MSNBC "The Ed Show"- Transcript: Medicare

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHULTZ: I want to bring in Congressman John Garamendi on this discussion
conversation. He wants to respond to this. Congressman your thoughts on
the numbers that are starting to show up on medicare and how Jeb Bush wants
to get rid of it and privatize it.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI, (D) CALIFORNIA: I just heard some of the most
outstanding misinformation I`ve heard in a long, long time. Ed, we have
seen medical cost rate increases dramatically decline. They`re still
increases but they`re about half the inflation prior to the Affordable Care
Act. Medicare Part D is not a private organization. That is a government
program in which unfortunately the Republicans in the early 2000 set up
Medicare Part D and handed over billions and billions of dollars to the
drug companies because there is no competition for the price of drugs. The
federal government is simply a price taker. It cannot -- it cannot even
negotiate the price of the drugs in Medicare Part D. That is a fact.

SHEFFIELD: How can Part D came in well below budget by the magnitude of
many billions?

GARAMENDI: Wait a minute, wait a minute. OK.

SHEFFIELD: It was because of competition. Competition because of the
plans --

GARAMENDI: I`m sorry, but you don`t win an argument by keeping talking.
Listen carefully. Medicare Part D expenses are exploding. Most recently
in this week`s newspaper in reports this week, Medicare Part D, prices are
going through the roof. Doctors around the nation are complaining. Cancer
doctors, oncologists are saying it is unaffordable because there is no
competition. It is all whatever the drug companies want to charge. That
is a fact. And the most and the single part of...

SHEFFIELD: And doing just fine before the Affordable Care Act. The
approval rating of seniors. Medicare Part D unrolled in 2006.

GARAMENDI: Yeah.

SHEFFIELD: The approval of seniors was in the 90s and now the Affordable
Care Act has completely disrupted the entire insurance market.

GARAMENDI: No, you`re talking about.

SHEFFIELD: I lost my doctor. The president lied to me.

GARAMENDI: Madam you`re talking about two very different things.

SHEFFIELD: He said that could keep my doctor but I did not get to keep my
doctor because of this president.

GARAMENDI: Sound bites are not going to win an argument.

SHEFFIELD: Are you saying my insurance plan is sound bites.

SCHULTZ: All right, we got leave it there. We`re up against the clock.
We`ll have you both back.

GARAMENDI: I`m sorry.

SCHULTZ: Congressman John Garamendi stays with us. Mike Papantonio thanks
so much. Carrie Sheffield you`re definitely a conservative no doubt. Good
to have you with us on the Ed Show and Mitch Ceasar always. I appreciate
it.

Still to come, John Kerry continues to defend the Iran nuclear deal as
opposition mounts in Congress

We`ll have the latest. Stay with us.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHULTZ: Joining me tonight, Congressman John Garamendi of California who
seat on the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman, it seems like
we`re the only country involved in this deal that`s having a real political
fight over this. What do you make of it?

GARAMENDI: Well, you just said something very important that`s missed
here. And that is, we are not in this alone. We have China, Russia, Japan
-- Germany, France, and Great Britain and the EU, all of them, supporting
the deal. So it`s not just the United States, and this is something that
can`t be missed. If the Congress turns this deal down, and overrides the
president`s veto, what are those countries going to do? They`re going to
blame us for trashing this deal. And that`s a very bad situation, because
they`re not going to come back and put the sanctions in place. This deal
goes forward, the sanctions are still available to us. And we know that
Iran will not be developing a nuclear weapon for at least a decade. And
quite possibly for the 25 years that Secretary Kerry just spoke about.

SCHULTZ: And the thinking there is that we could do a heck of a lot of
diplomacy in 25 years and a new relationship with the Iranians. What about
Senator Marco Rubio`s comments at the next president will undo this? Those
kinds of things are being thrown out there quite a bit. Well, it`s totally
irresponsible. It`s just irresponsible. That is what you call pandering
to your base. It`s irresponsible. In that, OK, you`re going to undo it.
What does that mean? Are you ready to go to war with Iran over a deal that
the United States trashed?

I don`t think that makes any sense whatsoever, and it is extraordinarily
dangerous. A war with Iran is not a simple thing. It is not what happened
in Iraq when we were able to take them out in a couple weeks, and then
created a horrible mess. So be very, very careful. Be thoughtful. I know
it`s time for a lot of political rhetoric and shouting and thumping of the
chest, but the reality is this deal works, for what it was intended to do,
which is to take away the nuclear weapon option that Iran has today in
three months, they could build up to ten nuclear bombs. This deal goes
forward, it`s at least 10 years, quite possibly 25 years. That`s a real
improvement from where we are today. This deal goes down, then Iran has
the ability to build those bombs because they still have all the physical
(ph) material and they know-how to do it.

SCHULTZ: All right. Congressman John Garamendi with us on the Ed Show.
John, thanks a lot. I appreciate your time.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source