WEBVTT 00:00.643 --> 00:03.393 (all applauding) 00:10.500 --> 00:11.980 - Thank you very much, everybody. 00:11.980 --> 00:12.830 It's a great honor. 00:12.830 --> 00:17.200 The stock market is up big today. 00:17.200 --> 00:18.210 Set a new record. 00:18.210 --> 00:20.793 I think it's the 22nd time this year. 00:21.690 --> 00:26.210 And it's over 100 times for the time that we're in office. 00:26.210 --> 00:27.180 We've said over 100. 00:27.180 --> 00:28.850 I think it's substantially more than 100. 00:28.850 --> 00:31.430 We'll get the exact number because I know 00:31.430 --> 00:33.603 you wouldn't want me to have that wrong. 00:34.610 --> 00:35.700 They don't like that. 00:35.700 --> 00:39.800 But we're up over 100 times for the stock market. 00:39.800 --> 00:42.000 That means jobs, it means companies are moving 00:42.000 --> 00:44.620 back into the United States that left. 00:44.620 --> 00:46.860 We have many, many companies coming back. 00:46.860 --> 00:50.163 The employment numbers are at a record, 00:51.316 --> 00:52.820 or very close. 00:52.820 --> 00:56.770 And we just got a new number on Africa-American employment 00:56.770 --> 00:58.690 is the best it's ever been. 00:58.690 --> 01:00.750 You could say employment or unemployment, 01:00.750 --> 01:03.020 they're the best numbers they've ever been. 01:03.020 --> 01:05.980 So we're very proud of what's happened with our economy. 01:05.980 --> 01:08.773 A few months ago you were predicting a recession. 01:09.660 --> 01:11.430 Perhaps someday there'll be a recession, 01:11.430 --> 01:12.550 but we have a long way to go. 01:12.550 --> 01:15.090 The consumer has never been stronger, 01:15.090 --> 01:17.690 and we're gonna make the consumer even stronger yet 01:17.690 --> 01:19.873 with transparency, because they're gonna get 01:19.873 --> 01:22.160 much better pricing at hospitals. 01:22.160 --> 01:24.660 So I think we can probably add this to the number. 01:25.500 --> 01:29.290 You saw median household income for President Bush, 01:29.290 --> 01:31.740 eight years, was $450. 01:31.740 --> 01:36.050 For President Obama, for eight years, 01:36.050 --> 01:39.860 eight years, think of that, was $975. 01:39.860 --> 01:43.260 For President Trump, a little over 2 1/2 years 01:43.260 --> 01:47.410 when they did the final number, was $5,000, 01:47.410 --> 01:51.220 and they add to that 2,000, thanks to Kevin and everybody. 01:51.220 --> 01:54.290 Thank you, Kevin, you're behind me someplace, right? 01:54.290 --> 01:56.900 They add 2,000, or 2,500, Kevin? 01:56.900 --> 01:57.780 What would you say? 01:57.780 --> 01:58.907 - Yeah, right about there, Mr. President. 01:58.907 --> 01:59.740 - Right there? 01:59.740 --> 02:03.510 So let's add $2,000, and then add 3,000 for regulation, 02:03.510 --> 02:06.150 and add something for the energy savings. 02:06.150 --> 02:07.580 So you have $10,000. 02:07.580 --> 02:11.420 So it's 400, and $975. 02:11.420 --> 02:12.710 That's for eight and eight, 02:12.710 --> 02:16.100 and for 2 1/2 years it's $10,000. 02:16.100 --> 02:19.440 That's not bad, but the consumer's very powerful. 02:19.440 --> 02:22.520 And this is gonna make them more powerful. 02:22.520 --> 02:23.730 So welcome, everyone. 02:23.730 --> 02:25.140 This afternoon we celebrate 02:25.140 --> 02:27.410 something that I'm very proud of. 02:27.410 --> 02:29.720 Another major victory in our mission to deliver 02:29.720 --> 02:32.810 great health care at a price that you can afford. 02:32.810 --> 02:36.290 This will have a tremendous impact on prices. 02:36.290 --> 02:37.870 A certain gentleman who's in the room, 02:37.870 --> 02:39.340 who'll say a couple of words, 02:39.340 --> 02:42.720 actually said, "This is more important than healthcare," 02:42.720 --> 02:46.690 and when he said that, my ears really perked up, 02:46.690 --> 02:48.297 and I listened, and they were right. 02:48.297 --> 02:50.080 And they gave me plenty of examples. 02:50.080 --> 02:52.820 And that person recently got 02:52.820 --> 02:55.053 the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 02:56.160 --> 02:59.660 His name is Art Laffer, and he's a very talented guy. 02:59.660 --> 03:00.493 Where's Art? 03:00.493 --> 03:01.326 Is he here? 03:01.326 --> 03:02.177 - [Art] I'm so short. 03:02.177 --> 03:03.325 - I didn't see you. (people laughing) 03:03.325 --> 03:04.860 I didn't see you back there. 03:04.860 --> 03:05.703 Stand up here. 03:07.160 --> 03:09.390 Great gentleman, and you brought a man here 03:09.390 --> 03:13.330 who's the king of that world, and, uh, hello, how are you? 03:13.330 --> 03:14.440 - Good to see you, Mr. President. 03:14.440 --> 03:15.780 - That's the guy. 03:15.780 --> 03:17.160 And you made that statement to me, 03:17.160 --> 03:19.330 more important than healthcare. 03:19.330 --> 03:20.330 That was a big statement. 03:20.330 --> 03:23.030 As soon as I heard that, I said, "That sounds good to me." 03:23.030 --> 03:24.790 It's transparency. 03:24.790 --> 03:29.790 So I signed, as you know, an executive order, historic, 03:30.220 --> 03:34.760 and we're requiring price transparency in healthcare, 03:34.760 --> 03:38.290 forcing companies to compete for your business. 03:38.290 --> 03:40.680 It's a very important thing that we've done here. 03:40.680 --> 03:42.860 I don't think it'll be covered by you, 03:42.860 --> 03:45.420 but it will be in the years to come. 03:45.420 --> 03:48.690 Our goal was to give patients the knowledge they need 03:49.780 --> 03:52.660 about the real price of healthcare services. 03:52.660 --> 03:54.450 They'll be able to check them, compare them, 03:54.450 --> 03:56.530 go to different locations, 03:56.530 --> 03:58.730 so they can shop for the highest quality care 03:58.730 --> 04:00.630 at the lowest cost. 04:00.630 --> 04:02.600 And this is about high quality care. 04:02.600 --> 04:03.770 You're also looking at that, 04:03.770 --> 04:06.600 you're looking at comparisons between talents, 04:06.600 --> 04:07.480 which is very important, 04:07.480 --> 04:09.700 and then you're also looking at cost, and in some cases 04:09.700 --> 04:11.351 you'll get the best doctor for the lowest cost. 04:11.351 --> 04:13.940 That's a good thing. 04:13.940 --> 04:17.290 Today I'm proud to announce two new actions 04:17.290 --> 04:18.910 implementing that order. 04:18.910 --> 04:21.420 First, we are finalizing the rule 04:21.420 --> 04:25.190 that will compel hospitals to publish prices publicly, 04:25.190 --> 04:28.120 online, for everyone to see and to compare, 04:28.120 --> 04:29.820 so you're able to go online and compare 04:29.820 --> 04:32.633 all of the hospitals, and the doctors, and the prices, 04:33.668 --> 04:37.630 and I assume get resumes on doctors, and see who you like. 04:37.630 --> 04:39.870 And the good doctors, like I assume these two guys 04:39.870 --> 04:41.686 are fantastic doctors, otherwise you wouldn't be here. 04:41.686 --> 04:42.930 (group laughing) 04:42.930 --> 04:45.610 The bad doctors, I guess they have to go and hide someplace. 