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AMERICAN MORNING

Texas Polls Show Governor Perry in Lead; Bunning's Filibuster Costing Jobs and Unemployment Benefits; Chile Earthquake Aftermath; No More Saturday Mail?; Shopping for Health Care: Bargain Hunting Can Save Thousands; Is U.S. Quake Next?; Washington Doesn't Get It; Family Doctors Fading Away

Aired March 2, 2010 - 07:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.



KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Tuesday. It's March 2nd. I'm Kiran Chetry.



JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jim Acosta in today for John Roberts. Let's get right to our top stories this morning.



The check will not be in the mail for thousands of people starting this week, thanks to a move by outgoing Senator Jim Bunning. He took shelter in an elevator when asked about it. Was this the right time to make a stand about deficit spending? Candy Crowley joins us on Bunning's political pitch.



CHETRY: Also, looting in the aftermath of Chile's devastating earthquake. It appears to be getting worse this morning. Thieves now roaming the streets in the heavily damaged city of Concepcion, and more strong aftershocks are also shaking the country. We're going to be getting a live report from CNN's Soledad O'Brien.



ACOSTA: And this morning CNN is asking, why does an MRI cost nearly $800 at one hospital and less than $250 at another for the same procedure? Chief Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is shopping for health care, revealing huge price discrepancy from hospital to hospital that could be costing you thousands.



CHETRY: What she found was amazing.



ACOSTA: Startling.



CHETRY: We begin with two major political stories that everyone is going to be talking about today. We're covering it like no one else can.



First it's the battle brewing in Texas, one showing the major political shift that's going on in the country right now. It is primary day in the governor's race and the incumbent governor, Rick Perry, now has a double digit lead. That certainly wasn't the case just a year ago when his opponent, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, was considered a shoo-in for the governor's race.



But Washington has never been a popular place in Texas and that couldn't be more true than now. Perry has tapped into that in political ads, calling her Kay "Bailout" Hutchison. One video dubs her "the earmark queen" to the music of Abba's "Dancing Queen." Hutchison has fired back calling Perry "arrogant" and "A Republican of convenience."



ACOSTA: And in Washington, outgoing Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning is accused of playing politics with people's lives. Senator Bunning's decision to block emergency funding has put 2,000 people out of work.



This morning Dana Milbank of "The Washington Post" wrote that isn't out of character, saying Bunning has been on a one-man campaign to cut off unemployment benefits, kick the unemployed off health insurance, cut Medicare patients payments to doctors, deny satellite TV to rural Americas, shut down federal food insurance and highway projects, and furlough thousands of federal workers."



CHETRY: We start this morning in Texas where voters are finally getting their say after Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Governor Rick Perry fought hard for Republican hearts and minds. Our Candy Crowley is live in Austin this morning. It's very interesting how quickly politics change. It certainly has not been a run of the mill campaign.



CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It has not. You know we like to say a week is a lifetime in politics. Well, a year is an eon in politics, and much has changed since a year ago.



On the Republican side of this primary, those who want to run for governor on the Republican ticket, this has been a conservative versus a conservative versus another conservative, and everybody versus Washington.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



CROWLEY: Texas Senator Kay Bailey Huthison has been out flaunting her roots.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's from Texas and riding a horse, Senator Kay Bailey Huthison.



CROWLEY: Why does the great, great granddaughter of a man who signed the Texas declaration of independence in 1836 have to remind Texans she's one of them?



GOV. RICK PERRY, (R) TEXAS: When you've spent the last 17 years of your life as a United States senator in Washington, D.C., when you voted for the bailout that in hindsight was an absolute atrocity, then you must go to the people of the state of Texas and explain to them why you're not a creature of the Washington culture.



CROWLEY: The race to be the Republican nominee for Texas governor is all about Washington.



SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: There is an anger all over America, certainly all over Texas, about what's happening in government, the overreach in Washington. People think, what are on earth are those people thinking up there? And I don't disagree with them. I agree with them.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it comes to being conservative, Kay Bailey Huthison is the real deal.



CROWLEY: A year ago Huthison was the fav, a popular Republican seen as the establishment candidate who would broaden GOP appeal.



But that's so 2009, before incumbent Governor Rick Perry's year- long full embrace of anti-Washington, anti-tax, socially conservative rhetoric that includes a declaration at a tea party event that Texas should consider seceding from the union.



WAYNE SLATER, "DALLAS MORNING NEWS": That got an enormous response, not because Texans want to secede, but because they hear the words "succession" as code for we don't like Washington. Unbelievably successful.



CROWLEY: Perry now leads Huthison by double digits. Not that it's that simple.



