MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript

Interview

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Joining me now is Congressman John Garamendi of California. He‘s the state‘s former insurance commissioner and lieutenant governor, just recently elected to the United States Congress. He went to Washington last week and voted for the House bill.

Congressman, congratulations on your victory. Good to see a good Democrat can keep on moving for the people. You have been an advocate for the people. You have been, John. How does this shake down for the consumers, in your opinion? I know there‘s some good things in it. But, you know, there‘s a gift here for the insurance industry, is there not?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, you hit at least part of this squarely. There‘s part I disagree with. You‘re right. There are 40 million new people that are going to enter the insurance market. If there is no public option, you‘ve simply thrown those 40 million people to the sharks, to the insurance companies. I know those characters and they are all about one simple thing, and that‘s profit.

In fact, their very first commandment is thou shalt pay as little, as late, as possible. What we absolutely have to have here are two things, Ed. First of all, we have to a very robust, open public option, so that all of us can get into it that want to get into it. If those--if any of us want to play with the sharks in the pool, that‘s fine. Go do that. Keep that public option available for everybody.

Secondly, you have to have an enforcement mechanism on all of those insurance reforms, because every one of these reforms are diametrically opposed to the bottom-line profits of the insurance companies. And they will do everything they can to avoid carrying out those reforms.

Now, they are a bunch of sneaky folks and can do it in ways that are not ready discernible by the public and by the regulators.

SCHULTZ: They are sneaky. And they have a way of making a dollar. I‘m not against making a dollar, but we have seen rates go through the roof. I‘m getting a lot of e-mail from people right now that states are double digiting consumers at this hour, and have been in recent weeks getting prepared for this, raising premiums up.

John, I don‘t see anything in this House bill that guarantees to me, a consumer--and I make over 90,000 dollars a year--that this is going to do anything for a lot of Americans. I think there‘s going to be at least 150 Americans who are going to see no change at all, just hoping that the mechanism of the free market, and these new things put in place are going to affect the market enough that these, as you say, sharks are going to keep their rates down. I don‘t see it.

GARAMENDI: Well, Ed, there are three parts to this bill. One is the public option. which in my view is not robust and open enough. Hopefully it will be by the time this thing is finished. Secondly, the insurance reform issues, take all comers, things you talked about a few moments ago. And the third are a whole series of things that deal with the way in which health care and insurance operates in the United States, issues about quality of care, the issues of technology and medical services, patient record keeping. All kinds of things that are very, very important and extremely important in bringing about better and lower health care costs in the future.

SCHULTZ: You voted for the bill, Congressman.

GARAMENDI: Yes, I did.

SCHULTZ: Are we now, the progressive movement, at a point where we have to take what we can get right now? Because there are a lot of antis out there.

GARAMENDI: No, not at all. The very first part of this process has been won by the progressives because now we have, out of the House of Representatives, a very comprehensive reform of the health insurance system. That‘s important.

Now there are things in that I would like to see tougher. First, you really need to make that public option available to all, because that is your principle--

SCHULTZ: It‘s only going to cover six million people.

GARAMENDI: Well, that‘s why I say it‘s got to be made more open and available. That‘s how you really discipline the insurance companies, is to give them a very good competitor.

SCHULTZ: True competition.

GARAMENDI: That way you keep them under control.

SCHULTZ: Congressman Garamendi, congratulations on your victory.

Appreciate your time tonight. Thanks so much.

GARAMENDI: Always, Ed. Take care.

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