04:45.610 --> 04:46.443 I don't know. 04:46.443 --> 04:48.570 Maybe they don't do so well, I don't know. 04:48.570 --> 04:51.070 But if they're not good, we are more interested 04:51.070 --> 04:51.903 in the good ones. 04:51.903 --> 04:53.870 It's called rewarding talent. 04:53.870 --> 04:56.490 Second, we're putting forward a proposed rule 04:56.490 --> 04:58.390 to require health insurance providers 04:58.390 --> 05:02.420 to disclose their pricing information to consumers. 05:02.420 --> 05:04.290 We're giving American families control 05:04.290 --> 05:06.380 of their health care decisions, 05:06.380 --> 05:10.700 and the freedom to choose that care is right before them 05:10.700 --> 05:13.340 on the internet and elsewhere, but on the internet. 05:13.340 --> 05:15.280 Very, very open, very transparent. 05:15.280 --> 05:17.720 That's why it's called transparency. 05:17.720 --> 05:20.050 And this has been done on small basis 05:20.050 --> 05:21.830 on individual hospitals. 05:21.830 --> 05:23.560 In fact, Art, you were telling me about that 05:23.560 --> 05:25.300 with your hospital. 05:25.300 --> 05:27.640 That you're on the board of a hospital that did this. 05:27.640 --> 05:29.230 I'd like you, actually, before I go further, 05:29.230 --> 05:31.130 I'd like you to talk about that just for a second. 05:31.130 --> 05:32.074 Art Laffer. 05:32.074 --> 05:33.960 Art, just mention that, if you could 05:33.960 --> 05:35.292 - Yeah, you gotta lower it really far. 05:35.292 --> 05:36.720 (laughing) Sorry about that. 05:36.720 --> 05:38.900 Let me, if I can, just say, 05:38.900 --> 05:41.720 I was on the chairman of the board of Centennial Hospital. 05:41.720 --> 05:43.960 We had some problems, but when you look at this, 05:43.960 --> 05:48.960 this is the biggest revolution I've seen in generations. 05:49.170 --> 05:51.250 And as opposed to most revolutions, 05:51.250 --> 05:55.180 this revolution saves lives, it doesn't cost lives. 05:55.180 --> 05:57.820 And in this revolution, it saves money. 05:57.820 --> 05:59.510 You don't have to spend money. 05:59.510 --> 06:01.680 And what you've seen here before is that 06:01.680 --> 06:04.490 we have no transparency whatsoever in medical. 06:04.490 --> 06:07.310 It's like the hermit kingdom of industries. 06:07.310 --> 06:08.660 You don't know what the price is, 06:08.660 --> 06:10.330 you don't know what the outcome is, 06:10.330 --> 06:12.470 and you don't know what the inputs are. 06:12.470 --> 06:15.530 What this does is this pulls away the veil, 06:15.530 --> 06:18.240 and allows people to see exactly what they can 06:18.240 --> 06:19.073 and what they do. 06:19.073 --> 06:21.320 And if I can say, I think this will lead 06:21.320 --> 06:23.554 to a phenomenal change in the U.S. outcome 06:23.554 --> 06:25.950 of employment output production. 06:25.950 --> 06:27.300 It's just the one of the industries 06:27.300 --> 06:28.950 that desperately need this. 06:28.950 --> 06:32.030 I'll stop about here, but the last one I can remember 06:32.030 --> 06:34.420 being involved with was with Lady Thatcher, 06:34.420 --> 06:38.820 when she privatized coal, steel, and the railroads. 06:38.820 --> 06:40.990 I mean, the changes there with Sir Keith Joseph. 06:40.990 --> 06:43.410 This outdoes all of those revolutions, sir. 06:43.410 --> 06:45.140 It's the most amazing of all time, 06:45.140 --> 06:47.400 and it takes real leadership to do it, 06:47.400 --> 06:51.100 and real practitioners to be able to get it through, 06:51.100 --> 06:54.090 and Secretary Azar is a great practitioner, 06:54.090 --> 06:58.860 and my buddy Larry Van Horn is also a great practitioner, 06:58.860 --> 07:00.410 as well as Larry Kudlow, by the way. 07:00.410 --> 07:01.660 Thank you, sir. 07:01.660 --> 07:04.090 - And I'd like to have Larry maybe say a few words, 07:04.090 --> 07:05.997 and explain what this is that will be. 07:05.997 --> 07:07.754 - Sure, Mr. President. 07:07.754 --> 07:10.360 Well, this is momentous day. 07:10.360 --> 07:12.850 Americans, year over year, have been faced 07:12.850 --> 07:15.240 with higher and higher health care costs, 07:15.240 --> 07:18.210 facing higher and higher obligation to pay for those 07:18.210 --> 07:20.100 out of their own wallets without information 07:20.100 --> 07:23.440 around the price, and the quality associated with that. 07:23.440 --> 07:26.750 The charges that have been put out are fictitious, 07:26.750 --> 07:28.070 nobody pays the charges. 07:28.070 --> 07:31.160 This effort is to make real prices transparent. 07:31.160 --> 07:35.040 The net allowed amounts that drive the decision-making 07:35.040 --> 07:38.080 for patients every day will now be in their hands 07:38.080 --> 07:39.460 so they can make better tradeoffs, 07:39.460 --> 07:41.800 and have hopefully more money in their wallets 07:41.800 --> 07:44.160 and their paychecks to pay for all of the goods 07:44.160 --> 07:46.220 and services they need to live their lives. 07:46.220 --> 07:47.990 So this is a very momentous day, 07:47.990 --> 07:49.857 and I appreciate the efforts of the administration 07:49.857 --> 07:50.860 all the way through, 07:50.860 --> 07:53.740 in terms of being able to follow through and execute this. 07:53.740 --> 07:55.120 - And we did it max, right? 07:55.120 --> 07:56.080 We didn't do a smaller version. 07:56.080 --> 07:56.995 - We did it max. 07:56.995 --> 07:58.037 - A plus. - It's A plus. 07:58.037 --> 07:58.870 - I kept saying. 07:58.870 --> 08:00.440 - A plus. (group laughing) 08:00.440 --> 08:01.580 - There are version of this. 08:01.580 --> 08:03.887 I said, "No, I don't want the C or the D, 08:03.887 --> 08:07.210 "I want the A plus," and we did it the A plus, 08:07.210 --> 08:08.620 so I'm very happy with that, 08:08.620 --> 08:10.720 and I think you're gonna see things. 08:10.720 --> 08:11.890 It's kicking in immediately. 08:11.890 --> 08:13.960 It'll kick in as of today. 08:13.960 --> 08:16.980 But it's gonna really start going during the course 08:16.980 --> 08:19.820 of the year, the following year, this year coming. 08:19.820 --> 08:22.113 And you'll see some results that are gonna be 08:22.113 --> 08:25.010 actually incredible in terms of costs coming down, 08:25.010 --> 08:26.920 and I think in terms of the quality of the care 08:26.920 --> 08:30.620 because you're picking people that you'd wanna be with. 08:30.620 --> 08:32.560 This afternoon we're grateful to be joined 08:32.560 --> 08:35.396 by Secretary Steve Mnuchin, wherever you may be, Steve. 08:35.396 --> 08:36.229 (Steve responding off-mic) 08:36.229 --> 08:37.150 Hi, Steve. 08:37.150 --> 08:39.530 Secretary Gene Scalia, and I hear you're really 08:39.530 --> 08:41.016 doing a job over there, huh? 08:41.016 --> 08:42.960 - Doing our best. - Labor's doing okay. 08:42.960 --> 08:44.287 Your numbers are certainly doing very good. 08:44.287 --> 08:46.925 It's a good time to be Department of Labor, right? 