MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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SCHULTZ: Welcome back to THE ED SHOW. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has a plan for people who can't afford insurance they already have. Think about that. You paying too much? Wyden's plan is simple. If you spend eight percent of your gross income on the insurance your employer provides, an alternative, a public option would be available to you. It's all about choice.

Senator Ron Wyden pushing for that and joins us tonight. Senator, good to have you with us.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: Ed, thanks for having me back. I really appreciate your hammering away on competition and choice. You know, the House of Representatives is going to their legislation this week. We saw that they've got about 30 million people going to these exchanges, the marketplace.

Then you look at United Health, the big private insurance company. Last year, they had 32 million members. That's not going to make for competition. We've got to hold these insurance companies accountable. The way you do it is with competition and choice.

SCHULTZ: All right. How much of a chance do you think this has to pass in the Senate? What this is going to do is take the number far beyond six million people to get it in the public option. Those folks who are in small business, who are paying eight percent or more of their gross income on premiums, are going to be able to opt out and go a different direction. Who would be against that?

WYDEN: I think it's hard to find anybody who will oppose it in broad daylight. Of course, we've been up for some time against the status quo caucus. It's led by the insurance lobby. They, of course, like the way things are today. We're taking them on. The reality is when you look at the key issues, for example, the public option, the Congressional Budget Office came in this week. What we're going to have is a lot of uninsured people. Those are folks who haven't had checkups, didn't get physicals, didn't get chronic care.

I think we're going to have something of a health care ghetto. What I'm going to be trying to do is open up these exchanges, so that we have more ways to hold the insurance lobby accountable. And our Free-Choice Amendment is one way to do it.

SCHULTZ: There's no doubt. I commend you for this, because there are a lot of people who are insured, but they're under-insured, and they're paying too much for their premium. And the fine print nails them every time. This is a great way I think for Americans to get an alternative to address their monthly budgets, so to speak, at the kitchen table.

Senator-

WYDEN: The other problem, of course, is that we've got millions of Americans right now in the open enrollment season. They're going to be paying more to get less. This, again, is another option for them.

SCHULTZ: This is not a good deal. The total package on the table right now has got to be massaged big time. It's not a god deal. Progressives have got to keep hammering away at representatives and senators.

Finally, senator, I want to ask you, the races tomorrow in New Jersey and Virginia and New York; how much do you think health care played into the frustration of the vote here and some of the polls we're seeing?

WYDEN: It's going to be a huge issue. It's a pocketbook question. I think voters there know that we have a long way to go. The president is committed to getting this done right. He and I have had a number of conversations in the last few weeks. The conference committee, his role in that between the House and Senate is key. We have a lot more to do to hold the insurance companies accountable.

SCHULTZ: Senator Ron Wyden, good to have you with us on THE ED SHOW.

WYDEN: Thank you.

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