DEBRA MEDINA, TEXAS GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE (R): I'm here to tell you today we're going to win.



CROWLEY: Deborah Medina has promised to abolish property taxes and ignore federal laws she thinks are unconstitutional. A gun-owning nurse who home-schools her children, Medina is a tea party activist, campaigning as the real anti-spending, anti-Washington conservative.



MEDINA: They sing the song well during campaign season, but they don't legislate that way.



CROWLEY: Medina's presence in the race could force a runoff if no one gets to the 50 percent threshold, but she took a hit recently and her numbers began to fall when she did not immediately repudiate the notion that the U.S. government was involved in 9/11.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



CROWLEY: Polls in Texas open here in just under an hour. Every single public opinion poll taken prior to voters going to the voting booth has shown that Rick Perry, the sitting governor, will, in fact, win this race.



The key question again is whether or not he'll reach that 50 percent threshold. If not, he and Senator Huthison will have to face off again and sometime in April. So the two of them could have to go at this another couple of months. Kay Bailey Huthison has promised a different, stronger campaign if that is to occur. Kiran and Jim?



CHETRY: Interesting stuff. Thanks.



ACOSTA: Great race down there in Texas.



CHETRY: Oh, yes.



ACOSTA: Turning back to the other huge political story, thousands of Americans are waking up without a job this morning. President Obama says they have one senator to thank for that, outgoing Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning.



Bunning, a hall of fame pitcher who once threw a perfect game in the majors threw what many in Washington are calling a screwball, blocking the funding that keeps the paychecks coming. Our Dana Bash tracked down Senator Bunning to get some answers, and take a look at what happened.



(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the issue? Are you concerned about people unemployed?



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to go to the floor.



UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you just explain to us why you're holding this up? I'm sure you have an explanation.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me.



UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about those that are going to lose their benefits? I guess we have our answer.



(END VIDEO CLIP)



ACOSTA: Point out that was a senator's only elevator. Here's what's on hold thanks to this one-man filibuster -- $10 billion for road projects and unemployment benefits along with COBRA subsidies for laid off workers health insurance and funding for small business loans.



Candy is back to talk about this decision and the fallout. Candy, this is turning in to be a big story down in Washington. What happens now? The Senate is a curious institution, as you know, Candy. Can Democrats get around Bunning and approve this money anyway?



CROWLEY: They could if they wanted to. They could do what we call filing cloture, which means they would simply -- file papers, and if they get a 60 vote margin they could get around him. They would get a 60-vote margin to get around this one man filibuster.



But it's a really good issue for Democrats. They have been playing this up, all of their leadership out there on the floor chewing up cyber space, sending things to reporters, pointing out this member party of no, this is their premier example right now, saying look what this one Republican is holding up. It's these jobs, it's unemployment benefits, it's health care benefits for the unemployed.



So it's a very powerful political issue, they believe, and this is after all a political year. So they will in the end pass a more permanent bill. That is expected to come up late this week, but at the moment, it doesn't seem as though on this temporary bill, this emergency bill, Democrats will file cloture on it. They will let miss play out. CHETRY: They're getting political mileage out of it as well. It's so interesting how things work. Unfortunately, we spoke to a woman who's suffering because of this, and she's one of the many thousands.



Back to Jim Bunning, though, for a minute. He, as we understand it, has a history of being pretty abrasive. "Time" magazine called him one of the nation's five worst senators back in 2006. And the Republican leadership didn't really want him to run for reelection. As we call him the retiring senator from Kentucky, is he basically being forced out?



CROWLEY: Well, as you say, the Republican leadership made it quite clear that they didn't want him to run again and they supported somebody that certainly would have been a rival, so no, they didn't want him to run again.



There is bad blood between Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans and a fellow Kentuckian, between Bunning and McConnell. So that has not been an easy relationship.



Certainly Senator Bunning is testy. He is very strong in his beliefs. His whole thing is I want these unemployment benefits, I want this bill to go by, but where's the $10 billion to pay for it? We could take it out of the extra TARP money. Find a way to pay for it and we'll move forward.



And the Democrats pointing out that this seems to be sort of a rebirth of having to pay for things since Republicans presided over a lot of spending that wasn't paid for.



ACOSTA: All right, Candy, thanks very much for talking about this. This is going to be the subject of conversation, I think, for a few days now. Candy Crowley down in Texas watching that very important race down there. Thank you, Candy.



And coming up at 7:40 eastern, we'll hear from one woman who's feeling the direct impact of Senator Bunning's inaction. Linda Calvin shares her message to the senator and what she'll do now.