08:46.925 --> 08:48.232 - [Gene] Great story to tell. 08:48.232 --> 08:49.440 - Right, thank you very much. 08:49.440 --> 08:50.620 Good. 08:50.620 --> 08:53.390 Secretary Alex Azar, thank you, Alex. 08:53.390 --> 08:54.223 Thank you. 08:55.410 --> 08:56.930 Thank you, Alex. 08:56.930 --> 09:00.925 And Administrator Seema Verma, thank you very much, Seema. 09:00.925 --> 09:01.758 - Behind you. 09:01.758 --> 09:03.880 - It's a unusual group today. 09:03.880 --> 09:05.710 They're spread all over the place. 09:05.710 --> 09:08.270 I also wanna welcome Representatives Kevin Brady, 09:08.270 --> 09:09.970 Michael Burgess, and Greg Walden. 09:09.970 --> 09:12.580 They've been so fantastic on getting us 09:12.580 --> 09:16.010 to a really good position with the taxes. 09:16.010 --> 09:20.010 We're gonna be doing a major middle income tax cut, 09:20.010 --> 09:22.210 if we take back the House, 09:22.210 --> 09:25.160 and we'll be talking about that sometime later, 09:25.160 --> 09:28.240 but we're gonna be doing a very major middle income 09:28.240 --> 09:31.950 tax cut, mostly devoted to middle income, 09:31.950 --> 09:33.600 who have really been big beneficiaries 09:33.600 --> 09:36.428 of the tax cut we did, which was the largest 09:36.428 --> 09:37.810 in the history of our country. 09:37.810 --> 09:41.420 But we're doing a major tax cut for the middle income, 09:41.420 --> 09:44.910 and that'll be subject, obviously, to taking over the House, 09:44.910 --> 09:48.660 because Democrats like tax increases, not tax cuts. 09:48.660 --> 09:50.530 I also wanna thank our state leaders. 09:50.530 --> 09:52.150 We have a lotta state leaders here today 09:52.150 --> 09:55.300 at the highest level, and I wanna thank them for being here. 09:55.300 --> 09:59.490 And a special thanks, again, to highly-respected economists 09:59.490 --> 10:02.920 Dr. Art Laffer, Dr. Larry Van Horn, 10:02.920 --> 10:06.130 and really it was those two people that came to my office. 10:06.130 --> 10:08.680 We were talking about Art, and we were all 10:08.680 --> 10:11.530 congratulating him because he did an incredible job 10:11.530 --> 10:15.140 over a lot of years with Ronald Reagan and beyond, 10:15.140 --> 10:18.890 and when I said the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 10:18.890 --> 10:21.700 which is the highest civilian award you can get, 10:21.700 --> 10:24.310 he told me this little story about a certain hospital 10:24.310 --> 10:26.010 he was involved with where they did this, 10:26.010 --> 10:29.900 and every hospital's had just incredible experience with it. 10:29.900 --> 10:31.540 And I said, "Tell me more." 10:31.540 --> 10:35.710 And then we got involved with Larry, and Larry Kudlow, also, 10:35.710 --> 10:38.521 by the way, and we had a little group of four people 10:38.521 --> 10:40.820 that talked about it a lot. 10:40.820 --> 10:42.810 And I think it's gonna have a tremendous impact. 10:42.810 --> 10:44.040 And again, the statement was made, 10:44.040 --> 10:45.990 this is bigger than healthcare. 10:45.990 --> 10:47.090 And I think it will be. 10:47.090 --> 10:49.640 I think it'll be more meaningful, in many ways. 10:49.640 --> 10:51.930 You'll save so much money, and you'll get the care 10:51.930 --> 10:54.010 that you want, and you'll choose the doctor you want, 10:54.010 --> 10:57.360 which was not possible, despite the many pleas. 10:57.360 --> 10:58.640 You know, you can have your plan, 10:58.640 --> 11:00.170 and you can have your doctor. 11:00.170 --> 11:03.680 Well, they turned out to be untrue statements 11:03.680 --> 11:05.730 about Obamacare. 11:05.730 --> 11:08.220 For decades, hospitals, insurance companies, 11:08.220 --> 11:10.850 lobbyists and special interests have hidden prices 11:10.850 --> 11:14.530 from consumers so they could drive up costs for you, 11:14.530 --> 11:16.620 and you had no idea what was happening. 11:16.620 --> 11:18.380 You'd get bills that were unbelievable, 11:18.380 --> 11:20.440 and you have no idea why. 11:20.440 --> 11:24.617 For example, research has found that for the same MRI 11:24.617 --> 11:27.817 at the same hospital, patients were charged anywhere from 11:27.817 --> 11:31.080 $248 to $2,500. 11:31.080 --> 11:34.020 So 10 times more at the same hospital. 11:34.020 --> 11:35.570 I assume that would be different doctors 11:35.570 --> 11:36.873 within the same hospital. 11:38.030 --> 11:39.740 I don't know if the hospitals are gonna like me 11:39.740 --> 11:42.990 too much anymore with this, but that's okay, right? 11:42.990 --> 11:43.823 That's okay. 11:43.823 --> 11:45.810 I think the doctors are going to, actually. 11:45.810 --> 11:48.100 In the Boston area, the price of delivering a baby 11:48.100 --> 11:53.100 can cost anywhere from roughly $4,700 to nearly $16,000. 11:54.320 --> 11:56.700 One survey found that within a single metro area, 11:56.700 --> 12:00.980 the highest negotiated price for a simple blood test 12:00.980 --> 12:04.680 was roughly 40 times more than the lowest price. 12:04.680 --> 12:07.493 They were given exactly the same service, 12:08.600 --> 12:11.620 in some cases sent them to the same labs, 12:11.620 --> 12:14.520 and were charged 40 times more money. 12:14.520 --> 12:16.650 Under the new price transparency rule 12:16.650 --> 12:19.440 we are finalizing today, and it'll be all finalized, 12:19.440 --> 12:22.050 it is finalized, it'll be put out today, 12:22.050 --> 12:23.370 all of that will change. 12:23.370 --> 12:25.550 Hospitals will soon be required to publish 12:25.550 --> 12:28.560 the price of everything from individual medical supplies 12:28.560 --> 12:31.540 to the total cost of common procedures. 12:31.540 --> 12:34.320 Next we will bring much-needed price transparency 12:34.320 --> 12:35.500 to insurance companies. 12:35.500 --> 12:37.380 I'm sure they'll be thrilled. 12:37.380 --> 12:41.470 This will allow you to see your out-of-pocket costs 12:41.470 --> 12:43.320 and other vital price information 12:43.320 --> 12:45.690 before you go in for treatment. 12:45.690 --> 12:47.430 So you're gonna know what it's gonna be, 12:47.430 --> 12:50.400 and you're gonna be able to have lots of choices, 12:50.400 --> 12:54.500 both in terms of doctors, hospitals, and price. 12:54.500 --> 12:57.250 And we're stopping American patients 12:57.250 --> 13:00.340 from just getting pure and simple, two words, 13:00.340 --> 13:02.280 very simple words: ripped off, 13:02.280 --> 13:04.920 because they've been ripped off for years, 13:04.920 --> 13:06.940 for a lotta years. 13:06.940 --> 13:10.970 With us today is Melissa Ural, who works for a company 13:10.970 --> 13:13.870 that benefits from price transparency, 13:13.870 --> 13:16.450 and Melissa, could you come up and say a few words. 13:16.450 --> 13:17.283 - [Melissa] Yes. 13:17.283 --> 13:18.230 - Thank you, Melissa. 13:18.230 --> 13:19.710 Thank you very much. 13:19.710 --> 13:21.550 - Thank you, Mr. President. 