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| Posted: 12 Nov 2013 08:23 AM PST  People walk Tuesday, November 12, through damage caused by Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Philippines. Haiyan, one of the strongest storms in recorded history, laid waste to the Philippines. President Benigno Aquino III said as many as 2,500 people may have been killed by the storm. HIDE CAPTION Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Cebu, Philippines (CNN) -- While still unimaginably devastating, Typhoon Haiyan may not turn out to be as deadly as initially thought, the president of the Philippines told CNN's Christiane Amanpour Tuesday. The initial projection of 10,000 deaths now appears to be "too much" and the final toll is more likely to be in the range of 2,000 to 2,500, President Benigno Aquino III said. The official death toll stood at 1,774 on Tuesday, which would suggest Aquino believes a little more than 700 bodies remain unaccounted for. While welcome, the revised projection is of little consolation to survivors of the storm, which flattened portions of the country and left tens of thousands homeless.   Destroyed buildings are seen on the Philippines' Victory Island on Monday, November 11. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms in recorded history, wrecked the country on a monumental scale. Click through the gallery to see other aerial shots of the disaster. Haiyan's wrath from above HIDE CAPTION Amid widespread suffering and reports of rising tensions on the ground, aid organizations and nations around the world raced Tuesday to deliver aid to areas devastated by the storm four days ago. While continued rain and transportation problems were stymieing efforts to deliver aid to those in need, Doctors Without Borders was one of many international organizations deploying cargo flights with hundreds of tons of supplies on board. Among the gear: tetanus vaccinations, hygiene kits, tents and even an inflatable hospital to treat badly wounded people staggering into Tacloban's shattered airport seeking treatment. In Hong Kong, the U.S. Navy rounded up sailors enjoying shore leave from the USS George Washington and ordered the aircraft carrier's strike group to make "best speed" for the Philippines. Its air wings will deliver supplies and medical care to survivors. The U.S. Navy was also prepping three amphibious assault ships to head for the region, a senior Pentagon official told CNN. Among other things, such ships can turn seawater into desperately needed potable water. Despite the efforts, precious little aid was reaching victims Tuesday, especially those in hard-to-reach remote locations. "Everything, everything's gone," a resident in Guiuan -- the first city hit by the storm -- told CNN on Tuesday. "So we need help." Rain from a tropical depression Tuesday grounded some relief flights, while blocked roads and poor conditions at some airports made delivering other aid a difficult proposition -- increasing the misery of survivors and raising tensions on the ground, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday. "Women and children are begging on the streets for donations, exposing themselves to abuse and exploitation," the agency said in a statement. "With power lines still down, the lack of lighting has made women and children at home and in evacuation centres more vulnerable, especially at night." More than 2 million people need food aid, the Philippine government said. Nearly 300,000 of them are pregnant women or new mothers. Tomoo Hozumi, the Philippines' UNICEF representative, said food, shelter, clean water and basic sanitation were "in a severe shortage." "The situation on the ground is very hideous," he told CNN's "The Situation Room." PHILIPPINES AID (IN U.S. $) U.N.: 25 million U.S.: 20 million UK: 16.1 million UAE: 10 million Australia: 9.5 million Canada: 4.8 million European Union: 4 million Norway: 3.4 million Denmark: 3.1 million New Zealand: 1.75 million Ireland: 1.4 million Vatican: 150,000 China: 100,000 Source: U.N. OCHA Acts of desperation The lack of food and water drove famished survivors to desperate measures. READ: Typhoon Haiyan crushed town 'like giant hand from the sky' They've taken food and other items from grocery and department stores in Tacloban, a city of more than 200,000, that Haiyan -- called "Yolanda" in the Philippines -- has laid to waste. Authorities there have counted 250 bodies so far. Shop owners in the capital of the devastated province of Leyte have organized to defend their wares with deadly force, said local businessman Richard Young. "We have our firearms. We will shoot within our property," he said. Authorities have sent police and military reinforcements to try to bring the situation under control. Soldiers shot dead two members of a communist militant group, the New People's Army, on Tuesday when they ambushed a government aid convoy, Philippine state news agency PNA reported. The Philippines Armed Forces added 700 troops to its force in Tacloban Tuesday, it said, bringing the total to 1,000. That includes 300 special forces troops and military