And it's a big day in politics. For all of the latest, make sure you go to CNN.com/ticker.



CHETRY: It's ten minutes past the hour.



(WEATHER BREAK)



ACOSTA: Looters gutting storefronts and setting buildings on fire in Chile after this weekend's powerful earthquake. Soledad O'Brien is in Concepcion. Her live report is coming up.



CHETRY: You look for bargains when it comes to shopping for clothes, a car, a house. But a colonoscopy? Elizabeth Cohen reveals how shopping around for health care could save you thousands of dollars. ACOSTA: And at 7:40 Eastern she says D.C. does not get it. A woman who's now stuck, her unemployment cut off thanks to one senator's decision. Her emotional message.



It's 11 minutes after the hour.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



CHETRY: It's 14 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.



Authorities in Chile are now struggling to try to maintain order after an earthquake killed more than 720 people. There are curfews and military patrols in place, but looters are still roaming the streets in Concepcion, which is Chile's second largest city, and one of the most heavily damaged areas of the country.



CNN's Soledad O'Brien is live there this morning with the latest for us. Good morning, Soledad.



SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Good morning to you.



I want to show you where the search and rescue teams are putting their efforts this morning. This is an apartment building. And if you can imagine you're looking at the underside of the building that was standing up like this and fell that way.



So what you're looking at the top of the first floor, and if you look down you'll be looking at the garage underneath. This is their focus. They have some 40 people or more who they believe are trapped inside.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



O'BRIEN (voice-over): The numbers on the chart of these rescue workers, even more grim. Forty-eight missing and the count of the dead goes floor by floor.



(on camera): Of the 48 people who are inside, what's the likelihood that they're alive?



GUSTAVO RUDOLPHY, CHILEAN FIREFIGHTER: I don't know. We are looking. There are some spaces there that, perhaps, we can find some persons. But in these floors down here, I think there's not too much chance.



O'BRIEN (voice-over): These Chilean rescue workers were heroes in Haiti just a few weeks ago, digging out survivors of that earthquake. Now, they're in their homeland doing the same after an earthquake estimated to be 800 times more powerful.



Just a block away, crowds watch a massive fire spread out of control. It was set by looters and local firefighters were running the search and rescue victims and couldn't attend to both. A drive down a main street becomes dangerous. Looters are breaking into open buildings, breaking into garages, in clear view of military guards.



The military said it had to take all groceries from the market to a distribution point, but at this mall, they're way too late. There is nothing left to distribute and nothing left to take.



The water hoses were turned toward looters and people walking in and out of stores without resistance. I confronted two women carrying a bag full of goods and asked what they had taken and why. They ran off, in plain view of the military, no explanation, no reason.



Across the street, a family sat outside defending their tiny store and home. They can't go inside because of the powerful aftershocks, still shaking their vulnerable house. They're afraid of being outside because people are trying to steal what little they have left.



JULIA MONTOYA, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): We don't know what we're going to do. We're sitting out here, waiting for somebody to help us.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



CHETRY: Again, that's a sad situation going on in the aftermath of this devastating earthquake in Concepcion, Chile. Thanks to Soledad O'Brien for her reporting.



And coming up at 7:30 Eastern, we're going to be talking with two earthquake experts, Maria McNutt, she is the director of the U.S. Geological Survey. And also Andre Filiatrault from the University of Buffalo. They're going to be talking about the risk of a major earthquake, rather, like the one we saw in Chile happening in the United States and if it were to happen are we prepared? It's 17 minutes past the hour.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



CHETRY: Those glory days. It's 21 minutes past the hour.



ACOSTA: They'll pass you by.



CHETRY: Exactly. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business." The glory days, when mail came seven days a week.



CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Exactly. No, and it might not come six days a week anymore.



Look, we have chronic problems with the post office and the postmaster general Jack Potter yesterday having a press conference saying, look, there's big things that they're going to have to do to make this whole situation more viable and save some money. They're saving about a billion dollars, cut a billion dollars of cost in the most recent year, but they have to cut more.



This is what they're thinking of doing. Eliminating Saturday mail, for example, five-day delivery, closing branches, maybe a lot of them, and more self-service kiosks. I've seen these in my own post office where you can very quickly get what you need and not wait in that monster line.



CHETRY: I love them.



ROMANS: But they're thinking about putting these maybe in retail places, maybe outside of the -- and broadening this out so that you can get stamps and mail packages in other places.



Look, there are 600,000 workers at the post office. The post office has 32,000 branches. Twenty-six thousand branches are losing money. There's only a few thousand branches that get more in revenue than they have in expenses. This is not a news flash. This has been going on forever.



