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Typhoon Haiyan Death Toll Rises to 3,621; House Votes at 12:30 ET on Obamacare "Fix"; Toronto Council Votes to Cut Mayor's Powers; Obama: "I Was Not Informed about Website"; Is Health care Obama's Katrina?;

Aired November 15, 2013 - 10:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After a grueling 22-hour journey by boat, Adel Siguan has finally reached her home town. And she only has one thing on her mind.

ADEL SIGUAN, MOTHER: I bring water for my son.

WATSON: Adel wants to see her eight-year-old boy who she hasn't even been able to talk to since the storm cut off ties to this remote fishing town nearly a week ago.

(on camera): Not knowing about your son, how has it felt for you?

SIGUAN: Of course, I can't sleep. I can't eat. I can't eat, I can't -- I can't really -- I don't know what to do because I'm eager to know what's happening to him.

WATSON: Adel can't believe how the typhoon devastated her town. The storm crippled the local government.

(on camera): Any phones?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No communication whatever, whatsoever, outside.

WATSON (voice over): But local officials are improvising. They set up a service to fly handwritten messages to the outside world. (on camera): Incredible. There's a note here for Cesaro Motancez (ph),and it's one sentence like a telegram. "Pedro Valdez (ph) and Herminio Badeo (ph) are OK and alive. From, Johnny Badoco (ph)."

(voice over): The typhoon brought down the roof and facade of this church the Spanish built here more than 400 years ago. But this Catholic priest calls it a blessing in disguise because no one was inside when the roof came tumbling down.

FATHER ANDY EGARGO, CATHOLIC PRIEST: The irony of this is people's faith gets stronger every time, you know, calamities like this happen.

WATSON (voice over): Certainly Filipinos here have not lost their sense of humor. They joke with a stranger even though their homes are damaged and their stomachs are empty.

(on camera): You guys -- you guys are still laughing. You can still laugh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laughter is the best medicine.

WATSON (on camera): It's the best medicine yes.

(voice over): Across town, Adel Siguan has almost completed her exhausting journey. After a week of frightening uncertainty, the mother and her eight-year-old son are finally reunited.

(on camera): How do you feel right now?

SIGUAN: I am so lucky that my son is OK. Yes.

WATSON (voice over): They are both alive and OK.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Guiuan, in the Philippines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: If you want to help survivors in the Philippines, it's easy. Just visit CNN.com/impact.

Onto American politics now -- the fix is on for Obamacare. And now Congress is weighing in on another fix. Right now the House is debating a bill that would gut Obamacare. Not only fix the insurance problem but gut it. This is a live look from the House floor. The president is moving forward with his plan. He's going to meet with insurance executives later this afternoon.

But let's talk about what's happening in the House right now. Our congressional correspondent Dana Bash is watching it for us from Capitol Hill. Good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well House Republican have had this plan in the works for about a week. And that is precisely why the White House scrambled to get the president out there yesterday with a plan of his own in order to try to stop Democratic defections on this vote we're going to see in a couple of hours.

What the Republican bill does, according to Republicans, is just says if you like your plan you can keep it. But Democrats say that it does a whole lot more and it undercuts Obamacare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: But it does violence to the bill in other ways, that idea that it was helping consumers was sort of the Trojan horse whose underbelly is poisonous with -- in terms of the health and well-being of the American people.

REP. MICHAEL BURGESS (R), TEXAS: There is great shock going on in the country right now. That's what part of this debate is about today. But let me just caution my colleagues on the other side the aisle that the true rate shock experience is likely to hit in September of 2014, about six weeks before Election Day in November 14th. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Well that kind of taunting probably isn't even necessary Carol because Democrats are very well aware of the political peril that they're in there. They are getting the calls from their constituents and that is why not only the president put out his plan yesterday but the Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi just outlined what the Democrats will offer as an alternative.

And just sort of to give you a little bit of color and maybe a good illustration of how the president's standing is here on Capitol Hill even with his own Democrats. What the Democrats are offering is essentially what the president offered yesterday, but they're calling it Landrieu-light, meaning they're naming it after the Democratic Senator who has her own bill. They are not calling it the president's bill.

So if it is bad messaging by Democrats to name something after the president -- that kind of tells you everything you need to know.

COSTELLO: It certainly does. Dana Bash reporting live from Capitol Hill.

