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Cancer Battle; Medical Malpractice; Suicide Bombers Destined for Hell; Quake & Tsunami Destroy Village; Fiscal Discipline Fight
Aired March 03, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Time for your top-of-the-hour reset. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is 12:00 o'clock in Washington where the president reaches out to Republicans, again, on health care reform bills.
And at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, an ethics probe leads Congressman Charlie Rangel to give up his powerful chairmanship for now.
And at JFK Airport, New York air traffic controllers are benched after a child is allowed to direct planes. Really?
Let's get started here.
Can a new plan from President Obama resuscitate the push for health care reform? The president unveils the plan next hour. It includes some Republican ideas, and it is seen as a last-ditch attempt at a bipartisan bill. White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, is back with us, with a preview.
Suzanne, what do we expect to hear from the president next hour?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, aides say that this is his final act, essentially, that he's going to be putting this forward. This is something that he's calling for bipartisanship. He's trying to show that he's open to some Republican ideas that came out of the bipartisan health care summit at the White House last Thursday.
Some of those things that he's going to be embracing, he says, taking on fraudulent medical charges, something that came up from the Republicans, from the summit. New funding for resolving malpractice suits, increasing doctors' Medicaid reimbursement, something that the GOP thought was very important to include, and also offering tax incentives to help curb some unnecessary doctors' appointments and visits.
All of this really goes to the issues of waste, fiscal responsibility, things that Republicans have been talking about. And this is the president's chance, essentially, to say, look, you know, we've got this health care bill, this reform bill, this legislation that Democrats are putting forward. These are some of the ideas, proposals, on the Republican side that we can live with. Tony. HARRIS: All right. So, all right, so we're going to get over the hurdle here, and Republicans are going to join the president now, correct?
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: You know, you and I talked about this before. We're not seeing that happen here. You know, Washington is a different animal, a different beast altogether. And the Republicans have already started to say, look, this is a fundamental difference here. This is a massive -- they see this as a massive change, a very expensive bill, in the tune of $1 trillion. They want to do something much smaller. Break it all apart. Do it in piecemeal fashion. And start -- start from the very beginning.
We already heard from the Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who explained how Republicans are going to react to the president's statement. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Americans don't know how else to say it. They don't want the massive bill. Perfectly clear. They want commonsense, bipartisan reforms that lower costs, and they want us to refocus our energy on creating jobs and the economy. They've had enough of this yearlong effort to get a win for the Democratic Party at any price to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Tony, the White House is fully aware that this is how the Republicans are responding. And essentially this is the president trying to show that there's some bipartisanship and at least bringing some of these ideas together. But the message is primarily going to be to the Democrats, those moderate Democrats, who are very nervous.
HARRIS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: And not fully on board yet with what he is proposing to get something done. That is going to be the main message today.
HARRIS: Can't wait to hear the president's remarks next hour in the NEWSROOM.
Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.
Let's do this. Let's take a look at the cost of health care in this country. Right now, just a bit of a snapshot. A federal study released in January shows the U.S. spent an average of $7,681 per person on health care in 2008. OK? It adds up to an eye-popping $2.3 trillion, which was actually a slower rate of increased spending because of the recession. Consider those numbers for a moment.
We will bring you live coverage as President Obama unveils his health care reform plan. That is coming up next hour. 1:45 Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's do this. A quick look at some of our other big stories today.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has accepted Congressman Charlie Rangel's request to step down temporarily as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He's accused of ethics violations. The New York Democrat's statement this morning, short and to the point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: I have, this morning, sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi, asking her to grant me a leave of absence, until such time as the ethics committee completes its work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Among other things, Rangel is accused of failing to pay taxes on a home in the Dominican Republic, and violating gift rules related to conferences he attended in the Caribbean.
Oh, my, what a photo.
The Ways and Means Committee drafts the nation's tax policies.
Senator Jim Bunning blinks, and lawmakers pass a bill to extend jobless benefits. The Republican from Kentucky held up the bill for days, while pushing the Senate to come up with a way to pay for it. He relented last night, and senators approved the $10 billion emergency spending measure. It extends unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies and provides money for road projects.