Part of the problem here is that it's an independent government agency so Congress is sort of involved. When you try to close a branch, a Congressman goes crazy. You protect roots, you protect jobs. They've never had job cuts at the postal service. They rely on attrition, you know, and people retire. Half of those people --



ACOSTA: You make it sound like this is a problem?



ROMANS: Half of those people who work for the postal service are eligible to retire over the next 10 years. So they're going to get a chance to, you know, downsize but it's also going to come with retiree health benefits and the cost of that. So look, chronic problem here, you might lose your Saturday mail. We've been talking about this for about a year but Jack Potter is saying they really -- they got to make some big changes. They need Congress to approve some of these changes.



ACOSTA: What would I do with all that junk mail if it had to wait until Monday?



ROMANS: It's going to come Monday through Friday instead.



ACOSTA: I mean, that's the problem, you know.



ROMANS: Right. And you know, every MBA class, every graduate school, they send, you know, the bright 21-year-olds to figure out how to solve the postal crisis. And basically they say, well, put FedEx and UPS in there. They make money in a recession sending packages. Why can't we?



CHETRY: But you talk about all the complications behind it, the political stuff as well.



You have a "Numeral" for us this hour?



ROMANS: I do. $7,229 a minute. What could the postal service be losing?



CHETRY: Losing. This is how much they're losing a minute.



ROMANS: Losing every single minute, they lose seven grand. Can you believe that? I mean, how -- I mean, and so this just goes on and on and on. What we're seeing is sort of like Amtrak. It's the government's agency that's not a government agency that's independent but relies on Congress. It's, yes.



ACOSTA: But if you put a piece of mail in the mailbox it gets there.



ROMANS: That's right.



CHETRY: Even to Santa Claus.



ROMANS: And my mail carrier is very nice. Very, very nice.



CHETRY: So is mine.



ACOSTA: Yes. Please keep delivering our mail. That's what we're saying.



CHETRY: No complaints here.



ROMANS: And they do deliver during the terrible snowstorms.



CHETRY: They do.



ROMANS: Rain, sleet, snow and whatever. Yes.



CHETRY: Exactly. All right. Well, it's 23 minutes past the hour. We're going to take a quick break. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



CHETRY: Twenty-six minutes past the hour. Top stories just four minutes away. First, though, an "A.M. Original." It's something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.



Bargain hunting is something that you do, of course, in a department store. Maybe you look for deals at your supermarket, but you wouldn't think to do that at a hospital, right?



Well, CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen begs to differ. She's in Atlanta this morning and she has more. You've been doing a great job sort of highlighting for us the high cost of health care and how some of these costs are just really unknown to most of us.



ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it is unknown. People don't realize that prices for basic medical services vary, even when you're in the same city. And this is important because even if you have insurance, you are still paying for a big chunk of your medical bills. And my report now shows that it really pays to bargain shop.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



COHEN: Here in Concord, New Hampshire, like any place, when you go shopping, you can do price comparison whether you're looking for a car or a pair of shoes. But what I think people here or anywhere else fail to realize is that you can also go comparison shopping for health care services and save yourself thousands of dollars. So come on, let's go bargain shopping for a colonoscopy.



Our first stop is the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. They charge nearly $5,000 for a colonoscopy. Let's see if we can get a better deal. Come on.



Here at the Concord Ambulatory Surgery Center, a colonoscopy would only cost me about $2,800. Now remember, the most expensive place to get a colonoscopy would set me back nearly $5,000. So coming here, I save more than $2,000. See, it pays to bargain shop.



I'm so excited about how well I did with the colonoscopies, that now I'm going to bargain shopping for a hernia surgery.



Here at St. Joseph's Hospital, they charge $13,400 to repair a hernia. That is so expensive I'm not even getting out of the car. I'm going to try to find something cheaper.



At Elliott Hospital, they only charge about $4,500 to do a hernia repair. It's the exact same procedure. Why does it cost $9,000 less here? I'm going to call these high-priced hospitals and ask them, why do you charge so much?



Hi, this is Elizabeth Cohen calling from CNN.



(voice-over): The hospitals wouldn't comment.



(on camera): So I found someone who can explain these crazy health care prices to us. Her name is Heather Staples and she analyzes prices of health care for large employers in New Hampshire.



I go shopping for a gallon of milk and there's a huge price difference. I'm going to see it right there on the shelf. But with medical services, people don't know. There's no price tag.



HEATHER STAPLES, ANALYSES PRICES OF HEALTH CARE: That's correct. And it's even difficult for consumers to call a facility and ask for the price of services.