13:21.550 --> 13:24.190 My name is Melissa Ural, and I'm the vice president 13:24.190 --> 13:26.630 of human resources for HB Global. 13:26.630 --> 13:29.653 We are an employee-owned mechanical contracting company. 13:32.820 --> 13:35.360 Transparent pricing initiative aligns with our 13:35.360 --> 13:38.160 ownership model because it allows employees 13:38.160 --> 13:41.163 to get the care that they need at the cost that they want. 13:42.640 --> 13:45.140 Currently, we are partnering with a broker 13:45.140 --> 13:48.602 to work and negotiate prices for surgeries 13:48.602 --> 13:52.329 and other procedures at local surgical centers. 13:52.329 --> 13:55.410 This allows our employees to know what the procedure, 13:55.410 --> 13:56.720 or what the cost, will look like 13:56.720 --> 13:58.900 when they walk through the door. 13:58.900 --> 14:02.250 This also allows our employees to get great care 14:02.250 --> 14:06.290 at a fraction of the cost, with the same quality 14:06.290 --> 14:08.710 and standard of care that they would have gotten, 14:08.710 --> 14:11.253 and they won't receive any surprise bills. 14:12.860 --> 14:16.390 Right now we have some price transparency behind the scenes, 14:16.390 --> 14:18.560 but with full price transparency up front, 14:18.560 --> 14:21.623 our employees can make the best decisions possible. 14:22.720 --> 14:24.790 We wouldn't expect our employees to go buy a car 14:24.790 --> 14:27.380 or a house without knowing the price up front. 14:27.380 --> 14:29.890 Why should their health care be any different? 14:29.890 --> 14:31.070 I want to thank the president 14:31.070 --> 14:33.640 for bringing this important initiative to the front. 14:33.640 --> 14:34.473 Thank you. 14:34.473 --> 14:35.498 - Thank you very much, Melissa, beautiful. 14:35.498 --> 14:37.578 - Thank you. (group applauding) 14:37.578 --> 14:38.578 - Thank you. 14:40.130 --> 14:41.163 Good job, Melissa. 14:43.770 --> 14:47.150 We're also joined by Kara Boeckel, 14:47.150 --> 14:48.800 who works for the same company, 14:48.800 --> 14:52.910 and benefited when her employer shopped for the best price 14:52.910 --> 14:57.910 on a surgery that she needed, and I'd like to have Kara 14:58.990 --> 15:01.680 come up and please tell us about it. 15:01.680 --> 15:02.513 Kara? 15:03.630 --> 15:04.463 - Thank you. 15:05.500 --> 15:08.090 My name's Kara Boeckel, and I work for HB Global 15:08.090 --> 15:09.520 along with Melissa, 15:09.520 --> 15:13.810 and in January of this year I had surgery on my ankle. 15:13.810 --> 15:17.020 I'm the sole provider of my two-year old son, 15:17.020 --> 15:22.020 so this impact was huge for his and my day-to-day life. 15:23.350 --> 15:26.780 When I initially went to an orthopedic urgent care, 15:26.780 --> 15:29.780 I had no idea what I was gonna pay, 15:29.780 --> 15:30.990 no idea what the costs were gonna be, 15:30.990 --> 15:34.340 I just know that I needed to get help. 15:34.340 --> 15:37.630 I ended up with a bill for over $1,000. 15:37.630 --> 15:40.770 This was an unexpected expense that my family 15:40.770 --> 15:44.923 now had to endure, and it had a huge impact on us. 15:46.091 --> 15:50.070 It was a huge stressor to know that I needed surgery 15:50.070 --> 15:53.120 and not know what the cost was gonna be, 15:53.120 --> 15:55.550 and how it was gonna impact my life. 15:55.550 --> 15:57.320 Thankfully my company was able to work 15:57.320 --> 15:59.540 with a brokerage firm and shop around 15:59.540 --> 16:02.620 to know what prices were gonna be beforehand. 16:02.620 --> 16:05.430 With insurance, the claim my company would have paid 16:05.430 --> 16:09.940 was $19,500, and we wouldn't have known that cost 16:09.940 --> 16:11.380 until afterwards. 16:11.380 --> 16:13.620 By shopping around beforehand, we knew the claim 16:13.620 --> 16:18.620 was gonna be $7,800, which is a 60% price difference. 16:19.300 --> 16:21.650 And it was at zero cost to me. 16:21.650 --> 16:24.590 I was even able to get the care at the same facility 16:24.590 --> 16:28.640 that I was going to go to if I would have used my insurance. 16:28.640 --> 16:30.690 I wanna thank the president for making healthcare 16:30.690 --> 16:33.930 more transparent so that others in my situation 16:33.930 --> 16:38.000 don't have to have these unexpected financial surprises 16:38.000 --> 16:38.998 and hardships. 16:38.998 --> 16:39.831 - Thank you very much. 16:39.831 --> 16:40.664 - Thank you. 16:40.664 --> 16:43.581 (group applauding) 16:44.910 --> 16:46.920 - Thank you very much, Kara. 16:46.920 --> 16:49.280 Also with us is Dr. Rick Schultz, 16:49.280 --> 16:53.260 chief medical officer at Texas Free Market Surgery. 16:53.260 --> 16:55.230 Doctor, I'd like to have you come up 16:55.230 --> 16:58.190 and say a few words about what we're doing 16:58.190 --> 16:59.070 and how we're doing it. 16:59.070 --> 17:00.443 Thank you, Doctor. 17:01.510 --> 17:03.130 - Thank you very much for having us here today. 17:03.130 --> 17:05.180 This is a very exciting day. 17:05.180 --> 17:07.920 I'd like to take a minute to talk about stewardship. 17:07.920 --> 17:10.100 First, I'd like to thank Jesus for allowing me 17:10.100 --> 17:13.170 the opportunity, and charging me with being a good steward 17:13.170 --> 17:15.540 of the opportunity and the abilities 17:15.540 --> 17:17.310 to practice orthopedic surgery in Texas 17:17.310 --> 17:19.290 for the last 20 years. 17:19.290 --> 17:21.250 I'd also like to thank the president 17:21.250 --> 17:25.220 for his leadership and stewardship in this effort, 17:25.220 --> 17:26.930 and the fact that since he's been elected, 17:26.930 --> 17:28.970 he trusts Americans to be courageous 17:28.970 --> 17:31.700 and make smart decisions with their own money, 17:31.700 --> 17:33.710 and their own health care, and he knows that we're 17:33.710 --> 17:35.710 smart enough to make good decisions now. 17:36.960 --> 17:40.540 This policy, this transparency, will be the fuel 17:40.540 --> 17:43.590 for healthcare innovation very similar to what we're doing 17:43.590 --> 17:47.110 with Texas Free Market Surgery and Texas Medical Management. 17:47.110 --> 17:50.630 Right now, every day, we take good care of patients 17:50.630 --> 17:53.530 at a very fair price, and it's completely transparent. 17:53.530 --> 17:54.710 This is not something in the future, 17:54.710 --> 17:56.390 this is something we're doing today. 17:56.390 --> 17:59.750 If you don't believe me, just check out our website. 17:59.750 --> 18:02.870 Finally, I'd really like to challenge the Americans 18:02.870 --> 18:06.210 that this is a right that you're getting back, 18:06.210 --> 18:08.540 to know the price of your health care. 18:08.540 --> 18:09.930 This is gonna be a fight. 18:09.930 --> 18:12.140 This is very disruptive. 