Safety concern or harmless fun? An air traffic controller is being investigated after he brought his son to work and allowed had him to direct the plane! CNN's Susan Candiotti is in New York.
And, Susan, this is one of those stories you hear and you say, no, come on, you're making -- did this really happen? Where and when did this happen?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it's a head scratcher, isn't it?
HARRIS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: It happened at JFK Airport. I know, one of the busiest airports in the world really. And it happened on February 17th. Only now we are hearing about it. And I'm about to play for you a tape, so you can hear it for yourself. This is a tape of a child, who is clearly at the helm on the radio, and he is talking to two pilots. One is on a JetBlue flight and the other is on an Aero Mexico flight. The proof's in the pudding. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JFK TOWER, UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: 171 cleared for takeoff. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clear for takeoff, JetBlue 171.
JFK TOWER, UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see. Aero Mexico 403 Kennedy, position hold?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Position hold, Aero Mexico 403.
JFK TOWER: Here's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, boy. Ha, ha, ha. All right, look, Susan, so, the FAA obviously has been investigating this, correct?
CANDIOTTI: Sure they are. And sources also tell us that with knowledge of the investigation, that there was another air traffic controller who was in charge at the time. And the source says it's -- it's -- they're looking in to how it is that that person didn't put a stop to this right away. It's all part of the investigation.
HARRIS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: But here's what the FAA's statement officially says, quote, "Pending the outcome of our investigation," it reads, "the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic. This behavior is not acceptable. And does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees."
The FAA says the incident happened, as we said, around February the 17th. So, we do know that the people involved in the investigation so far are now -- have been given desk jobs at this time. Also, the air traffic controllers association weighing in, and telling us in a statement that they also dodo not condone this type of behavior in any way. And they said it is not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves, each and every day. So, a lot more to come.
HARRIS: There you go. Hey, I got one more. Anyone coming to the defense of this guy? Doesn't sound like it, but is there anyone?
CANDIOTTI: Yes, well, there is one person that we have spoken with. You know, the tapes ran on a website called liveatc.com. And the owner of that website is saying that -- this is being blown out of proportion, in his words. He's calling the reaction, initial reaction, ridiculous. And he goes on to tell us that this is one incident where a kid was up in the control tower. He says JFK is highly supervised, and he assured that there were multiple people there who were keeping an eye on things. So, that is at least one person who has come to their defense.
HARRIS: Oh, OK.
CANDIOTTI: Obviously we're still gathering elements today. HARRIS: OK, Susan, appreciate it. Susan Candiotti for us in New York.
Our "Random Moment" is just 90 seconds away.
The roadblock has been lifted for unemployment benefits, but not everyone is going to get help right away. We're going to dig deeper in that. Here are some of your thoughts.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Why did it take the Senate so long to bring this proposal up to vote so one guy could actually block it for all these people?
CALLER: I just believe they are selfish and they are not considering the people, the smaller people, who are unemployed. I really hope that this separatism between the parties can become -- there's a resolution for it, because it's hurting people like myself.
CALLER: I just sit here shaking my head in disbelief about what this government has come to and how one man can screw everything up for thousands of people who are hurting. It's just unbelievable. I just can't believe how things are working in Washington today.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, love, love, love will push a man to shameful extremes. Witness the "Random Moment Of The Day."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Babes. I've missed you so much since we split up. I'm going to make you a video to prove how much I love you. And I want you to come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I want you to come -- so, what did he do? He did this thing here. Well, he wants the love of his -- oh, my. So, he paraded around Europe in Superman-style undies, visiting spots dear to his lost love. It goes on like this for four and half minutes.
Please, let's hope she comes back, and soon, or we could be watching a sequel, which means you would have to watch it as a future "Random Moment Of The Day"!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, on the surface, a happy ending, but the epilogue could use some work here. Typical Washington, where Senator Bunning's five-day holdup could translate into weeks, even months, of playing catch-up here. And it's not just affecting those out of work, but those trying to get work done, like Mike Ghilotti. He's the president of a construction firm in San Raphael, California. He's on Skype with us.
Sir, glad you are taking your time.
