Today on AirTalk, we discuss the recent approval by the House Judiciary Committee for special counsel Robert Mueller's full report on his Russia investigation. We also examine the reality of gang violence in South LA and the spread of conspiracy theories following Nipsey Hussle’s death; and more.
House Democrats want full, unredacted Mueller report, but can DoJ provide that legally?
The House Judiciary Committee has approved subpoenas for special counsel Robert Mueller's full report on his Russia investigation.
The committee voted 24-17 to give Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., permission to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for the final report, exhibits and any underlying evidence or materials prepared for Mueller's investigation. Nadler has not yet said if he'll send the subpoenas.
House Democrats had given Attorney General William Barr until Tuesday to produce the full report to Congress. The Justice Department ignored that deadline, with Barr telling committee chairmen last week that a redacted version of the full 300-page report would be released by mid-April, "if not sooner."
Can Barr release the report without redactions legally?
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Adam Schiff, Democratic Congressman representing California’s 28 Congressional District, which includes Burbank, parts of Pasadena, and Glendale; chairman of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
John Eastman, constitutional law professor at Chapman University; he served as the Director of Congressional & Public Affairs at the United States Commission on Civil Rights during the Reagan administration
As Congress examines how to address surprise medical billing, patient advocates and industry stakeholders weigh in
Congress is pushing to address unexpected medical bills that often leave patients with surprise fees.
Both Democrats and Republicans have found common ground in assessing protections from unexpected charges to patients. But players in the healthcare industry are divided on how the solution would attack the problem and what, exactly, the federal government’s role should be.
To that effect, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on Tuesday examining how to best protect patients from surprise charges. These kinds of charges could happen when, for example, you visit a hospital that’s in your insurance network for a procedure but one of the specialists isn’t in-network. Patients then get a bill for the difference between their charge and what insurance covered. Both insurance providers and hospitals agree that this so-called “balance billing” is a harmful practice to consumers, but they differ on the best way to do it. There are currently two proposals in front of Congress: one would cap prices that out-of-network providers get, essentially preventing those providers from directly billing patients. The other would force the hospital and insurer to negotiate a fair price, an approach that patient advocates would prefer not to see pass.
Voters also see this as a significant concern, with two-thirds of U.S. residents expressing worry about their ability to afford unanticipated charges.
Have you ever received a surprise medical bill? How did you handle it?
Guests:
Loren Adler, associate director of the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy
Molly Smith, vice president for Coverage and State Issues Forum with the American Hospital Association, a trade group that represents nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care
Kristine Grow , senior vice president for public affairs at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a national association representing health insurance companies
As conspiracy theories spread following Nipsey Hussle’s death, we examine the reality of gang violence in South LA
The suspect in the shooting of rapper Nipsey Hussle was arrested on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
There has been debate about this was gang-related violence or a personal dispute, which the authorities continue to investigate. We take a look at how the state of gang violence in South LA has evolved over several years and efforts being made to reduce such violence.
We reached out to the LAPD. They did not get back to us in time for this segment.
Guests:
Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Los Angeles Councilmember representing the 8th District, which encompasses parts of South Los Angeles and spans from Baldwin Hills to the border of Watts; he tweets
Jorja Leap, professor of social welfare and gang researcher at UCLA
Melvyn Hayward, executive director for H.E.L.P.E.R. Foundation, non-profit that provides youth development and violence reduction services throughout Los Angeles County
Connie Rice, civil rights lawyer and co-founder of the Urban Peace Institute, an advocacy group that works towards community safety and fair policing; she is on the board of KPCC trustees
Should restaurants reduce their portion sizes?
In a recent piece for The Washington Post, food critic Tom Sietsema is asking restaurants to cut down their portion sizes.
Instead, he suggests that restaurants offer half-portions, medium-sized plates and encourages sharing dishes. With the lack of a standard portion size, restaurants make the call on each serving size, leaving them to decide whether or not to pile on the extra food or leave it off the plate.
His argument comes amid concerns of excessive food waste and with roughly 40% of adults in the U.S. considered obese. With smaller serving sizes, argues Sietsema, less food will go to waste and people will have less food tempting them on their plate.
What portion-size do you prefer? Do you think restaurants need a standard portion size? Do you frequent specific restaurants because of their portion size? And how do you handle portions that are too large to finish? We’re taking your calls at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Tom Sietsema, food critic for The Washington Post; he tweets