NEWSROOM is back after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our "Top Stories" at 38 minutes past the hour.

This morning the Coast Guard desperately search the waters off Miami for a person they believe fell from a small plane without a parachute. What is not known is whether the passenger accidentally fell, deliberately jumped or was pushed.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, mayday, mayday, I have a door ajar. And I'm heading to Tamiami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Four Lima Delta (ph). You want to go to Tamiami and land? You have a door open; is that what you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a door ajar and a passenger that fell down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK you said you got a passenger that fell out of your plane?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct, sir. He opened the back door and he just fall down the plane.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Four Lima Delta, Roger. I've got your spot marked where a passenger fell out then you want to go, you want to land at Tamiami now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct sir, Four Lima Delta.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Rescue workers still searching for the man's body.

A group of good Samaritans saved a woman trapped in a sinking car. A video from a Sheriff's helicopter shows the quick-thinking strangers rescued Cynthia Garza as her Nissan is filled with water. Garza says she was on her way to the mechanic to have the vehicle checked for steering problems before she crashed into the pond. The car completely submerged shortly after Garza escaped.

Suspended Miami Dolphin Richie Incognito wants back on the field. The embattled lineman who's at the heart of an NFL bullying controversy has filed a grievance and he's asking for an expedited hearing claiming he did not do anything wrong to teammate Jonathan Martin. In the meantime, Martin is expected to meet with an NFL investigator today about the alleged harassment. He has yet to speak publicly since leaving the team.

All right, let's go to Toronto right now in the city council because we have some breaking news about Mayor Rob Ford. Nic Robertson has been in that meeting. What happened, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the meeting has now -- the council has now decided that the Mayor's powers to hire and fire senior staff are going to be limited. And the only indications here rather is that the mayor may mount a legal challenge to that. His brother has appeared in the council chamber there -- Councilman Doug Ford. And he has outlined that a long and legal battle will be costly.

And of course that will resonate with Mayor Ford's voters. Because they voted him in because he was going to stop the gravy train and cut the spending by the city council.

So clearly, this is far from over. And we've also seen the Mayor here try to fight through these motions that are being passed. He tried to question precisely who was responsible for each of those positions that he was no longer going to be allowed to take a hand in hiring and firing.

So this is going to be a long, slow process. He seems like he's going to keep on fighting here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much Nic Robertson reporting live.

"NEWSROOM" will be back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: While Democrats and Republicans are scrambling together new fixes for Obamacare, we're seeing the president not only admit to being wrong but in the case of the website admitting he didn't even know about the problems.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was not informed directly that website would not be working as the way it was supposed to. Had I been informed, I wouldn't be going out saying, boy, this is going to be great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It was an extraordinary admission.

Joining us now to talk about that and more is the Mayor of Milwaukee, Democrat Tom Barrett, who has requested a delay to implementing Obamacare; and Douglas Brinkley, a historian from Rice University. Welcome to you both gentlemen.

MAYOR TOM BARRETT (D), MILWAUKEE: Thank you.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, HISTORIAN: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Mayor, I'd like to start with you. As a city leader, when you saw the president speech, did your mouth drop open?

MAYOR TOM BARRETT (D), MILWAUKEE: No, it didn't drop open because I'm familiar with problems -- logistic problems that occur when you try to implement programs. And I think it was surprising to hear the president of the United States indicate that there was a problem but obviously there's also a willingness that he has to make it work. And I think that that's something that's very, very important.

And here in Wisconsin I did not seek a delay in the implementation of Obamacare. What I sought was a decision by a Republican governor not to force people onto Obamacare and have them lose their Medicaid because of the problems of the implementation. And yesterday our Republican governor agreed that that was the proper course to take.

COSTELLO: Right. You want to expand Medicaid to get more people to enroll on Medicaid -- those desperately in need of health care --the poorest people among us, right?

Mayor, do you think that the voters will take what the president said to heart, take his apology to heart? Will it matter to them?

BARRETT: Well, obviously the president understands that because of this flawed rollout that he's got some work to do. And his administration has some work to do. And I think that they are committed. And I think we all have to make sure we don't lose sight is that the goal here is to make sure that Americans have health coverage. To me, that's still a good goal is to make sure Americans have health coverage.