MILE GHILOTTI, PRESIDENT, GHILOTTI BROS., INC.: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: And joining the conversation with us is our own Ines Ferre; she's in New York and she has been digging into whether the wrangling over benefits and this bill getting done will delay health and unemployment benefits.
But, Mike, let's get started with you, if you would, describe the project you were working on, and the number of people you were able to hire, because this is a project that was being funded, I understand, from stimulus dollars from the Highway Trust Fund, correct?
GHILOTTI: Yes. It's an $8.7 million contract in the Marin headlands, a signature contract to improve the access for the motorists, the bicyclists, pedestrians, transits. It's about 11 miles of old roads and trails that are going to be improved. And now it's in question as to whether --
HARRIS: well, Mike -- as to whether or not you can get it going again?
GHILOTTI: Correct.
HARRIS: How many people were you able to hire for the project?
GHILOTTI: Initially the first phases include about 20 of our direct hires. There's suppliers and subcontractors as well. Overall the project includes about 200 employees.
HARRIS: Wow. You know, I'm -- why is the deal in some doubt, some jeopardy here? I mean, the extension bill has been signed. Shouldn't that just turn the pump on again?
GHILOTTI: The problem we have is that there's also some involvement of outside agencies. There's a local utility contractor, AT&T, that took about four to six weeks to schedule. Ironically they were scheduled to start yesterday. They need to remove and relocate utilities that are in conflict. And so we have to go back to the bottom of the list. We're probably going to start again with them, and hopefully in another four to six weeks, or earlier, they'll be out there.
HARRIS: Wait a minute, four to six weeks?
GHILOTTI: Yes. For public agencies, it's a little bit more difficult to get them to turn around and come back and support our efforts.
HARRIS: Whoa. So, you know, my next question was, when can you get back to work and when can you get the 20 or so employees direct hires back on the job? And it sounds like you're telling me it's going to take some time. It's not a simple question of, all right, the bill has been signed, let's get back to work tomorrow?
GHILOTTI: Well, we need to get contract documents that authorize us to return to work. I think that will happen probably fairly soon. The challenge is, is that the work we're doing with the initial phase is -- is not critical work. We need to get AT&T in there to do that. So, we're going to get some people back to work initially in the next week or so.
HARRIS: Great.
GHILOTTI: But the critical item of work and, you know, this is a two-year project that's been planned for the Golden Gate National Park Association for eight years now. So, it's frustrating that we're -- we're going through this situation. But we're going to do every effort we can to kick it off as quickly as we can.
HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Mike, stay there just a second. I got at least one more question for you, depending on how much time I have. Let's bring in Ines Ferre in New York.
And, Ines, for those people already out of a job for five days will have a much longer and harsher repercussion here, right? Conceivably how long could it take for those being taken off the unemployment rolls to get back on
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, it really depends on these folks as far as the types of people who are affected by this. So, there's two types of people that may be affected by this with delays, and that would be people who were on state unemployment who at the beginning of this week were going to apply for a federal extension. And then those that were already on a federal extension, and then need to go on to the next stage of their extensions, and that would have happened at the beginning of this week.
Now, all in all these two groups are about 200,000, more than 200,000 people, who could experience some delays. But, Tony, having said that, some states had put some measures into place where they would actually put these people in the system, on cue, so that knowing there would be kind of a quick or relatively quick fix.
HARRIS: I see.
FERRE: So, that could diminish some delays.
HARRIS: Right.
FERRE: But, you know, there's millions of people receiving federal unemployment, so a lot of people are wondering am I going to be affected. And I'm sure they'll be jamming the lines today at those unemployment offices.
HARRIS: Good. That's smart. That is smart to do that.
What about-it is not just pay benefits, we're talking about COBRA, as well. About what, 500,000 people stood to lose their COBRA coverage because of this delay, correct? FERRE: Right. Well, those COBRA people should be OK. I spoke to experts who said, look, this is the way the subsidy works. You receive a bill from your insurance company. Let's say it's $1,000 for the month. And the government is responsible for 65 percent of that. You're responsible for 35 percent of that. So, you send your 35 percent to the insurance company. And the government would take care of the rest. So, you have -- given that these bills come monthly and that there's usually some leeway as far as how, you know, for how long you can pay, those people should be OK.