engineers. The army will fly aid to survivors in remote areas around the city with 11 helicopters and as many trucks. "We can't wait," said Martin Romualdez, the area's congressman. "People have gone three days without any clean water, food and medication," he told CNN's "Piers Morgan Live." "People are getting desperate." The exodus from the ravaged areas is adding to road congestion, further slowing help from getting in. Help on the way At least 29 nations or government groups had sent or pledged aid, according to the Philippines government. Among the aid -- $25 million from the United Nations, $4 million from the European Union, $16 million from Britain and $10 million from the United Arab Emirates, home to a large population of expatriate Filipino workers. In addition to experts from Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam and other organizations, U.N. and U.S. civilian disaster assessment teams were on the scene. And in addition to sending Navy ships, U.S. Marines based in Japan expected to finish within a day work to outfit Tacloban's airport with lights, radar and other gear to allow it to operate 24 hours a day. Belgium and Russia sent field hospitals. The European Union sent 3 million euros ($4 million) and two Boeing 747 aircraft loaded with supplies. Israel loaded up two 747s with 200 medical personnel and supplies. Difficult deliveries But it will almost certainly continue to be difficult to get that aid to survivors. Many roads remain blocked, and electricity is out in many areas, making it difficult to operate at night. Complicating matters, a new tropical low, Zoraida, blew in Tuesday delivering more rain, the Philippine national weather agency PAGASA reported. READ: Typhoon creates health crisis in the Philippines Zoraida is not a strong storm, but has dumped just under four inches of rain in some places, CNN meteorologists say. It was holding up desperately needed aid in at least one province, Iloilo, where Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. grounded relief flights until it had passed. Zoraida also slowed air aid in the neighboring province of Cebu, an official said, although military planes continue flying at the maximum-allowed level of risk there. And although no damage was reported, an earthquake rattled part of the affected area Tuesday. The 4.8 magnitude quake shook San Isidro, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. INTERACTIVE: 'The one building that survived the storm' Utter devastation The storm struck Friday with powerful, possibly unprecedented, winds and enormous storm surges that flattened more than 20,000 homes, hurled ships far inland and forced 800,000 people from their homes, according to the United Nations. Thousands are injured. The dead are lying about everywhere. "We have bodies in the water, bodies on the bridges, bodies on the side of the road," said Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross. Aid workers see them floating in the water. Some are crudely covered, others left out in the blazing sun. Some journalists covering the story wear masks to blunt the growing stench as they decompose. Many corpses are out of view, mixed up with the rubble spread out as far as the eye can see. Some of them may be buried inside homes covered over by mud and debris. The storm weakened as it left the Philippines but went on to kill 14 more people in Vietnam and five more in China. CNN OPEN STORY: Typhoon Haiyan's impact Worst typhoon? Typhoon Haiyan may have hit the Philippines with the strongest sustained cyclone winds on record at 195 mph. It is too early for scientists to tell. Gusts reported at first landfall rose to 235 mph (375 kph) -- also a record, if confirmed. The Philippine ambassador to the United States has lived through many typhoons, but does not recall one worse than Haiyan. "We have 20 to 24 a year. But we have not seen anything like this in the past," Jose Cuisia, Jr., told CNN's Anderson Cooper. Storm chaser James Reynolds was shocked by Haiyan, even before the cyclone hit Tacloban, where he awaited its approach. "My team and I were absolutely speechless about the storm, how strong it was getting," he said. "You know it was at the extreme upper level of a category 5 if it was in the Atlantic. It was a very frightening thing to witness." Blaming climate change At the start of a U.N. climate conference in Warsaw Monday, Naderev Saño, climate change commissioner in the Philippines, broke down in tears. He blamed the typhoon on climate change. "We can fix this. We can stop this madness," he said. "Right here, right now. In the middle of this football field. And stop moving the goalposts." He promised the Philippine delegation's support for measures to halt climate change. CNN BELIEF BLOG: Where was God in the Philippines? CNN's Ivan Watson reported from Cebu and Paula Hancocks reported from Tacloban; Michael Pearson reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Ben Brumfield, Barbara Starr, Matt Smith, Jessica King, Saad Abedine, Jethro Mullen, Catherine E. Shoichet, Neda Farshbaf, Andrew Stevens, Kristie Lu Stout, and Jessica King contributed to this report. |