18:12.140 --> 18:14.070 The people who are currently making a lot of money 18:14.070 --> 18:17.220 off of us are gonna fight this tooth and nail. 18:17.220 --> 18:19.380 If you aren't ready to fight for this, 18:19.380 --> 18:22.470 then don't complain when it gets taken away from you. 18:22.470 --> 18:25.250 Mr. President, thank you for stepping into the gap, 18:25.250 --> 18:27.840 taking the slings and arrows, and helping get this going. 18:27.840 --> 18:29.047 - Thank you very much much, Doctor. 18:29.047 --> 18:30.395 (group applauding) 18:30.395 --> 18:31.228 Thank you. 18:33.782 --> 18:36.500 I think, if I could, I'd like to have Kevin Brady 18:36.500 --> 18:39.260 come up just for a second and talk about 18:39.260 --> 18:41.210 what we've done with the individual mandate, 18:41.210 --> 18:43.620 and how that's just a small part, 18:43.620 --> 18:46.150 but it's a very big part in terms of healthcare. 18:46.150 --> 18:49.020 What we did with respect to our tax cuts 18:49.020 --> 18:52.320 and our reforms, and you might want to discuss 18:52.320 --> 18:53.560 the individual mandate. 18:53.560 --> 18:55.060 Getting rid of it was such a big deal. 18:55.060 --> 18:55.893 Thank you. 18:55.893 --> 18:57.890 - So thank you, Mr. President. 18:57.890 --> 19:00.030 So first, thank you for being the president 19:00.030 --> 19:03.190 who led on letting people keep more of what they earn 19:03.190 --> 19:06.165 so they can afford health care costs, utility costs, 19:06.165 --> 19:09.410 college costs, all of which has seemed to go up. 19:09.410 --> 19:12.860 Secondly, thank you for, when we saw the failings 19:12.860 --> 19:14.050 of the Affordable Care Act, 19:14.050 --> 19:17.740 especially forcing average Texans, average Americans, 19:17.740 --> 19:19.510 into buying health care they couldn't use, 19:19.510 --> 19:22.325 and couldn't afford, you stepped forward with Congress 19:22.325 --> 19:25.549 to eliminate, effectively, that mandate. 19:25.549 --> 19:28.810 Which was another tax cut on the American people. 19:28.810 --> 19:32.130 You've also created association health plans, 19:32.130 --> 19:34.520 because if you're in a small business, 19:34.520 --> 19:36.980 if you work for small business, or have one, 19:36.980 --> 19:39.920 you've been left behind under the Affordable Care Act. 19:39.920 --> 19:43.450 Your plans that allow our small businesses to join together 19:43.450 --> 19:46.030 to afford health care the way the big companies do, 19:46.030 --> 19:48.420 they're cutting prices 30 and 40%, 19:48.420 --> 19:50.550 making health care affordable again. 19:50.550 --> 19:51.650 Hugely helpful. 19:51.650 --> 19:54.130 And then today, as Art Laffer has pointed out, 19:54.130 --> 19:56.890 and you, too, Mr. President, look, 19:56.890 --> 19:58.520 patients are confused. 19:58.520 --> 20:00.630 Families don't know what things cost. 20:00.630 --> 20:03.610 You can't shop around, and you don't understand the price. 20:03.610 --> 20:06.700 This pulling back the curtain on health care prices 20:06.700 --> 20:09.060 will help competition to occur, 20:09.060 --> 20:13.050 give us, as families and patients choices ahead of time, 20:13.050 --> 20:15.860 and will ultimately lower the health care costs, 20:15.860 --> 20:17.760 and I'll close with this: 20:17.760 --> 20:21.970 it's easy to have quality care or affordable care. 20:21.970 --> 20:24.130 The goal is to have both. 20:24.130 --> 20:27.130 Making these prices transparent allow our families 20:27.130 --> 20:29.500 and our businesses to have quality care 20:29.500 --> 20:30.810 and affordable at the same time. 20:30.810 --> 20:32.790 This really is transformational. 20:32.790 --> 20:33.816 Thank you, Mr. President. 20:33.816 --> 20:36.585 (group applauding) 20:36.585 --> 20:38.740 - It all sort of fits in. 20:38.740 --> 20:41.530 It's like a puzzle, and I see my friend Greg. 20:41.530 --> 20:44.800 I can't believe you're gonna be leaving Congress 20:44.800 --> 20:45.633 one of these days. 20:45.633 --> 20:47.510 I was so disappointed to see that, 20:47.510 --> 20:50.860 but you're fantastic, and we all work together 20:50.860 --> 20:53.810 with everybody, all of us. 20:53.810 --> 20:54.900 Come on up here, the two of you. 20:54.900 --> 20:58.530 I'd like you to discuss right-to-try a little bit. 20:58.530 --> 21:02.150 And I mean, you think about, it's really a very important 21:02.150 --> 21:05.250 part of healthcare, the ultimate part of healthcare. 21:05.250 --> 21:08.100 And for 45 years they've been trying to get it passed 21:08.100 --> 21:10.230 and they couldn't do it, and Greg Walden, 21:10.230 --> 21:13.840 the three of us, plus a lot, we've got it done. 21:13.840 --> 21:15.220 Congressman, thank you very much. 21:15.220 --> 21:16.550 - Thank you, Mr. President. 21:16.550 --> 21:17.520 - Go ahead, please. 21:17.520 --> 21:18.650 - Well, thank you, Mr. President. 21:18.650 --> 21:22.530 We've never had a president lean further farther forward 21:22.530 --> 21:24.962 on behalf of patients, than President Donald Trump. 21:24.962 --> 21:26.780 (group applauding) 21:26.780 --> 21:31.780 And we finally got into law right-to-try. 21:32.300 --> 21:35.280 Now you're gonna get in place right-to-know. 21:35.280 --> 21:37.822 We should have the right to know what these things cost. 21:37.822 --> 21:40.070 I was here with you when you talked about 21:40.070 --> 21:42.390 surprise medical billing, and we are very close 21:42.390 --> 21:44.490 to legislating on that, Mr. President. 21:44.490 --> 21:47.140 And that is a huge win for consumers. 21:47.140 --> 21:49.560 This is a huge win for consumers. 21:49.560 --> 21:51.790 You're doing the right thing, and Dr. Mike Burgess 21:51.790 --> 21:53.850 who was my chairman of the subcommittee on healthcare, 21:53.850 --> 21:56.290 now the top Republican on healthcare, has really been 21:56.290 --> 21:58.360 a leader in this effort, as well, Mr. President. 21:58.360 --> 22:01.750 And your team, working with the secretaries, 22:01.750 --> 22:04.950 and Seema, and others, have been at the forefront of this. 22:04.950 --> 22:07.380 And Americans are benefiting, and the one thing 22:07.380 --> 22:09.510 I hear about is what Kevin Brady talked about. 22:09.510 --> 22:12.080 We want affordable care, we want innovation, 22:12.080 --> 22:13.970 but we have to be able to afford it. 22:13.970 --> 22:16.840 And you can't know what things cost if they won't tell you, 22:16.840 --> 22:19.520 and it's all hidden back behind the curtain. 22:19.520 --> 22:21.140 So Mr. President, thanks for your leadership, 22:21.140 --> 22:22.105 and your team's leadership. 22:22.105 --> 22:22.938 - Thank you. 22:22.938 --> 22:25.410 Michael, say a few words, please. 22:25.410 --> 22:27.960 - What I hear from constituents all the time, 22:27.960 --> 22:30.000 I practiced medicine for 25 years, 22:30.000 --> 22:31.180 they're concerned with the cost 22:31.180 --> 22:32.780 and complexity of healthcare. 22:32.780 --> 22:35.050 This is a major step, major step, 22:35.050 --> 22:38.280 in delivering on that promise for patients. 