HARRIS: Right. All right.
And, Mike, one last question for you. What do you think about this whole process? And I'm not asking you -- it might sound like I'm leading you in a political area, but I'm really not. But, I mean, how does it feel for you to go through this process essentially because one senator decided to make, you know, an important statement about the deficit, but a statement, you know, that put a lot of your -- your efforts at some jeopardy here?
GHILOTTI: Yes. It's frustrating. You know, while I understand the intent and the action, you know, it jeopardizes a lot of momentum that these jobs need, the job creation bills. And, you know, in California, we're about 30 percent down on labor hours. So any jobs like this that we can keep going are certainly important for the economy and for our employees. So, we're excited.
HARRIS: Yes.
GHILOTTI: Trying to get back to work, but it has been frustrating, and we're hoping that this is the last of this type of a situation.
HARRIS: All right, guys, let's see the split. You read my mind. Mike, appreciate it. Thanks for your time this morning, and Ines, as always, good to see you. Thanks for your help today.
FERRE: You, too.
HARRIS: Still coming up in the NEWSROOM, people are lining up at city hall, in Washington, for something they've never been able to do before, get a marriage license.
We've got your top stories straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Checking our top stories now.
Captain Chesley Sullenberger is retiring from US Airways today. Sully, as he's better known, made headlines, as you know last year, when he landed an airliner in the Hudson River. All 150 passengers survived.
Starting today, same-sex couples in Washington, D.C., can apply for a marriage license. Darlene Garner and Candy Holmes were among the dozens lined up this morning. They planned to tie the knot on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARLENE GARNER, APPLIED FOR MARRIAGE LICENSE: Our mood is absolute jubilation. The accomplishment of today is that finally I am able to marry the love of my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a joy!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, could it be four more years for Texas Governor Rick Perry? He won yesterday's Republican primary, beating out Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. He will face the winner of the Democrats' primary, former Houston mayor, Bill White, in the November election.
We will get another check of your top stories in about 20 minutes.
You know, this isn't a top story, just one of those "wow" stories. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SPORTS ARENA, CROWD CHEERING)
How do you like me now? A high school player gives the ball a big old heave-ho from half-court, sinking the three-pointer. Phil DePascquali's (ph) buzzer beater, sends his underdog Knights to the championship game. It's coming up Saturday night in Rochester, New York, good stuff, huh?
Storms in the east, storms in the west, storms, storms, storms. Both coasts getting rain and snow and wind today. Chad Myers is watching it all in the CNN Weather Center. There he is.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Special deliveries and pricey procedures are part of the reason behind soaring medical costs. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen explains what one hospital is doing to change that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: That's a good-looking shot. Is that live, or did we freeze that? That was Atlanta live? Let me see that again. Let me see that again. That's nice. OK, I see traffic. I thought you froze that. Boy, nice stuff, Atlanta, sunshine. It's been a tough winter here.
Pricey procedures, expensive deliveries, they all add to the cost you and I pay for medical care. In her special series on medical waste, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports on how one hospital is reducing costs and saving money. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, cutting down on the Cesarean section rate is just one thing that a hospital in Utah is trying to do to control skyrocketing medical costs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (On camera): We are here at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, where Hailee Nelson is about to have a baby.
How is the labor going?
HAILEE NELSON, PATIENT: It's going well.
COHEN: That's good. Any pains yet?
NELSON: No, we're good to go.
COHEN: Good. The epidural kicked in?
NELSON: Yep.
COHEN: OK, we are going to catch up with you in bit.
I'm going to say something that is going to sound a little bit crass, but how Hailee has this baby affects my pocketbook and yours, too. Let me explain.
I'm here at Intermountain with Doctor Brent James who is the chief quality officer. It looks like Hailee is doing well.
DR. BRENT JAMES, INTERMOUNTAIN, CHIEF QUALITY OFFICER: Very well. I think in about an hour we'll have another citizen in the state of Utah.
COHEN: All right. Here at Intermountain you are very focused on not wasting money, so, can you take me a little tour of the hospital and show me how you do it?
JAMES: I'd be delighted.
COHEN: So you found you had a lot of CT scans that were unnecessary, wasting money. How much money did you save when you stopped doing repetitive scans?