COHEN: So it's actually, the reason for these discrepancies is some ways is pretty simple, which is that when you go buy a colonoscopy, there's no price tag on it.



STAPLES: That's correct.



COHEN: Give me another example of a procedure where there's wild differences all in the same city.



STAPLES: Sure. Knee scope. At Dartmouth South, it's about $5,300. In the same region at St. Joseph's Hospital, it's about $10,500.



COHEN: So we all bargain shop for cars and things like that. Does it pay to bargain shop for medical services?



STAPLES: Oh, it absolutely does. I mean, we're talking about a $5,000 difference. It absolutely makes a lot of sense to do it. (END VIDEOTAPE)



COHEN: Now what's interesting is some people might say, well, golly, what about quality? That as you saw there, at Dartmouth, one of the best hospitals in the country, a knee laparoscopic surgery was actually $5,000 less than at the other hospital. So high price does not necessarily mean high quality. Low price does not necessarily mean low quality -- Kiran.



CHETRY: All right, fascinating stuff. Elizabeth, thanks so much. We're going to be joining you in the next hour as well to talk a little bit more about this. And also tomorrow, our "Prescription for Waste" series continues. A look at one hospital's war on unnecessary and outrageously expensive procedures.



ACOSTA: It is 30 minutes after the hour. And time for our top stories.



Two thousand federal workers are temporarily out of a job this morning as Washington plays politics. Democrats are pointing fingers at outgoing Senator Jim Bunning who blocked action on a bill to extend transportation funds saying it would add to the budget deficit. Coming up, you will hear from a woman who's feeling the direct impact of this.



CHETRY: And also, President Obama's White House to Main Street tour is going to be taking him to Savannah, Georgia. It's part of his plan to get out of Washington more often and spend time with everyday Americans. The president is also expected to announce details of a new home star program that will offer rebates to people who buy energy-efficient appliances.



And also the U.S. Postal Service as we've talked about with Christine is taking steps to shorten its work week to five days a week in order to save money. The agency is asking an independent commission now to hold hearings before it goes to Congress.



Federal law requires six-day delivery currently. The agency has already borrowed $10 billion in part because of a decrease in volume.



ACOSTA: Kiran, we've seen two major earthquakes in two months and experts predict we'll see more. Here in the U.S., the U.S. Geological Survey says more than 75 million people in 39 states, that's right 39 states, face significant risk from earthquakes.



So are we prepared and who's at risk? Joining me this morning is Marcia McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey and Andre Filiatrault. He is a University of Buffalo Civil Engineering professor and director of the multi-disciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research. Both of you, good morning. Thanks for joining us.



And Marcia, a lot of Americans are looking down at what happened in Haiti and what happened in Chile and are wondering, could this happen here? Of course we can't predict the future with any certainty, but how at risk is the United States for a major earthquake on the scale of what we're seeing now in Chile?



MARCIA MCNUTT, PH.D, DIRECTOR, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Well, Jim, this is a very important time for all Americans to take a look at how prepared we are for an earthquake. The bottom line that we're seeing coming out of Chile and Haiti, is that once we factor out the depth of the earthquake, the magnitude of the earthquake, and the proximity to population centers, a citizen of Chile had a 400-time better chance of surviving their earthquake than did a citizen of Haiti.



And I think that the goal of all Americans should be that when an earthquake strikes American soil, we should have an 800-time better chance of surviving the next earthquake to strike American soil and that should be because we are better prepared, just like the Chileans were better prepared for their earthquake than were the Haitians.



ACOSTA: And Andre, we have a map showing some of the earthquake- prone areas here in the U.S. and let's throw that up on the screen there. You can see the West Coast obviously is, you know, very much at risk for a direct hit from a major earthquake. And then there's that blob in the middle of the country around Memphis, I was a local reporter in Tennessee so I know all about that.



And folks in the Midwest talk about that from time to time. But really, the major concern is along the west coast and up in Alaska. Andre, can you pinpoint with any accuracy as to which areas folks should be most concerned about?



ANDRE FILIATRAULT, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO: Well, it's very difficult to predict, you know, the exact location of the next earthquake. However, what is very important and I think the earthquake in Chile demonstrated that is enforcements of building codes is extremely important to improve, you know, the likelihood of survival as Marcia has mentioned.



Chile is a country where, you know, building codes have been enforced very strictly and you can see although there has been, you know, significant damage and unfortunately loss of lives, there's also very good success stories. Now here in the United States, obviously, the earthquake issues have been concentrated on the West Coast for good reasons.



