This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," October 21, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GLENN BECK, HOST: It's kind of a motto of this program but it's more a motto of my life - question with boldness, hold to the truth, whatever the truth is, and speak without fear.
Remember, America, while the White House is busy waging war on Fox, what this is really all about is the effort to push health care. I want to show you what we are headed for with universal health care. Don't forget the - you know, we don't have to look across the pond or in Canada. There is an example that is much closer to home.
Yes, it's in Barney Frank's home state, universal health care. How is that Romney care working out for him? Since 2006, the state's overall cost - remember, the overall cost was supposed to go down. There in Massachusetts, programs have skyrocketed 42 percent. It is out of control.
It is eating up the state budget. Democrats are scrambling to compensate. How? Taxes. They have increased fines also for those who didn't get insurance under the individual mandate. They have increased business penalties. They've taxed insurers and hospitals. They've raised premiums. They've even, in Massachusetts - this isn't, you know, Botswana - Massachusetts. They have resorted to group doctor visits.
It's like, OK. He has a gallstone and I've got a sore throat. Can you do this at the same time? It's still not enough. So what are they considering? Excluding coverage of low priority, low-value services. Also, limit the coverage, implementing spending caps.
Wait a minute here. This sounds like everything that they are denying would happen in the universal plan. So less service, less innovation. And guess who decides what the value is? No, no, not the doctors. Not you. Those in the state House. I can't wait.
John Stossel, Fox Business anchor, what a pleasure, sir, to have you here. I'm glad.
JOHN STOSSEL, FOX BUSINESS ANCHOR: My first appearance ...
BECK: Is it really?
STOSSEL: ... as an employee on your show.
BECK: He loves me. He really loves me. John, you are - I'm thrilled that you left ABC and you came over here. And you're going to be working because you are a guy - first of all, libertarian. You don't have a party. It's just, what is the truth? What is the truth on - what do you see as the biggest problem in health care?
STOSSEL: That other people are paying for it. I mean, it's true the costs are going up sharply. But if you look at the slope of the line, costs are going up just as sharply for spending on recreation in America.
Nobody calls that a problem. More people are going to football games or buying their kids soccer cleats. But that's because they're spending their own money.
BECK: Right.
STOSSEL: But health care, and we keep talking about, we have to get people more health insurance. Insurance is a problem. It causes you not to care what things cost. And then when taxpayers have to pay, all that money has to be sucked from somebody.
BECK: You know, I tried to develop a program here for my own employees because I cover everybody from Band Aids to cancer - it doesn't matter, dental, eye, everything. I have the Mercedes - it is not even Cadillac anymore, because that's owned by the government.
Now, I have the Mercedes plan - cost me a fortune. What I wanted to do was give everybody $5,000 at the beginning of the year. Then they spend that $5,000. You have to cover all the basics. I'll cover you for catastrophic - that $5,000.
And anything that you don't spend, you can roll into a retirement account. And at the end of the year, I'll give you another $5,000. You can't do that.
STOSSEL: It's not legal in New York State.
BECK: No, no, no. They can't do that. If people did that, you would then go to the doctor and you would negotiate a little bit. You would say, "Wait a minute. Is there anything cheaper? Do I really need this test?" You know, you need to be in charge, not somebody at the other end of the phone in Washington.
STOSSEL: Totally. And what you're talking about are health savings accounts, medical savings accounts. And I didn't know if they weren't legal in New York.
BECK: No, no. They are, but you can't roll it over into a savings plan.
STOSSEL: In some states, you can and it changes people's behavior.
BECK: Of course, it does.
STOSSEL: They go to the doctor and they say, "Gee, doc. Does it have to cost $300? You know, I'm paying this myself."
BECK: You know what the problem is? The problem is people then skimp on their own medical care.
STOSSEL: But there's no evidence that that's true.
BECK: And beyond that, that's your choice.
STOSSEL: That's your choice. That's right.
BECK: That's your choice.
STOSSEL: But it changes - what makes the market work. And the free market brings us the best of everything in life - is the patient bargaining directly with the provider.
BECK: Right.
STOSSEL: And these people with the health savings accounts, they say - the doctor says, "Oh, really? You mean, you're going to pay me now, cash?"
BECK: They want that.
STOSSEL: Oh, it only has to cost $100. And they don't know where to put the money. They haven't had a cash box in 50 years.
BECK: Every doctor I know - every doctor I know has so many people doing paperwork and insurance and calling everybody. Do you know how many - of course, that would hurt unemployment. Well, maybe that's the reason.
STOSSEL: They would find more productive work.
BECK: Yes - no, than paperwork? Than working with the insurance companies? More productive than that? John Stossel, you have been working at ABC too long.
Let me show you the misdirection that I've seen, the shell game that's going on now. Can you bring up what was on "The Drudge Report?" This was up last night. I love this. This was on "The Drudge Report." This is the misdirection of Nancy Pelosi. There it is. It is under $900 billion. Congratulations.
STOSSEL: What a bargain.
BECK: What a bargain that is. There are two things that go on with this. First of all, there was no public option. Now, maybe there is. But also, the $900 billion - $247 billion has been taken out of that and put into another spending bill off to the side.
It's called "the doctor fix," - the Medicare patients. I mean, when is America going to wake up to the games that are being played?
STOSSEL: I don't know that they will. People like getting free stuff, and these stealth taxes -
BECK: So how do you -
STOSSEL: Plus, government lies. Or maybe it's not fair to say lie - maybe they really believe it. But when they passed Medicare, they said it would cost $10 billion. It costs 10 times that.
BECK: No.
STOSSEL: They said Medicaid would cost $1 billion. It's $17 billion now.
BECK: He hates people like you. He's a hate monger. Come on. You just hate sick people. John Stossel, always good to see you, sir. Welcome to Fox. I'm glad you're here. Back in just a minute.
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