Clearly there were problems with the rollout. Now it's going to be up to his administration and the states and local governments and everyone involved to make this work. Unfortunately, there are some people who are desperately trying to make sure that it fails. And if it fails, someone can score political points. But the end result is going to be fewer Americans will have health care. COSTELLO: And Douglas, I want to ask you about that. Democrats would agree, most Democrats would agree that Republicans are trying to sabotage this and the president's admission only makes it more difficult for them because he's lost so much credibility. As you look back historically, can he regain credibility and trustworthiness?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, I think the president did the right thing yesterday. Sometimes presidents just have to flat-out say, "I screwed up" or "I lied" even in some cases. I mean Dwight Eisenhower had to do that during the U-2 affair. Ronald Reagan went on national television during Iran-Contra. In this case, the president just has to admit that he wasn't as well prepared as he should have been.

I think this has shocked people because Barack Obama was seen as the high-tech president. If you recall when we elected him, he was Mr. Blackberry and there was this feeling that he was the one on the campaigns that knew how to fund raise on the internet. And here it is that this has caused a real public relations disaster for the White House.

So I would look at yesterday didn't help the Affordable Care Act any. What it did was stop some of the hemorrhaging Barack Obama was suffering in the polls. No president wants to be 39 percent heading southward. He kind of did a tourniquet yesterday and is trying to get that number back into the 40 percent at the very at least, quickly.

COSTELLO: And Mayor, just tell us, as a Democrat who wants, you know, people with no insurance to get it, how difficult does this make your job in continuing to support fully Obamacare?

BARRETT: Well, I continue to support the Affordable Care Act because I think that its goal is an important and laudable goal -- to make sure that Americans can have health air coverage. Because the reality in our country is, if you're a mother with a sick two-month-old baby and you don't have health insurance, you're going to take your baby to an emergency room. And you're going to sit there and you should sit there until you get your baby's coverage. But that's the most expensive and inefficient way to deliver health care.

So I want Americans to have health care. Obviously, again we all understand now that there have been problems with the rollout. It's up to the President, his administration, it's up to state leaders to make this work.

COSTELLO: Isn't there some anger there, some consternation? I mean nobody expected the rollout to be this bad.

BARRETT: Well, I'm sure that the president's and his administration are frustrated.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: No, I mean you. I mean you're doing the work on the ground. I mean from you. BARRETT: Of course. We would have loved to have a smooth rollout. But if there's a bump, we're not going to cry and go home. What we're going to do is we're going to try to find ways to reach the people and that's why I wrote to our governor and said, "Look, please don't kick people off (inaudible) care because of the problems of the Affordable Care Act. Let's work with each other to make sure that this can benefit our residents."

That is what the important goal is for all of us, is to make sure our residents can have health care.

COSTELLO: Doug, you wanted to say something?

BRINKLEY: Well, I just was thinking, you know, the problem that the president has is nobody knows how low the ceiling is here. He tried to do that tourniquet yesterday but it's a little bit like the BP spill where we're saying cap it, cap it -- when will it stop? When is the political fallout of Obamacare going to end?

And I think if they can do the rollout of reintroducing the product to the American people, people and commentators on CNN come on and say, look, it's easy to get it now, I think the White House will be able to get traction early in 2014. If not, the White House has to worry about a lame duck status for Barack Obama.

This hasn't been a good year for him. There are going to be many more budget fights. Those budget fights might help Democratic candidates, but it makes the President seem like he's ineffective in his second term.

COSTELLO: All right. Milwaukee mayor, Tom Barrett and historian, Douglas Brinkley -- thanks to both of you. We're back after a break.

BARRETT: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In just a matter of weeks, one million people in California are set to loss their health care plans because they don't comply with the Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare. President Obama's fix could change that, but it could also lead to major problems and confusion. And there's no guarantees that states or insurance companies will agree to extending the plans for a year.

Joining us now is the California insurance commissioner, Dave Jones. Welcome Mr. Jones.

DAVE JONES, CALIFORNIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning -- we're so glad you're here to help us understand all of this. I know that you've asked the insurance exchange to allow insurers to extend the plans, right?

JONES: That's correct. I support the president's call that health insurers allow those who received these cancellations notice to extend their plans into 2014.