22:38.280 --> 22:39.720 Look, there's another party in town 22:39.720 --> 22:41.390 that just wants to take away all your choices 22:41.390 --> 22:42.680 and give you one choice. 22:42.680 --> 22:45.180 This president is trying to expand your choices. 22:45.180 --> 22:46.370 That's a better choice. 22:46.370 --> 22:47.382 - Thank you, Michael. 22:47.382 --> 22:49.333 (group applauding) 22:49.333 --> 22:50.221 - Thank you. 22:50.221 --> 22:52.040 Thank you very much. 22:52.040 --> 22:54.030 So the actions that we're announcing today 22:54.030 --> 22:55.930 are only the latest steps in our campaign 22:55.930 --> 22:59.040 to deliver great health care for American patients, 22:59.040 --> 23:02.550 our efforts to reduce the price of prescription drugs, 23:02.550 --> 23:03.530 and I don't know if you know that, 23:03.530 --> 23:06.400 but this is the first time Secretary Azar, I think, 23:06.400 --> 23:08.995 in 51 years that prices have actually gone down 23:08.995 --> 23:10.540 for prescription drugs. 23:10.540 --> 23:13.210 So that's quite an achievement. 23:13.210 --> 23:15.470 And if we had the help of the Democrats, 23:15.470 --> 23:18.720 which we don't, it's a shame, because we could 23:18.720 --> 23:21.170 knock drug prices down so low. 23:21.170 --> 23:24.910 We will be giving states the right to go to other countries 23:24.910 --> 23:26.970 to buy their drugs, because other countries, 23:26.970 --> 23:29.530 because they don't have these crazy, arcane rules 23:29.530 --> 23:31.710 that we could fix so quickly if we had the help 23:31.710 --> 23:33.750 of the Democrats, but they want the price of drugs 23:33.750 --> 23:36.230 to stay high, I suppose. 23:36.230 --> 23:38.650 But we brought it down the most in 51 years, 23:38.650 --> 23:41.670 and we're very proud of that, but we can bring them down 23:41.670 --> 23:44.740 much more, and one of the things I'm doing is, 23:44.740 --> 23:48.800 as an example, Canada will pay much less for drugs 23:48.800 --> 23:51.990 because they don't have to pay for research and development. 23:51.990 --> 23:54.390 So their pricing is much cheaper, so we'll buy, 23:54.390 --> 23:56.580 and I'm working with Ron DeSantis in Florida, 23:56.580 --> 23:59.050 and some other governors, great governors, 23:59.050 --> 24:01.240 and they're gonna buy from other countries 24:01.240 --> 24:04.310 and skip all of the nonsense, and I think ultimately 24:04.310 --> 24:06.060 what that's gonna do is the drug companies 24:06.060 --> 24:08.110 will bring the price of their drugs down. 24:08.110 --> 24:09.270 Or they'll buy from other countries. 24:09.270 --> 24:10.510 That's okay, too. 24:10.510 --> 24:13.860 The same pill, made in the same factory, 24:13.860 --> 24:18.860 made by the same company, sells for 50, 60 and 70% less 24:19.250 --> 24:22.300 in one country than it does in another. 24:22.300 --> 24:23.750 And we're always the high country. 24:23.750 --> 24:26.110 So I'm gonna be giving governors the right, 24:26.110 --> 24:30.170 very shortly, to buy, I've already given some the right, 24:30.170 --> 24:34.700 to buy their prescription drugs from other countries, 24:34.700 --> 24:38.520 and we avoid, we skirt a lot of, that probably sounds like 24:38.520 --> 24:39.353 a pretty good idea to you. 24:39.353 --> 24:40.710 Whatta you think, huh? 24:40.710 --> 24:41.543 - [Art] Love it. 24:41.543 --> 24:42.680 - You as the great economist. 24:42.680 --> 24:46.190 So anyway, so the actions that we're announcing today 24:46.190 --> 24:47.530 are the latest steps, 24:47.530 --> 24:49.870 our efforts to reduce the price of prescription drugs. 24:49.870 --> 24:52.640 We're gonna have some tremendous results. 24:52.640 --> 24:57.020 We could do it so simply if we had any kind of help 24:57.020 --> 25:00.100 from the Democrats, but they're doing so many other things, 25:00.100 --> 25:02.940 namely one: wasting a lot of time, 25:02.940 --> 25:05.370 and very bad for our country what they're doing. 25:05.370 --> 25:07.560 And they should approve USMCA, by the way. 25:07.560 --> 25:08.975 It's the greatest trade deal ever made. 25:08.975 --> 25:10.100 (group applauding) 25:10.100 --> 25:11.850 And they should stop playing games. 25:13.543 --> 25:15.750 And you know, Mexico signed it many months ago. 25:15.750 --> 25:18.500 Canada keeps calling me, when is this deal gonna happen? 25:18.500 --> 25:19.890 Is this deal gonna happen? 25:19.890 --> 25:21.970 And it's sitting on Nancy Pelosi's desk 25:21.970 --> 25:25.202 for about three months, four months. 25:25.202 --> 25:27.930 Nervous Nancy, she needs a little nervous energy 25:27.930 --> 25:30.730 to get it done, because all she has to do is put it up. 25:30.730 --> 25:32.960 She's got plenty of Democrat votes. 25:32.960 --> 25:34.750 A lot of Democrats are pushing her, 25:34.750 --> 25:36.490 but she doesn't wanna do it, because she doesn't 25:36.490 --> 25:38.229 wanna have a victory for the American people, 25:38.229 --> 25:39.888 and that's all it is. 25:39.888 --> 25:42.140 So either she does it, or she doesn't do it, 25:42.140 --> 25:44.600 but Mexico wants to know what's happening, 25:44.600 --> 25:46.550 Canada wants to know what's happening. 25:46.550 --> 25:49.720 They could live without it, 'cause it's a great deal for us. 25:49.720 --> 25:51.580 They could live without it, and they wanna know 25:51.580 --> 25:53.110 what's going on. 25:53.110 --> 25:56.170 We eliminated the Obamacare individual mandate penalty, 25:56.170 --> 25:58.880 and we're expanding affordable alternatives 25:58.880 --> 26:02.100 which cost up to 60% less than Obamacare plans, 26:02.100 --> 26:04.120 and it could be even quite a bit higher than that 26:04.120 --> 26:05.670 in some cases. 26:05.670 --> 26:07.820 And we will always protect patients 26:07.820 --> 26:09.470 with pre-existing conditions, 26:09.470 --> 26:10.750 and as I've been saying lately, 26:10.750 --> 26:14.399 and also patients with pre-existing physicians. 26:14.399 --> 26:15.232 (scattered laughter) 26:15.232 --> 26:16.065 I thought that was good. 26:16.065 --> 26:17.367 I made it in one speech, I said, "You know, 26:17.367 --> 26:19.100 "people like that," but it's true 26:19.100 --> 26:20.750 because you didn't have your doctor, 26:20.750 --> 26:22.340 you didn't have your plan, 26:22.340 --> 26:24.120 and now you have the plan and you have the doctor. 26:24.120 --> 26:25.810 So it's pretty good. 26:25.810 --> 26:28.090 In everything we do, my administration is fighting 26:28.090 --> 26:30.400 for the rights of American consumers, 26:30.400 --> 26:32.770 the well-being of American patients, 26:32.770 --> 26:34.300 and the health of American people. 26:34.300 --> 26:38.600 We're taking on the bureaucrats in more ways than one. 26:38.600 --> 26:40.120 You probably noticed that, right? 26:40.120 --> 26:42.240 We're taking on a lot of bureaucrats. 