JAMES: We dropped the total number by about 20 percent. It would have been measured in the tens of millions of dollars. And it's not just CT scans. It's other imaging exams.
COHEN: And here's another way Intermountain saves money, and I'll tell you it's so much cuter than an MRI. Here at this hospital, two out of every 10 babies are born via Cesarean section. However, the national average at hospitals around the country is that three out of every 10 babies are born out of C-section. You might think, OK, one extra baby by C-section, what is the difference? Well, a C- section costs about $2,000 more than a vaginal birth. So, if you do the math, if every hospital in the country had statistics like this hospital, the nation would save about $1 billion.
So, by instituting all of these changes to get rid of waste, how much money are you saving?
JAMES: We estimate we're saving at a minimum of $150 million per year.
COHEN: That's a lot of money. Why can't all hospitals do this?
JAMES: Frankly, they can.
COHEN: I got to tell you, it makes me a little bit nervous when I hear that hospitals are trying to save money, because I want you to spend money on me when I'm sick. So you're saving all this money, but are you delivering good care?
JAMES: It turns out that in almost all circumstances, better care is cheaper care.
COHEN: How could better care be cheaper care?
JAMES: Well, you avoid the complications, so you don't have to pay for the complication. We have a great way of saying it, the best patient outcome at the lowest necessary cost.
COHEN: OK, so Doctor James, I'm going to go check on Hailee now.
JAMES: Wonderful.
COHEN: So, congratulations, Hailee.
NELSON: Thank you.
COHEN: She's beautiful.
NELSON: Thank you. I think so, too.
COHEN: So, she was not born by C-section.
NELSON: No.
COHEN: So she saved everyone a little bit of money, huh?
NELSON: Yes. A good way to look at it, huh?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Tony, you might wonder if this hospital in Utah did this, why can't all hospitals do it? It's a complicated answer, but one piece of it is that when a hospital controls costs, they actually lose money for themselves. If they do fewer C-sections or fewer CT scans, they lose money, and it can be sometimes hard to convince a hospital to make less money.
HARRIS: Boy, that is good stuff. All right, Elizabeth, thank you.
Americans falling deeper in debt while fighting cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRISCILLA MINTER, CANCER SURVIVOR: I think everybody need to be able to know, if I get sick, I can go to the hospital. And if I have a house, I won't lose my home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Isn't this pretty simple? So a schoolteacher shares her personal battle to keep her home after a tough fight with colon cancer. You won't want to miss this story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Imagine for a moment having to fight stage four cancer, going through all the painful chemo treatments and coming home to a huge stack of bills. The truth is, it happens to folks every day. And we just wanted to profile one of those Americans. Here's Priscilla Minter's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA MINTER, CANCER SURVIVOR: I didn't eat enough to have my stomach, you know, getting that big. Some people thought I was pregnant.
HARRIS (voice-over): She wasn't pregnant. Priscilla Minter had colon cancer. Her doctors gave her 23 months to live.
DAVID MINTER, HUSBAND: I read in the Bible, it says skin for skin, all that a man have will he give for his own life. And, you know, a person feel like there's a chance that they might get cured or it can make them -- give them a few more years, we'll try to do what we can to get that time.
HARRIS: So far, so good. This month, this couple celebrates a milestone. This is month 23 and the cancer is in remission, for now.
D. MINTER: There's a chance it could come back. But, I'm look -- being positive and thinking that it won't come back, you know?
HARRIS: For Priscilla, the cancer has meant quitting her job and two surgeries to remove cancer-related gunk, mostly mucus from her system, and half of her colon. For David, a school maintenance worker, the cancer has meant deep debt. He pays most of the household bills.
D. MINTER: Well, my credit card company just cut me off because they said I was a -- I think they're thinking I'm a risk.
HARRIS: Chemo has lift Priscilla with a debilitating condition.
P. MINTER: It's kind of like sticking needles in your hand 24 hours a day.
HARRIS: She lives with intense pain, stomach pain that makes it difficult to eat, pain in her hands from the chemo. Her life is a daily cocktail of costly pills.