There's been many earthquakes in California obviously, and in the California region, enforcement of building codes, also development of new technologies, has certainly been a big factor. However, we also have to think about other issues of existing buildings and that's perhaps older buildings I should say, and that's perhaps one of the problems that we will be facing, particularly east of the Rockies, where we have several older buildings, masonry buildings and so on, that have been built prior to the implementation of these building codes.



ACOSTA: Right.



FILIATRAULT: And these buildings could be particularly at risk. ACOSTA: And Marcia, every year civil engineers come out and talk about how our infrastructure is failing in this country. You talked about building codes, you talked about infrastructure, is there a connection there? Should we be concerned about the state of our bridges and tunnels and so forth in this country when it comes to earthquakes?



MCNUTT: Well, I believe we should take a look at our infrastructure because we saw on the Loma Prieta earthquake that failing overpasses did cause many deaths and it's not only the risk to human life, but it's also the economic disruption that is caused in the days, weeks and months afterwards when we can't get our economic engine moving again because we can't get our transportation going again. So I think it's time to take an assessment of how robust are bridges, our highways are, to the damage that would be caused by a major earthquake.



ACOSTA: And Andre, I know we can't pinpoint with any accuracy as to when or where the next earthquake might strike, but there have been recent studies done, one out in California, that indicated along the west coast we should expect to see a major earthquake in the magnitude of perhaps what happened down in Haiti within the next 30 years.



FILIATRAULT: Well, definitely. The magnitude that occurred in Haiti certainly can occur, you know, any time in California. However, again, Haiti, what is a learning experience for us, is this is a region where earthquakes have not happened in a long time. The last earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince was in the 18th century around 1750, and over there, of course, there's absolutely no concern about seismic design at all.



And this is a lesson for us to some extent where we also have a region in the united states, if we think, you know, the Midwest, eastern United States, also some extent the Pacific northwest, where earthquakes have not occurred in a long time and we may not be, you know, as prepared as we think we are.



ACOSTA: Well, Marcia McNutt and Andre Filiatrault, we really appreciate your insights this morning on this very important issue. Thanks a lot for joining us.



MCNUTT: Thanks you, Jim.



FILIATRAULT: Thanks very very much, Jim.



CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead, is a U.S. senator playing politics with people's lives?



ACOSTA: We're talking to a woman who felt the immediate impact when she lost her unemployment benefits. What does she want to say to Senator Jim Bunning? It's 36 minutes after the hour.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



ACOSTA: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Time for "Minding your Business." One senator's decision to block funding for unemployment benefits is having an instant impact on people across the country.



CHETRY: And, in fact, we spoke to Linda Calvin earlier on AMERICAN MORNING. She was a case worker for a head start program until last May when she lost her job and as a result of what's been going back and forth in Washington she also lost her unemployment benefits on Sunday night. Here's her story.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



LINDA CALVIN, UNEMPLOYED HUMAN SERVICES WORKER: Actually, I don't really believe it. It hasn't sunk in yet. I just was getting back on my feet and going around putting in job applications and sending out resumes and have not found anything and here I am in the same situation again with no income.



ACOSTA: And Linda, I mean, the question that comes to mind for me is, do you think Washington gets it?



CALVIN: No. Washington doesn't get it because they are not unemployed. They're not affected by the unemployment rate. They're not affected by the people who can't pay their rent. They're not affected by the people who can't buy groceries for their children. They're not affected by any of these things.



CHETRY: I understand that you were actually forced to move in with your daughter for a bit just recently. As you said, you got back your own place and you were trying to help take care of your niece as well, so what are you going to do now if, in fact, this isn't passed and there are no benefits and the checks stop coming?



CALVIN: Actually, I probably have to apply for welfare and food stamps and medical card and maybe that will pay for food, but it won't pay for our living arrangements. I need a job or I need my extended benefits desperately.



ACOSTA: And Linda, what are the prospects like out there?



CALVIN: Well, I've been unemployed since May of 2009 and I have sent out hundreds of applications and resumes and I have not even had a call back. The economy is bad. Businesses are closing. There are no new jobs coming to Kentucky for people to even apply to.



ACOSTA: And what would you say to Senator Bunning, if you could?



CALVIN: Senator Bunning, I would say to him, bring some businesses here. Do something to bring business here. You're trying to save money, but fine, bring businesses here. Put the people to work. The economy will improve. When people have money, they pay bills, they work, they shop. They encourage the economy. They uplift the economy.



If you're cutting off people's pay, the economy is going to go down and it's not going to be a pretty picture.



CHETRY: It's interesting. I would like to get your thoughts on this one as well. Republican Senator Jon Kyl made the case yesterday as all this was being debated in the walls of Congress, that actually continuing to give unemployment benefits dissuades people and is a disincentive for people to try to get out there and get back into the job market. What do you think?