| Fact check: If you like your health plan, you can keep it - USA TODAY Posted: 12 Nov 2013 08:57 AM PST The Line: If you like your health insurance plan, you can keep it. The Party: Democratic For years, President Obama promised millions of Americans with health insurance that "if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan" under his health care overhaul. He wasn't the only one, either. Back in 2009, several top congressional Democrats echoed the president's assurances that those who were happy with their plans would be able to keep them. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the health care overhaul efforts "means making sure you can keep your family's doctor or keep your health care plan if you like it." Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told the happily insured "we are going to put in any legislation considered by the House and Senate the protection that you, as an individual, keep the health insurance you have, if that is what you want." And current Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray also said: "If you like what you have today, that will be what you have when this legislation is passed." But longtime readers of FactCheck.org know we've been writing since August 2009 that that promise simply couldn't be made to everyone who already had health insurance. That's because most Americans are covered by plans through their jobs, and nothing in the health care law prohibited employers from dropping coverage or changing health plans as they have been able to previously. Before the health care bill even became law, the Congressional Budget Office projected that up to 10 million people who otherwise would have been covered by employer-provided plans would not be offered coverage under one Democratic proposal. The health care law also sets minimum standards for insurance coverage, requiring that all health plans cover mental health benefits, prescription drug coverage, vaccinations, dental and vision care for children, maternity care for women, and more. The upgrades mean that some plans that were inexpensive for purchasers — but didn't cover the required benefits — would eventually cease to exist. Americans who purchase such plans on the individual insurance market have been receiving notices that their current plans will no longer be offered after this year, as several news organizations reported in October. Those notices make it clear that Obama was over-simplifying and over-promising when he kept saying, "if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan." STORY: Rush is on to get health care under old insurance plans Obama, in a Nov. 4, 2013, speech, tried to explain his past promises by saying "what we said was you can keep it if it hasn't changed since the law passed." Asked when the president had previously included that detail, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, in a Nov. 5 press briefing, said Obama was referring to the law's clause allowing insurers and employers to "grandfather" plans offered before the bill became law. "The president was referring to the law and to the fact that the law was written in a way — and everybody who closely covered the drafting of that legislation knew it was written about — that the grandfathering clause was in the law, and he was referring to the implementation of that law through the rule process," Carney said. Grandfathered health plans do not have to meet all of the law's new coverage requirements. But in order to be grandfathered, health plans must have existed on March 23, 2010. Those with individual grandfathered plans had to have them before the law took effect. And to maintain their grandfathered status, the plans must not be changed to cut benefits or significantly raise prices for consumers through deductibles or co-pays. It's true that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius explained the grandfather clause in a June 14, 2010, blog post announcing new health care regulations. "Under the rule issued today, employers or issuers offering such coverage will have the flexibility of making reasonable changes without losing their 'grandfathered' status," Sebelius wrote. "However, if health plans significantly raise co-payments or deductibles, or if they significantly reduce benefits – for example, if they stop covering treatment for a disease like HIV/AIDS or cystic fibrosis – they'll lose their grandfathered status and their customers will get the same full set of consumer protections as new plans." Sebelius went on to say that the "bottom line is that under the Affordable Care Act, if you like your doctor and plan, you can keep them." But that still wouldn't be true for many, and Obama glossed over those details in his speeches. The president made the sweeping promise, in one variation or another, while the Affordable Care Act was being debated in Congress in 2009. He said it again after he signed the bill into law in 2010. And he continued to say it after the Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional in 2012. Even the president now acknowledges that his promise went too far. In