26:42.240 --> 26:44.530 We're taking on the insurance companies, 26:44.530 --> 26:46.250 and we're taking on the special interests, 26:46.250 --> 26:48.690 and that's one of the difficulties I have in Washington 26:48.690 --> 26:51.590 because I've taken on a lot of the establishment, 26:51.590 --> 26:55.610 and a lot of the politicians are taken care of 26:55.610 --> 26:57.210 by the establishment, and they don't like 26:57.210 --> 26:58.640 that I take on the establishment. 26:58.640 --> 27:00.650 But I'm taking it on for the consumer, 27:00.650 --> 27:02.590 for the American people, and that's why you see 27:02.590 --> 27:04.190 prices going down. 27:04.190 --> 27:05.930 And you haven't seen anything yet. 27:05.930 --> 27:08.580 Things are gonna happen that will be shocking, 27:08.580 --> 27:10.940 but there are people in Washington, as I say, 27:10.940 --> 27:12.810 there are people in the swamp that don't like 27:12.810 --> 27:14.810 what I'm doing for that reason. 27:14.810 --> 27:17.410 We will not rest until every American has access 27:17.410 --> 27:19.487 to the highest-quality, most affordable healthcare 27:19.487 --> 27:21.620 anywhere in the world. 27:21.620 --> 27:23.560 And again, I want to thank you all, 27:23.560 --> 27:25.910 and I'd like to ask Secretary Azar to come up 27:25.910 --> 27:26.820 and say a few words. 27:26.820 --> 27:27.830 Thank you very much. 27:27.830 --> 27:28.663 Thank you. 27:28.663 --> 27:31.481 (group applauding) 27:33.410 --> 27:35.250 - Well, thank you very much, Mr. President, 27:35.250 --> 27:36.780 and thank you for your leadership. 27:36.780 --> 27:38.350 You asked us, as you said earlier, 27:38.350 --> 27:41.640 to deliver A plus transparency in healthcare. 27:41.640 --> 27:44.260 Well, right now our system wouldn't even get a passing grade 27:44.260 --> 27:45.930 on transparency. 27:45.930 --> 27:48.460 Patients are at the mercy of a shadowy system 27:48.460 --> 27:51.260 with no control over their care. 27:51.260 --> 27:52.620 But thanks to your leadership, 27:52.620 --> 27:56.270 and your transparency executive order, we're changing that. 27:56.270 --> 27:59.193 The changes you described, what we're doing at HHS, 27:59.193 --> 28:02.130 will be revolutionary to our healthcare system. 28:02.130 --> 28:05.150 Perhaps the biggest single change that President Trump 28:05.150 --> 28:08.560 has made to Americans' healthcare experience. 28:08.560 --> 28:12.720 More than 70% of the most common hospital services 28:12.720 --> 28:14.360 are shoppable. 28:14.360 --> 28:16.710 We're delivering American patients the information 28:16.710 --> 28:19.970 they need to make the right choices for themselves. 28:19.970 --> 28:22.010 That's crucial to the kind of system that we're building 28:22.010 --> 28:25.470 for American patients, with affordable, personalized, 28:25.470 --> 28:28.420 patient-centric care that puts you in control, 28:28.420 --> 28:31.870 and treats you like a human being, and not like a number. 28:31.870 --> 28:33.010 So thank you, Mr. President, 28:33.010 --> 28:34.500 for delivering American patients 28:34.500 --> 28:38.300 the affordability that you need, the options and control 28:38.300 --> 28:42.410 that you want, and the quality that you deserve. 28:42.410 --> 28:44.900 A key leader in this work has been Administrator Verma, 28:44.900 --> 28:46.350 who will now say a few words. 28:46.350 --> 28:47.766 Seema? 28:47.766 --> 28:49.342 - Thank you, Alex. 28:49.342 --> 28:52.520 (group applauding) 28:52.520 --> 28:54.450 - First of all, I wanna thank the President, 28:54.450 --> 28:55.970 because people have been talking about 28:55.970 --> 28:57.810 price transparency for ever. 28:57.810 --> 28:59.700 We all know that what's been going on 28:59.700 --> 29:01.980 in the healthcare system has been wrong. 29:01.980 --> 29:04.950 It's not fair that patients don't know the cost 29:04.950 --> 29:07.140 of the services that they're going to get. 29:07.140 --> 29:10.290 But only one man has been willing to stand up 29:10.290 --> 29:13.170 to special interests and do what's right for patients 29:13.170 --> 29:15.560 and put them back in control of their health care. 29:15.560 --> 29:17.660 So thank you, President Trump. 29:17.660 --> 29:18.935 Really appreciate it. 29:18.935 --> 29:19.870 - Thank you very much. 29:19.870 --> 29:20.874 - Thank you. 29:20.874 --> 29:21.937 - Thank you very much. 29:21.937 --> 29:25.080 (group applauding) 29:25.080 --> 29:29.830 - So after many, many years we finally have transparency. 29:29.830 --> 29:32.200 It's going into effect today. 29:32.200 --> 29:35.120 It will have a tremendous impact. 29:35.120 --> 29:39.250 It will sort of go in sections and stages, 29:39.250 --> 29:41.230 but it all begins today. 29:41.230 --> 29:43.450 And within about 12 months, I think it'll be 29:43.450 --> 29:45.290 fully implemented, and we can even say, 29:45.290 --> 29:47.300 probably a shorter period of time than that. 29:47.300 --> 29:50.530 Some of it's complex, and some of it's very easy, 29:50.530 --> 29:51.544 but it's all very good. 29:51.544 --> 29:54.180 There's never been anything like this. 29:54.180 --> 29:57.090 So the word is transparency, and I love transparency 29:57.090 --> 30:00.210 in many ways, and this is gonna be something 30:00.210 --> 30:04.500 that's going to be incredible for the consumer, 30:04.500 --> 30:05.920 for the patient. 30:05.920 --> 30:08.800 I think it's gonna be really good for the good doctors. 30:08.800 --> 30:11.280 Maybe not so good for other doctors. 30:11.280 --> 30:12.410 I think it's gonna be really good 30:12.410 --> 30:14.560 for the great hospitals, frankly. 30:14.560 --> 30:16.870 And it's very exciting, and it's something that, 30:16.870 --> 30:18.540 again, Art, I want to thank you very much, 30:18.540 --> 30:21.200 'cause you really did bring it to my attention, 30:21.200 --> 30:23.050 and I appreciate it very much. 30:23.050 --> 30:24.350 Thank you very much. 30:24.350 --> 30:25.183 Yeah, please. 30:25.183 --> 30:26.956 - [Reporter] Mr. President, what do you say to the Democrats 30:26.956 --> 30:28.970 that say you were witness-tampering this morning 30:28.970 --> 30:30.780 when you made that tweet-- 30:30.780 --> 30:33.217 - You don't wanna talk about transparency? 30:33.217 --> 30:34.820 I'll talk about transparency. 30:34.820 --> 30:36.070 I like transparency here, 30:36.070 --> 30:39.058 and I'm the most transparent president in history. 30:39.058 --> 30:41.260 And I'll tell you about what tampering is. 30:41.260 --> 30:43.770 Tampering is when a guy like Shifty Shift 30:43.770 --> 30:45.780 doesn't let us have lawyers. 30:45.780 --> 30:48.460 Tampering is when Schiff doesn't let us have witnesses, 30:48.460 --> 30:49.530 doesn't let us speak. 30:49.530 --> 30:51.370 I've been watching today, for the first time 30:51.370 --> 30:54.210 I started watching, and it's really sad 30:54.210 --> 30:57.389 when you see people not allowed to ask questions. 30:57.389 --> 31:00.640 Nobody's ever had such horrible due process. 31:00.640 --> 31:01.828 There was no due process. 