P. MINTER: These are the three medications that I'm on right now.
HARRIS: Each time Priscilla went for chemotherapy, she was charged thousands for the cancer-fighting chemicals that were pumped into her body.
P. MINTER: That was, like, $4,125. Then there's another medication that went into the pump which was $5,900.
HARRIS: Even with the insurance paying 80 percent of the costs, her out-of-pocket was more than $15,000. She didn't have that kind of savings. So she had to turn to a patient's advocacy group for help.
Priscilla used up her entire 401(k) savings plan from her teaching job and was taxed heavily for pulling that money out early.
P. MINTER: Well, we were looking at about $10,000 in just bills that we were paying. It just got over -- overwhelming.
HARRIS: Today, Priscilla no longer works because of her painful post chemo condition. She's on disability from Social Security, which gives her $1,300 a month. That is supposed to cover her medical and household bills, including her mortgage, her utilities, her car insurance, her doctors' visits and the endless scans and blood tests.
P. MINTER: Without my husband working, it would not cover my bills, no.
HARRIS: She has nothing left at the end of the month. The family recently asked their mortgage lender for help with their payments. Priscilla is actually looking to Congress for a solution. She's more concerned about those families even worse off than she is.
P. MINTER: Bipartisanship is very important. They need to work together, not to look at the Democrat, not to look at the Republican, just to look at us and people and say, I want everybody, at some point, to be covered. Because if you don't have insurance, it could totally wipe you out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Priscilla Minter's story.
Next hour, the president is going to be offering the proposals on health care reform. Expect tort reform to be discussed. Got to tell you, it's a concern raised by many doctors and lawmakers. We're talking about medical malpractice judgments in the millions. Doctors say the insurance costs are crippling. But how often do patients really win in these cases? Or Josh Levs is here with the surprising numbers here -- Josh. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not often, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
LEVS: Very, very not often. I know you're into these numbers. By the way, open next to me is CNN.com/healthcare, which has a lot of info. I encourage you all to check out.
But let's get straight to this, because I want you to see this. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has looked at this specifically. Check this out. The number of cases that even made it to trial is small because, as a rule, most people, if they think they've been wronged, they don't even go to trial because lawyers tell them you're probably going to lose.
So they looked at -- the Bureau of Justice Statistics says, for the whole year, 2005, you have just over 2,400 cases that even went to trial. So, first of all, that's just a subset of people out there who say, OK, I'm going to trial. Then, within that, Tony, plaintiffs win less than a quarter of the time.
HARRIS: Less than a quarter of the time.
LEVS: Less than a quarter of a time. When you even go to trial, the plaintiff actually wins. So the vast majority of the time, the doctor, the hospital wins. Median award here, $400,000.
And let's check this next screen because what they did -- it's interesting -- they looked at some specific states a couple of years ago. They wanted to know how often are there multimillion dollar judgments. So they looked at a handful of states. And in these four states that they looked at there, they found that less than 10 percent of the time you have a payout that exceeds a million dollars. So, this idea, Tony, of these multimillion dollar judgments --
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Is very, very rare. Now that said, I want to show you one thing that the other side, that the other side points to and doctors will often point to this, and that's the last number for you here, and that is the fact that the awards from medical malpractice trials are 17 times higher than awards for other types of lawsuits.
Let's sit on that for a second. So, yes, if you go to a medical malpractice trial and you win, overall, the awards are 17 times higher for this than they are for
HARRIS: But, wait a minute, that's if you're in the small pool that decides to file.
LEVS: Right. Exactly.
HARRIS: And the smaller pool of folks who actually win.
LEVS: And it's kind of apple and oranges because when comparing to other kinds of lawsuits, you can sue about anything. HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: These people, as a rule, the vast majority of the people who do these cases are alleging either permanent injury or had a love one die.
HARRIS: Just something for you to consider in the middle of this debate.
Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: Yes. Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: And another reminder, we will have live coverage of President Obama's unveiling of his new health care package. That gets underway next hour, 1:45 Eastern Time.
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HARRIS: Let's do this. Let's get you caught up on our top stories now.
One of the most powerful men on Capitol Hill gives up his committee chairmanship, at least for now. Congressman Charlie Rangel has temporarily stepped aside as head of the House Ways and Means Committee. Rangel, a New York Democrat, is accused of ethics violation.