an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC News on Nov. 7, Obama offered an apology to the many Americans who have been notified that they are, in fact, losing the health plans they previously had and wanted to keep. "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," Obama said. "We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and that we're going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this." Strangely, the White House linked to the apology on a health care Web page that carried the same promise he now says went too far. White House website, Nov. 11: If you like your plan you can keep it and you don't have to change a thing due to the health care law. Here is a list of some who have promised individuals could keep their health plans: Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, June 10, 2009: We here in the Senate are working on legislation that will protect people's choice of doctors, will protect their choice of hospitals, will protect their choice of insurance plan. If you like what you have today, that will be what you have when this legislation is passed. (Source: Remarks on the Senate floor.) Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, July 28, 2009: The reform we are pursuing … not only means making sure you can keep your family's doctor or keep your health care plan if you like it but also that you can afford to do so. (Source: Remarks on the Senate floor.) Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, July 30, 2009: Many people say: I like my health insurance right now. I don't want to change. I don't want to go into Medicare or Medicaid. I like what I have. Would you please leave people alone. The answer is yes. In fact, we guarantee it. We are going to put in any legislation considered by the House and Senate the protection of you, as an individual, to keep the health insurance you have, if that is what you want. What we are trying to create are voluntary choices and opportunities. (Source: Remarks on the Senate floor.) President Obama, Aug. 15, 2009: At the same time — I just want to be completely clear about this; I keep on saying this but somehow folks aren't listening — if you like your health care plan, you keep your health care plan. Nobody is going to force you to leave your health care plan. (Source: Remarks from town hall on health care.) Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, Dec. 24, 2009: Alaskans who have health insurance now, and are happy with it, can keep it. (Source: Press release.) President Obama, March 25, 2010: From this day forward, all of the cynics, all the naysayers — they're going to have to confront the reality of what this reform is and what it isn't. They'll have to finally acknowledge this isn't a government takeover of our health care system. They'll see that if Americans like their doctor, they'll be keeping their doctor. You like your plan? You'll be keeping your plan. No one is taking that away from you. (Source: Remarks in Iowa City, Iowa.) Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, Sept. 29, 2010: From the beginning, the law has been about preserving what is good about American health care. That is why one of the central promises of health care reform has been and is: If you like what you have, you can keep it. That is critically important. If a person has a plan,and he or she likes it, he or she can keep it. (Source: Remarks on the Senate floor.) Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, April 6, 2012: This bill will help make health insurance more secure for those who already have it and make coverage available for millions of uninsured Americans. And it is important to remember that for those who already have health insurance, the law allows you to keep your existing plan. (Source: Press release.) President Obama, June 28, 2012: First, if you're one of the more than 250 million Americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance — this law will only make it more secure and more affordable. (Source: Remarks on Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act.) Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, web page accessed Nov. 11, 2013: If you like your current health insurance, you will be able to keep it. And you will be able to continue seeing your current doctor. Health care reform would simply give you the choice to change insurance providers if you so choose. (Source: Q & A webpage.) Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, fact sheet accessed Nov. 11, 2013: For middle class families, health care reform … Ensures you can keep the coverage you have and guarantees coverage if you change or lose your job. (Source: Fact sheet.) White House web page, accessed Nov. 11, 2013: If you like your plan you can keep it and you don't have to change a thing due to the health care law. The President addressed concerns from Americans who have received letters of policy cancellations or changes from their insurance companies in an interview with NBC News, watch the video or read a transcript. (Source: White House website.) |
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