COSTELLO: Well, we've also heard that consumers who have had their policies canceled and then they want to get back into the system, those policies may cost them more. Will they? Will they cost more?

JONES: No, I don't think so. For several reasons, first, you know, insurers always tend to look for increased rate whenever there's any change. But I don't think it's justifiable in this case.

In California, and I can just speak to the California market, we've already found many of the health insurers have excessive rates so they're already collecting too much rates. They're making excessive profits.

Second, one of the concerns is that people won't move into the exchange. In fact 300,000 -- maybe as many as 400,000 people in California who have these existing policies are eligible for a premium subsidy and are likely to move into the exchange.

Third, there is a very elaborate system of risk transfer mitigation in the Affordable Care Act that provides for payments to helps insurers if they end up with a disproportionate share of sick patients. And so there are mechanisms in place to make sure that the health insurers are not adversely impacted by a disproportionate share of sick patients. All of those things operating together mean that rates should not increase.

COSTELLO: Well, the other problem out there, of course, is this is voluntary so the insurance companies will have to call the person whose policy they canceled to tell them we can reinstate your policy. Do you think insurance companies will really do that?

JONES: I think they should do it. And we just had Blue Shield and Anthem Bluecross of California do exactly that for 225,000 customers where they failed to provide the proper notice. So they had to issue new notices and allow those people to stay on their plans at least until the first quarter of next year.

So we know they have the capacity to do, it's not to say it's not a challenging thing for them to do. It's not logistically challenging, it is. But they can do it and they should do it because these people were promised the ability to stay on their plans.

COSTELLO: So if you find that insurance companies are raising people's premiums, you know policies that they've had to reinstate. Is there anything that you can do? Will anybody be looking for that?

JONES: First of all, the rates are set for 2014. So, again, rates should not rise and can't rise on the 2014 policies. 35 states have given their insurance commissioners the authority to regulate rates. So they have the ability to actually reject excessive rate increases. In California we don't have that authority -- we should have it. There's a ballot measure next year to give the insurance commissioner that he authority. But in the meantime, again rates have already filed and already set for 2014. And they shouldn't raise. COSTELLO: OK. So as you -- I'd like -- if you could, look at the bigger picture. With all that's going on in Washington right now and with all of the problems surrounding Obamacare, will this program ever really work?

JONES: I think it will work. Obviously the rollout has had many problems. But whenever you undertake a reform this massive, this comprehensive, there are going to be challenges. We all wish it had happened better. In California we're pleased so far with the rollout. Our exchange covered California has done a good job getting us online and (inaudible) and other states have done well too.

So I'm confident that ultimately it will be successful. Remember, what this is all about is trying to provide Americans with health insurance. Tens of millions of Americans who don't have health insurance and whose cost when they do get care at the most expensive point in a hospital merge room gets shifted to the rest of us. It's estimated in California we all pay about $1,500 per family initial premium due to cost shift

It's the right thing to do and it's time to do it. And I think we can do it. We just need to keep working through these problems and they emerge.

COSTELLO: OK. So you know what's going on in Washington right now. House Republicans are about maybe to pass a bill that would allow people to stay on their existing insurance plans. Allow people to have -- to be reinstated. And then everybody could buy those plans out there instead of enrolling in Obamacare. What would that do to the program?

JONES: The Republican bill goes much further than necessary to protect the consumers who have existing plans. The president's approach protects them. That is the health insurers rescind the cancellations and allow them to stay on their plans for next year.

The Republican approach, which I oppose, would undermine all of the reforms and make it impossible to move forward. So it goes much further than necessary and that's why I support the President's approach which fulfills the promise to those individuals who have existing plans and gives them a chance to stay on their plans and make a choice. Now it's up to the health insurers to decide what they're going to do.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much. Dave Jones, the California insurance commissioner. We appreciate the insight.

And I want to thank all of you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts now.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: After the president's fumble, House Republicans pick up the ball hoping to pass an Obamacare fix of their own. Keeping with the sports analogies, we're keeping score on who is keeping plans and promises.

Also this hour, the Toronto mayor cannot blame a drunken stupor this time around. Yes, he's apologizing but so what? That city council continues to go after this mayor and now his power structure is starting to crumble.

And how many more homes could this thing possibly swallow? Look how fast and how big this sink hole. By the second, families are fleeing for their lives.