CALVIN: That's ridiculous. People don't want to live on free money. You can't have a future. You can't make goals. You're stuck. When you are dependent on one particular income and there's no way out.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



CHETRY: There you go, Linda Calvin's personal story. We do want to point out that we have reached out to Senator Bunning's office. We have calls in to him today and he, of course, is welcome to give his side of this entire situation and perspective on our show today or this week.



ACOSTA: That's right. And Bunning's point was that he, not necessarily wants to, you know, throw people out on the streets, he wants these programs paid for and that was his problem with this legislation which is why he decided to go ahead and filibuster it.



But we should know Democrats are talking about later this week passing legislation that would retroactively bring those benefits back to those folks who lost them temporarily.



CHETRY: Right.



ACOSTA: But for the folks who are out on those highway jobs last week and went there yesterday morning and found out they don't have work, you know, that's tough.



CHETRY: Of course. Yes. And as Candy Crowley pointed out earlier, both sides seem to be getting a little bit political mileage out of this right now



ACOSTA: Yes.



CHETRY: They could technically vote to end this. And --



ACOSTA: It is an election year.



CHETRY: Yes. It's to be continued.



ACOSTA: Well, it is 44 minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano will have this morning's travel forecast right after the break.



CHETRY: Also coming up in 10 minutes is your "A.M. House Call." A bit of a Catch-22. Possible new health care coverage for millions of Americans, but in the U.S., not enough doctors to see all these new patients. We're going to talk about that conundrum coming up. It's 44 minutes past the hour.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



ACOSTA: (INAUDIBLE) birthday. CHETRY: Wow! He's how old today?



ACOSTA: He's 68.



CHETRY: Sixty-eight? He doesn't look a day over 62.



ACOSTA: I'm sure he appreciates that.



CHETRY: I'm kidding. I'm sure he looks great. Anyway, "Walk on the Wild Side."



ACOSTA: That song is still the best.



CHETRY: Oh, yes. And it's been sampled so many times, I didn't know if it was (INAUDIBLE) space or if it was the original.



ACOSTA: Exactly.



CHETRY: Anyhow, it's a beautiful shot of Columbus Circle today. The sun is shining. We like to see that in New York, 36 degrees right now and it is going up to a high of 44, which for us, lately, is, you know, hallelujah. It's 44.



ACOSTA: Yes. It's spring. Yes.



CHETRY: Exactly.



ACOSTA: Exactly.



CHETRY: Well, let's take you to Rob Marciano. He's not so lucky in Atlanta today. They're already canceling some flights, AirTran ahead of the weather you guys are getting.



ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's pretty nasty out right now, and we are going to see a little bit of snow, but not nearly as bad as it could be with this sort of storm track. If there was colder air in place or -- maybe a month earlier, we would see, well, what we saw a month earlier, a month ago, which was 4 or 5, 6 inches of snow in some parts of Georgia.



Today, though, we're just starting to see some snow mixed in, in places of North Georgia, North Alabama and even extreme Northeast Mississippi in through parts of Tennessee also. Right now, Atlanta just reporting some cold rain and 39 degrees, but just in the northern suburbs. No doubt there are some flakes mixing in.



There were some flakes mixing in in parts of Central and Southern Mississippi today, an inch possible in some of the metro areas, mostly on grassy surfaces. Again, later on this afternoon, the winter storm warnings posted in parts of North Georgia and the high country of the Carolinas, maybe 2 to 4 inches of snow there. Notice the temperatures, not a whole lot even close to freezing, so that tells you that what does fall will be of the slushy variety.



How far north is it going to extend? Up the Appalachians, it will get into the D.C./Philly area but it's not going to be a whole lot, maybe an inch or two. I think the winds and even some coastal flooding might be an issue with this windstorm.



Atlanta and Charlotte, you're going to see some delays with the snow, low clouds and wind and rain. Miami and Orlando, also some delays because of thunderstorms. And I should point out that there is another storm coming into the Pacific Northwest, actually the West Coast. There's several systems lining up for the Pacific and we will be concentrating on that as we get towards the end of this week.



No doubt that California doesn't need any more rain or storminess, but 'tis the way an el Nino winter goes, and this one doesn't seem to want to stop.



Jim and Kiran, back up to you.



ACOSTA: This is a brutal winter.



CHETRY: Yes, and what does it mean for the -- what's the El Nino spring? Do we get some sort of flip side, some sort silver lining to this?



ACOSTA: Payback (ph).