31:01.828 --> 31:02.827 - [Reporter] What was-- 31:02.827 --> 31:06.080 And I think it's considered a joke all over Washington, 31:06.080 --> 31:07.480 and all over the world. 31:07.480 --> 31:10.770 The Republicans are given no due process whatsoever. 31:10.770 --> 31:12.730 We're not allowed to do anything. 31:12.730 --> 31:14.870 It's a disgrace what's happening, but you know what, 31:14.870 --> 31:16.560 the American public understands it, 31:16.560 --> 31:18.430 and that's why the poll numbers are so good, 31:18.430 --> 31:20.530 and that's why other things are so good. 31:20.530 --> 31:23.180 What they're doing in Washington with that hearing, 31:23.180 --> 31:24.830 and by the way, it's a political process. 31:24.830 --> 31:26.460 It's not a legal process. 31:26.460 --> 31:29.310 So if I have somebody saying I'm allowed to speak up, 31:29.310 --> 31:31.526 if somebody says about me, we're not allowed to have 31:31.526 --> 31:34.700 any kind of representation, we're not allowed 31:34.700 --> 31:38.090 to have almost anything, and nobody's seen anything like it. 31:38.090 --> 31:40.780 In the history of our country, there has never been 31:40.780 --> 31:43.130 a disgrace like what's going on right now. 31:43.130 --> 31:46.360 So you know what, I have the right to speak, 31:46.360 --> 31:49.250 I have freedom of speech just as other people do, 31:49.250 --> 31:51.800 but they've taken away the Republicans' rights, 31:51.800 --> 31:54.610 and I watched today as certain very talented people 31:54.610 --> 31:56.170 who wanted to ask questions, 31:56.170 --> 31:59.140 and they weren't even allowed to ask questions, Republicans. 31:59.140 --> 32:00.540 They weren't allowed to ask questions. 32:00.540 --> 32:01.653 It's a very sad thing. 32:01.653 --> 32:02.486 (reporters shouting questions) 32:02.486 --> 32:03.319 Go ahead. 32:04.680 --> 32:05.580 - [Reporter] Sir, with your freedom, 32:05.580 --> 32:08.300 were you trying to intimidate Ambassador Yovanovitch? 32:08.300 --> 32:12.210 - I just wanna have a total, I want freedom of speech. 32:12.210 --> 32:14.210 That's a political process. 32:14.210 --> 32:16.560 The Republicans have been treated very badly, 32:16.560 --> 32:18.080 and I watched a little bit of it today. 32:18.080 --> 32:20.090 I wasn't able to yesterday because we had 32:20.090 --> 32:21.450 the president of Turkey here, 32:21.450 --> 32:23.230 and I wasn't able to watch much. 32:23.230 --> 32:24.930 I watched some of it this morning. 32:24.930 --> 32:26.610 I thought it was a disgrace. 32:26.610 --> 32:29.420 When we have great Republican representatives, 32:29.420 --> 32:32.150 people elected by the people, and they're not allowed 32:32.150 --> 32:34.120 to even ask a question, they're not allowed 32:34.120 --> 32:37.310 to make a statement, we're not allowed to have witnesses, 32:37.310 --> 32:39.250 we're not allowed to have legal counsel, 32:39.250 --> 32:41.530 White House counsel, it's a disgrace, 32:41.530 --> 32:43.360 and it's an embarrassment to our nation. 32:43.360 --> 32:44.999 - [Reporter] Do you believe your tweets and your words-- 32:44.999 --> 32:46.039 (reporters shouting questions) 32:46.039 --> 32:46.872 - Yes, go ahead please. 32:46.872 --> 32:47.705 - [Reporter] Sir, do you believe your tweets- 32:47.705 --> 32:48.538 - Quiet, quiet. 32:48.538 --> 32:49.371 - [Reporter] To be intimidation-- 32:49.371 --> 32:50.204 - Quiet. 32:50.204 --> 32:51.214 - [Reporter] Sir, do you believe your tweets and words 32:51.214 --> 32:52.610 can be intimidating? 32:52.610 --> 32:53.900 - I don't think so at all. 32:53.900 --> 32:54.870 Go ahead. 32:54.870 --> 32:55.957 - [Reporter] Mr. President, do you think 32:55.957 --> 32:57.570 you're gonna get impeached? 32:57.570 --> 32:58.680 - Well, I shouldn't be. 32:58.680 --> 33:00.970 In fact, I thought last night it ended. 33:00.970 --> 33:03.770 Because last night I was in Louisiana 33:03.770 --> 33:06.050 where we're gonna hopefully elect a great governor, 33:06.050 --> 33:10.880 Republican governor, and I was getting off the plane, 33:10.880 --> 33:13.020 and they handed me a statement that was just made 33:13.020 --> 33:16.193 by the foreign minister and president of the Ukraine. 33:17.030 --> 33:19.360 And Ukraine, they came out loud and clear 33:19.360 --> 33:23.240 that there was no linkage whatsoever, not even a little bit, 33:23.240 --> 33:24.930 and you all saw it. 33:24.930 --> 33:28.010 I said, "Oh, well that ends the impeachment." 33:28.010 --> 33:29.840 And you people don't even report it. 33:29.840 --> 33:34.324 Look, the press is unbelievably dishonest. 33:34.324 --> 33:37.450 That was a major statement put out last night 33:37.450 --> 33:39.600 by the foreign minister of Ukraine, 33:39.600 --> 33:42.650 and also by the president of Ukraine, 33:42.650 --> 33:44.300 and you don't even report it. 33:44.300 --> 33:47.560 It's a disgrace because it said there was absolutely 33:47.560 --> 33:51.060 no linkage, we had a perfect conversation, 33:51.060 --> 33:53.390 and I also, because of transparency, 33:53.390 --> 33:55.120 whether it's medical transparency 33:55.120 --> 33:58.680 or just transparency generally, 33:58.680 --> 34:02.340 I also put out today a statement. 34:02.340 --> 34:04.560 And in the statement we released, 34:04.560 --> 34:07.820 and then Congressmen Nunez read, 34:07.820 --> 34:12.080 a call that I had with the president of Ukraine, 34:12.080 --> 34:13.350 and it was a great call. 34:13.350 --> 34:15.030 It was a very nice call. 34:15.030 --> 34:17.090 Everybody said it was perfect. 34:17.090 --> 34:20.890 I always say it was equally as good as the other call. 34:20.890 --> 34:24.470 And I put it out today, and nobody even wants to report it 34:24.470 --> 34:26.530 because it was so good they don't want to report it. 34:26.530 --> 34:30.600 Look, if we had an honest press in this country, 34:30.600 --> 34:33.860 we would be so well-served. 34:33.860 --> 34:36.510 And you know what, when I look at your approval numbers, 34:36.510 --> 34:37.720 they're the worst they've ever been 34:37.720 --> 34:39.370 in the history of our country. 34:39.370 --> 34:43.100 The media, the approval numbers, they're horrible. 34:43.100 --> 34:45.210 And you oughta get yourself back, 34:45.210 --> 34:47.250 and you oughta put yourself back in a position 34:47.250 --> 34:50.810 where people respect the media again. 34:50.810 --> 34:52.230 And I know some great journalists. 34:52.230 --> 34:54.078 I know some great people in the media, 34:54.078 --> 34:55.253 but there aren't enough of them. 34:55.253 --> 34:57.500 There's a lot of dishonesty, 34:57.500 --> 35:01.000 and many of you I just consider members of the Democrats, 35:01.000 --> 35:01.980 and it's a shame. 35:01.980 --> 35:03.510 Okay, thank you all very much. 35:03.510 --> 35:04.343 Thank you. 35:04.343 --> 35:05.227 (reporters shouting questions) 35:05.227 --> 35:06.060 Thank you. 35:06.060 --> 35:08.977 (group applauding)