MSNBC "Interview With Senator John Barrasso" - Transcript

Interview

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MS. BREWER: Joining us now, Republican Senator from Wyoming John Barrasso. He serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

The president says he's not going to intervene in Iranian affairs, but he says he is concerned about the disputed election. Is that enough, do you think, in terms of the president being outspoken on what's happening?

SEN. BARRASSO: Well, for right now it is. I mean, clearly, all of us want free and fair elections, and we see what's happening there. The pictures that are coming out really tell the story. I think people were surprised all across America when we saw that the election results were called so early, with Ahmadinejad proclaiming himself the winner when that really wasn't clear to any of us.

So I am hoping that they work to finding a solution and do a fair count. And I'm not sure their people are going to be able to get that.

MS. BREWER: Yeah.

SEN. BARRASSO: I'm going to also watch very closely what the military does, if they're going to change sides in all of this.

MS. FRANCIS: Senator, at this point, do you think a fair count is possible? I mean, even if they go back and claim to recount --

MS. BREWER: Recount, right.

MS. FRANCIS: -- the balance that are there, you know, is anyone going to believe in that result? What would be -- what would be a fair outcome at this point?

SEN. BARRASSO: Yeah, I think it's going to be very hard for people around the world to believe that there is a fair outcome. So the president clearly has his hands full with this and with other matters affecting the economy. As you know, I was at the AMA meeting yesterday for his health care talks. That's also a big part of what he's trying to deal with. So there's a -- the world continues to be a dangerous place around the world with what he's dealing with with Iran and clearly what's happening with the U.S. economy.

MS. BREWER: All right, so you bring up the AMA. We carried the president's speech here live. The coaxing that the president did behind the podium, telling doctors that the nation sees them as the health care system, that we do what doctors tell us, and that he's open to their suggestions, do you believe him? Do you think he's sincere? And did the doctors come away with the perception that the president wants their input?

SEN. BARRASSO: Well, I think, you know, the president said something on defensive medicine and the issue of liability reform, and there was huge cheer and a standing ovation. And he said, "but I'm not for caps," and then there was booing.

When the president talked about his government plan, the takeover plan, there was very tepid applause. So, you know, when he says you went into medicine not to be bean counters, but to be feelers --

MS. BREWER: Feelers.

SEN. BARRASSO: -- and curers, I'll tell you, that is something that was well-received. When he said we need more family physicians, very well-received. When he talks about the crisis in the cost of health care, people get it.

MS. BREWER: But do you think that doctors realize how big the problem is? I mean, the president laid it out, and said, "Look, it's going to bankrupt not only families as it currently is, but it's going to bankrupt big companies. It's going to -- it has the potential to bankrupt the U.S. government." Is that something that doctors -- and you're a doctor -- doctors practicing medicine, do they realize that? And are they for, in whatever shape it takes, reform?

SEN. BARRASSO: Absolutely doctors are for reform. And you know, I've practiced surgery for over 20 years. But my wife is also a cancer survivor, three operations. We've seen it from both sides of this. There's a side of a patient as well as a side of a health care provider.

So you know, everyone in this country knows that reform is needed to get the costs under control. The numbers that are today, though, in Washington show that this -- the plan that president -- Senator Kennedy brought forth, it cost too much, it covers too few people. It only will cover about (16,000 ?).

MS. BREWER: Yeah.

SEN. BARRASSO: And it causes too many people who have insurance to lose that coverage --

MS. FRANCIS: Right.

SEN. BARRASSO: -- and be forced onto a government plan. And the president, you know, yesterday said to the American people -- he said, "You're not going to have to give up what you have," but this report says no.

MS. FRANCIS: Yeah.

MS. BREWER: And there are 60 million people who would be insured by that. Well, there are far more uninsured right now.

MS. FRANCIS: But, Senator --

SEN. BARRASSO: Yes, for a trillion dollars --

MS. BREWER: Yeah.

SEN. BARRASSO: -- which is an average of $62,500 per person. We could buy them all insurance for a lot cheaper than that, Contessa.

MS. FRANCIS: Senator, I think, you know, Americans out there, when they're listening to this, their eyes glaze over because we have been talking back and forth about this health care problem for so long, and everybody has numbers to support their side, yet nothing ever seems to get done. What do you think is the solution? And do you think that we're going to actually see any change anytime soon?

SEN. BARRASSO: I'm hoping that we do get change in a bipartisan way.

MS. FRANCIS: What would it be?

SEN. BARRASSO: You want something that passes with -- all right --

MS. FRANCIS: What's the solution? What do you like?

SEN. BARRASSO: Half of all the money we spend in this country on health care is on just 5 percent of the people. And those are people that eat too much, exercise too little and smoke. And if we can focus on those 5 percent of the people, and get them under control in terms of the cost of their care, then there's enough money for everything else. But we need to give incentive to patients to stay healthy. We need to give incentives to doctors because we don't have a health care system; we have a sickness system, which pays doctors more the more they do. And we need to start paying doctors to keep people healthy, not for doing more deals.

And the issue is that, you know, waste and fraud and abuse in the Medicare, which is -- and Medicaid, which is the government system, the current government system, it is the greatest source of waste, fraud and abuse in our nation.

MS. BREWER: Yeah. Senator --

SEN. BARRASSO: So we need to get that under control. But when the president talked about lawsuit abuse, there was a huge cheer from physicians saying, we need to get that under control so we don't order this $100 billion in unnecessary tests and procedures the patients are having done on them that aren't necessarily getting them healthier, but are --

MS. BREWER: Okay.

SEN. BARRASSO: -- just covering the doctors in case there's a problem.

MS. FRANCIS: Senator, thank you so much. We appreciate your time.

SEN. BARRASSO: Thank you.

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