MSNBC "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" - Transcript

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

O‘DONNELL: As promised, we are joined now by the House majority whip, James Clyburn of South Carolina.

Many thanks for your time tonight, sir.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC), MAJORITY WHIP: Thanks so much for having me.

O‘DONNELL: Congressman Clyburn, when I worked in the Senate, I was in plenty of caucus meetings that were described as lively to the press. That also meant there were some very intense arguments in that room. Is that the way it really went today?

CLYBURN: Well, I think the last night meeting was very spirited. People are very passionate about this issue. There are those who feel that the robust public option that is "Medicare plus 5," which really, when you look at it, it saves $118 billion or $119 billion. It would be the best way to go, because that would allow us to make the whole thing more affordable with subsidies and that sort of thing, for other people.

But there are others who feel that there are three other forms of a public option that ought to be given consideration. One is the so-called negotiated rates. And then there are two, what I call, hybrids of the two. That is, negotiated rates with the trigger that seems to be favored by some people, including the White House. And then there‘s negotiated rates with the 150 percent of poverty that will allow about 3 million to 7 million more people to come in to Medicaid.

O‘DONNELL: Congressman, I just want to help out the audience on this for a second.

CLYBURN: Sure.

O‘DONNELL: By "negotiated rate," what we mean is the reimbursement pattern for doctors and hospitals would be negotiated.

CLYBURN: Would be negotiated.

O‘DONNELL: . with those health care providers, as opposed to, in effect, dictated through the current Medicare rates which many say are too low.

CLYBURN: That‘s correct. That‘s correct and that‘s where we are having the debate. Because there are those people who feel that the Medicare reimbursement rates in many parts of the country are just too low. And they feel even if you do a "plus five," that will not do their providers justice. And others feel that the negotiated rate will be better so that all of these providers can negotiate with the powers that be for what the rate of return would be.

O‘DONNELL: Congressman, all the national polls show substantial support for the public option. Are those polls being passed around in those caucus meetings that you‘re run something?

CLYBURN: Absolutely. And so, the public option is not the question. Remember, when we came back after Labor Day, there were people who thought that the whole reform--health care reform bill was dead for the year. About two or three weeks later, after we had an opportunity to explain to people what we‘re doing, they say, "Well, OK, we got a good plan. But the public option is off the table."

Now, we‘re debating what form of public option. There are those that said the Senate had absolutely no way of passing a public option. Now, they‘re saying that it may be a form of public option that will--the Senate will consider. That‘s all because the public has dialed in and they are, in fact, very much for some form of a public option and that‘s why you see this movement among our members. We‘re not saying there won‘t be. We‘re just saying what formula will it take.

O‘DONNELL: And, Congressman, the other form being discussed is the "trigger" form advanced by Olympia Snowe on the Senate, which says that if the insurance companies do not show sufficient competition over time, there will eventually be a trigger that introduces the public option down the line. That obviously has more support in the Senate than it would have in the House. Do you think if it came to it, you could pass a trigger option in the House of Representatives?

CLYBURN: Well, the only trigger that‘s been discussed in the House is a trigger that would allow for negotiated rates upfront. And then the trigger will kick in after two or three years if the negotiated rates do not produce the result that we would like to see produced. And so, that‘s the only one that‘s been discussed.

Now, as I understand it, what‘s being discussed over in the Senate is that the trigger will just sit there and we are not too sure how that will ever kick in. And so, I don‘t believe that there‘s real strong support in the House for that kind of a trigger. There is a significant amount of support in the House for another hybrid that is negotiated rates, plus 150 percent of poverty, to allow more people to kick in from--coming into Medicaid.

So, we have all four of these plans. And I really believe that sometimes, by the end of next week, we‘ll see the House rolling something out with a public option. I just don‘t know which one of the four forms will be laid out.

O‘DONNELL: Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, the House majority whip, thanks you for guiding us through the thicket of the public option options.

CLYBURN: Thank you so much for having me.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source