An Ohio man, listen to this story, is charged with sex-related crimes after he was found in an Alabama 14-year-old's bedroom. Authorities say the girl's mother held Matthew Rogers (ph) at gunpoint until police arrived. They say Rogers, who is 28, befriended the girl on the Internet, are you ready for this, last week.
A powerful Muslim scholar says suicide bombers are destined for hell. His warning comes in the form of a religious ruling, or fatwa. Live now to CNN's international security correspondent Paula Newton. He's in London for us.
And, Paula, this scholar is not mincing words here. Fill us in on the fatwa.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this fatwa is interesting because he comes out and very bluntly says, look, suicide bombings are wrong. Terrorism is wrong. But, Tony, what's underlying all this is the fact that he's saying, look, there is no justification for this. I don't care if you're upset about foreign affairs. I don't care if you're upset because certain countries are occupying Muslim lands. I don't care if you're upset because there isn't Middle East peace. There is no justification for terrorism.
I want you to listen to him for just a little bit here, Tony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MOHAMMED TAHIR-UL-QADRI, MUSLIM SCHOLAR: The terrorists are the biggest enemies of Islam. Someone should stand up, and the group of scholars should stand up to condemn it absolutely, to declare that terrorism is terrorism. And no good intention can made -- provide any justification to act of terrorism. No pretext. No discussion of foreign policy of certain countries.
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NEWTON: Now, here is the partial fatwa. It's 600 pages in the original language, in Urdu, but here I've got a small translation of it. It's been interesting the buzz already on certain websites, Tony. I mean people saying, look, this is not new. We have had lots of Muslim scholars turn out and say things like this.
What's different here, Tony, he's taken the Koran, the holy book of Islam, and taken it verse by verse, scripture by scripture, and said, look, I don't care what other people are saying on Internet forums or what you have heard in terrorist tapings, this is a blatant lie. It is just not true -- Tony.
HARRIS: Boy, I almost want to pause for a moment and take that in once again. Boy, Paula, who is this cleric and how influential is he?
NEWTON: He is influential in the sense that he is -- is deemed to be a learned scholar. He's not someone who got his qualifications on the Internet. He has studied the Koran. He has studied Islam. He is respected, not just here in Britain. He is Pakistani, and so respected throughout the Muslim world.
If we, though, need to go to some people who, with real cynicism say, how is this going to stop a suicide bomber, perhaps in its boldest sense, it won't. But, Tony, here's this. What the British community here is telling me, and this is British officials, they're happy with this because they feel it emboldens communities to act.
HARRIS: Yes.
NEWTON: Because people who might be on this guy's side will then look at their own young children and say, look, what this other, you know, Internet forum or what your buddy at school might be telling you is wrong and this is why. Do not try and justify the suicide bombings or anything else because of different world affairs that might be at this point in time really worrying you.
HARRIS: Yes. It's wrong and chapter and verse, here's why it's wrong. That's -- that's powerful stuff.
Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.
NEWTON: Well, we have to -- we have to keep up on this, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, go ahead.
NEWTON: I just want you to know, that -- HARRIS: Please.
NEWTON: The point here is, let's figure out what the impact will be. We'll continue to monitor the Internet forums, continue to monitor some things going on in the Arab world and in Pakistan. And the key here, Tony, with the youth people here in Britain.
HARRIS: I can't -- I can't wait for the follow-up reporting on this. This feels like a moment.
Paula Newton for us. Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.
A coastal village wiped out by, look, the one-two punch of an earthquake and tsunami in Chile. We will take you there.
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HARRIS: The official death toll from Chile's earthquake has jumped to 799. Officials say that number will rise as search crews dig deeper into collapsed buildings, finding more bodies from Saturday's 8.8 magnitude quake.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has delivered 25 satellite phones to Chile. She says the U.S. will also send water purification units, a mobile field hospital and other items.
Karl Penhaul takes us to a coastal village that literally has been wiped out.
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KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): From the shoreline or from the high ground, the coastal town of Decappo looks the same. Almost total destruction.
"This is a catastrophe. This was a great tourist and fishing community. Now it's like firewood," he says.
