Peter Madoff To Plead Guilty
ROMANS: Welcome back to STARTING POINT. A look at some of the headlines this morning. The "News Corp" board of directors has approved a split of the company. According to the "Wall Street Journal," the move will divide Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate into separate entertainment and publishing entities both publicly traded. A formal announcement is expected later today. Bernie Madoff's brother is pleading guilty to charges related to Madoff's huge Ponzi scheme. Peter Madoff is charged with conspiracy and falsifying records. He's agreed to forfeit all his assets, all of his personal property. He's expected to get 10 years in jail for helping swindle up to $200 billion from thousands of investors -- Soledad.</s>O'BRIEN: All right, Christine, thank you. Our "Get Real" this morning is really more like get real facts, please. We're counting down to the Supreme Court's historic ruling on President Obama's health care law. Wanted to take a moment to fact check a couple claims about health care reform and today's decision. The law has only been in effect for 828 days. It's been the subject of intense criticism since its very inception. Congressional Republicans had been among the law's harshest critics. This morning, they are promising a full repeal of the law if in fact the Supreme Court lets the health care legislation stand. Here is House Speaker John Boehner.</s>REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER, HOUSE SPEAKER: We made it pretty clear and I will make it clear one more time. If the court does not strike down the entire law, the House will move to repeal what's left of it. Obama care is driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. Our focus has been the economy and it will continue to be the economy.</s>O'BRIEN: So first question is the president's health care law really driving up the cost of health care as Speaker Boehner was just claiming there. It is not exactly clear what he is referring to there, but let's say for the sake of argument he means driving up the cost of health care premiums. Health insurance premiums did jump 9 percent from 2010 to 2011, an increase that Republicans blame on the health care law. But according to fact check.org the law only caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase. The rest of the 9 percent increase is thanks to rising health care costs. So Sanjay, what items fall under those rising health care costs?</s>DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, health care costs have been going up for decades. You know, it just costs more. There is more technology. We have more expensive ways to take care of people. And you know, America is not particularly good at taking care of itself. I mean, nearly three quarters of adults are either overweight or obese and 1 in 5 smoke. Those things cost money. We talk about that all the time, but there is a price tag associated with that. By the way, nobody in the world is terrific at reducing health care costs. So this isn't a uniquely American problem. We seem to be particularly bad at it in terms of those controls.</s>O'BRIEN: Let's carry on here for fact check. That increase caused by the law as a result of increased benefits, too, for example, allowing kids to stay on their parent's policy until they're 26 or covering pre-existing conditions. The second part of the speaker's remarks making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. The fact is businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempt. And according again to factcheck.org, experts predict that the law may cause a small loss of low wage jobs, but will create an increase in better paying jobs in the health care and health insurance companies. Will, do you think that's a compelling argument here, lose some, gain some?</s>CAIN: That it's a job killer? Do I find that's a compelling argument? I think it is a very nuanced argument, which is never a good political argument and that is this, the health care law has caused uncertainty in the economy. A lack of not knowing what comes next among businesses, which makes it hard to hire and I think there is a correct argument to make there. Is it an easy one? No. It is easier to say it is a job killer, which fact check is I'm not wrong totally, right?</s>O'BRIEN: Before I get to you, Richard, they say you're not exactly wrong and not exactly right. Republicans though aren't the only ones stretching the truth on this. Here is President Obama speaking a little bit earlier this year listen.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I am confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.</s>O'BRIEN: So was it fair to say that --</s>SOCARIDES: Fact check, that's correct.</s>O'BRIEN: -- that the law was passed by a strong majority of democratically elected Congress?</s>SOCARIDES: He is right. He is correct.</s>O'BRIEN: No, he is not. It was passed along party lines with 60 votes. The Supreme Court has overturned laws before passed by Congress. So I am not sure what he meant by unprecedented, but that would be wrong also.</s>SOCARIDES: There's a lot of -- that word unprecedented comes up a lot in this debate, right?</s>O'BRIEN: But it is not a very nuance word, is it?</s>SOCARIDES: No, it's not a very nuance word.</s>O'BRIEN: Either it's unprecedented or it's not.</s>SOCARIDES: I think the Republicans, the people who opposed this law have been extremely successful in convincing the American public that there is something unprecedented about this law. As we've said before, you know, I think it is squarely within the bounds of what's allowed under the constitution and I think that, you know, the fair argument that Republicans are not making. But what is really at the essence of the argument against this law is that this is not the way Republicans like to do it. They like the free market to do it. They want the insurance companies to do it. They want capitalism to run this. You know, I mean, I think that the election in 2008 was a mandate to the president that said you have to do something. Government has to get more involved in health care because costs are out of control.</s>O'BRIEN: We will see at 10:00 this morning what the Supreme Court says on that. Still ahead this morning on STARTING POINT, I can't say this the right way. I hate to try. Come on, Will, help me out.</s>CAIN: Din-o-mite.</s>O'BRIEN: Pretty good. You remember. Good times TV icon Jimmie, J.J. Walker is going to join us to talk next. Here he is. Good morning. It's nice to have you. Welcome, welcome.