee Fung (ph), whose son has a fever, pay an annual insurance premium about 3 U.S. dollars, and the government covers the rest.

For treatment of 30 mild illnesses like colds and coughs, prescriptions are limited to 74 types of medication.

"Here if you have a small problem, we'll treat it first, and hopefully it will improve and not become serious," the doctor says.

Most families in China earn less than 1,000 U.S. dollars a year. So, for Lee, 15 cents is affordable health care. But she still worries.

"We can't afford to treat major illnesses," she says. "We're afraid if it's serious, we'll have to spend a lot of money."

(on camera): But health care reform is also important to this economy. The Chinese have an incredibly high personal saving rate. Partly that's to hedge against high medical bills should they fall sick. The government is hoping a better public health care system will mean they save less and spend more, and that will be good for economic growth.

(voice-over): To do that, the Communist Party has promised universal health coverage by 2020, welcome news for most Chinese, but too late, though, to help Zhou Yujun and so many others just like him.

John Vause, CNN, Shinshwei (ph), China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Tony Harris.