This was the scene shot by amateur videographers minutes after three tsunami waves swept away people and their homes. Witnesses say the waves rolled in five meters, or 15 feet high, shortly after the quake. You can make out a house roof floating off and the town center flooded.
Now, that same area is dry. Fishing boats dragged more than two miles from their moorings by the tsunami. Rescue workers comb the sludge and debris for bodies.
"We're combing the wreckage by following the path the waves took as they swept into the town," he says.
Then the earth begins to heave again.
PENHAUL (on camera): There's just been an aftershock and the leaders of the firefighters has called for his men to suspend their search and head to what he calls the security zone. PENHAUL (voice-over): Police in this town of 5,500 confirm eight people died in Saturday's tsunami, but say around 50 are still missing. The survivors are struggling to come to terms with what hit them.
Sixty-eight-year-old Anna Aranada (ph) takes us down to Violet Street. Her house was a block away on Petunia Street. Now, there's nothing to go home to. She tells me when the quake struck, she ran out in her nightclothes. A neighbor's house withstood the shaking, but they were too old and frail to outrun the waves. They died.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Dichato, Chile.
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HARRIS: Look, you know how to budget your money, right? If you spend too much here, you have to cut back there, right? So why doesn't Congress understand this concept? "The Breakdown" right after a break.
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HARRIS: Yes, yes, where is Poppy Harlow? Let's get to her here. The Senate voted last night to extend jobless benefits, but days of intense, look, Poppy, partisan fighting have raised an important question.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes.
HARRIS: Just what is Congress willing to cut? It is -- it really is an important question and maybe the answer is, they're willing to cut the other guy's stuff, just don't touch my stuff, Poppy?
HARLOW: Maybe. I mean it's a hard answer to get a -- it's a hard question to get a straight answer on.
HARRIS: Yes.
HARLOW: They're both -- both sides are worried about a ballooning deficit and politicians know constituents are. They're not deaf to that. Last month we saw the president taking some action, Tony. You know he passed this "pay as you go" rule into law. Essentially saying, if you're going to spend new money on anything, you have to offset it by increasing taxes -- no one wants to see that -- or you've got to cut spending somewhere else. But there are critics that say, all right, it's one thing to pass a law. It's another to really enact it. And this one has a lot of loopholes say critics.
Here's an example that is recent to what we saw happen this week. Pay-Go didn't apply to the extension of jobless benefits because that was deemed by Democrats as quote unquote "emergency spending." Therefore, it's ostensibly except from Pay-Go rules.
Here's another example. Pay-Go doesn't apply to automatic increases in Medicare and Social Security. And another specific exemption that was written in, is any relief from the AMT, or the Alternative Minimum Tax, and the estate tax over the next two years.
So, there's that and then there's a loophole that, hey, it doesn't apply to direct spending funded by appropriation bills. One example is defense spending. That's a huge amount of government spending. Or education for kindergartners through twelfth graders. Add it all up, Tony, it's about 40 percent of the budget. All that spending about $1.3 trillion. And these exemptions are key reasons that you did not see one Republican vote for Pay-Go.
HARRIS: Right. Right.
HARLOW: Because they --
HARRIS: Well you almost wonder what it covers.
HARLOW: Yes. No, that's a great question. And there are other people, Tony, I think, you know, that are saying, this is a toothless bill.
HARRIS: Right.
HARLOW: And we called a few people on that. We called the Nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and they say, well, you know, it depends on whether Congress and the president can live by Pay-Go or not and just not waive it for new spending. And then you talk to the Conservative Heritage Foundation. They say, and we asked them, is it toothless. They said, yes, Tony. So that's the question, what will we see cut, if anything? We're going to be keeping them honest and following them on this one, Tony.
HARRIS: I'm cutting stuff that's your stuff. Just don't cut my stuff.
HARLOW: I won't cut your stuff.
HARRIS: Poppy, thank you.
HARLOW: You got it.
HARRIS: Just a reminder, we will have live coverage of President Obama's unveiling of his new health care package. That gets underway next hour for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, 1:45 Eastern Time.
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HARRIS: Time to hand over the keys to the mothership to that man. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