MARCIANO: You know, just because I think you guys need it so bad, I'm -- I'm just going to tell you that it's -- it's going to be warmer this spring.



ACOSTA: There you go.



MARCIANO: At least warmer than it is now.



CHETRY: Yes, thanks, Rob.



ACOSTA: Awesome. We'll take it.



CHETRY: And that's as far as you'll go in terms of your predictions. Appreciate it.



MARCIANO: You got it. All right, guys. See you.



CHETRY: All right.



Well, this morning's top stories just minutes away, including coming up at the top of the hour, they're dealing with more misery in Chile this morning because of looters. Those who survived the terrible earthquake are trying to salvage what's left of their belongings, protect them from looters.



Right now, some are burning down buildings, breaking into homes, gutting stores right in front of the military. We're live in Chile in a moment.



ACOSTA: Plus, how one senator made it an early day for 2,000 federal workers. The filibuster that has members of both parties riled up.



CHETRY: Also at the bottom of the hour, a warning that a killer whale would live up to its name four years before one killed his trainer last week at SeaWorld. Now, some are asking the question, was that report swept under the rug because of pressure from SeaWorld? Randy Kaye investigates.



Those stories and much more coming up in the next hour.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



ACOSTA: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.



By the time Democrats and Republicans figure out how to reform health care and provide coverage of millions to uninsured Americans, there may not be enough doctors to go around. And as our CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, tells us, the problem is bound to become a lot worse.



(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)



DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are a part of American lore -- the country family doctor, primary physicians making house calls, fixing whatever is broken.



That version of the primary care doctor has long since faded away.



GUPTA (on camera): And the thing is, the modern day version may also be close behind, which makes the woman you are about to meet, Nakato, an even more rare breed.



Hi. Nakato?



DR. NAKATO KIBUYAGA, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Hi. Dr. Gupta. Nice to meet you.



GUPTA: Nice to meet you.



Now, part of the reason I wanted to come meet you is because you're going into primary care.



KIBUYAGA: Yes.



GUPTA: And I guess there's fewer and fewer of you. Why -- why aren't more of your colleagues choosing this as a profession?



KIBUYAGA: Well, I think there are several reasons. One of the main reasons is that the prestige, the spotlight is just not on family medicine physicians. We don't have the same reputation like some of the other doctors do in a subspecialty.



GUPTA (voice-over): Over the next decade, the American Academy of Family Physicians predicts a 400,000 primary care doctor shortage, and that's before any reform of the health care system that could introduce tens of millions of new patients into that system.



GUPTA (on camera): Which is going to make finding doctors to fill rooms like this even harder. You know, it's been 17 years since I finished medical school, and over that time, the number of medical students choosing primary care has slipped by more than 50 percent. To draw up more of a scale of reference, at the nation's largest medical school, the University of Illinois, they graduated 314 medical students last year, and only 20 chose primary care.



DR. ALAN POCINKI, PHYSICIAN: People who have insurance can't find a doctor, so suddenly we're going to give insurance or give access to health care to a whole bunch of people who haven't had it without increasing the number of physicians, it's going to be a problem.



GUPTA (voice-over): So why such a decrease?



GUPTA (on camera): How much of this is about money? Just compensation?



KIBUYAGA: I think that's a major reason why a lot of medical students aren't choosing family medicine. The potential for financial gain is just not the same as those other fields.



GUPTA: Do you have any idea what is the average salary of a -- of a primary care physician in this country?



KIBUYAGA: Well, here in Atlanta -- it differs, depending on what area of the country you're in. But here in Atlanta, maybe around 150, just starting off.



GUPTA (voice-over): And that's just slightly lower than the national average of $173,000 a year. Specialists do make more. Cardiologists, they average $419,000. Oncologists average $335,000.



Resident like Nakato are hopeful they'll stay afloat, but according to a physician's foundation survey which questioned almost 12,000 doctors found half of them are looking to cut their patient load and/or close their clinics because of lower reimbursement from insurance companies and the cost of malpractice insurance skyrocketing.



GUPTA (on camera): All the reasons you stated as to why people don't go into primary care, you still did.



KIBUYAGA: Yes.



GUPTA: Why is that?



KIBUYAGA: Well, as a medical student, I realized that I had a very strong interest in pediatrics and OB, and I just couldn't decide, and family medicine was the perfect fit for me because I -- I knew that I could practice both.



GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.



(END VIDEOTAPE)



CHETRY: All right. Sanjay, thanks so much.



Well, it's three minutes till the top of the hour. Your top stories are just two minutes away. We'll be right back.



(COMMERCIAL BREAK)



