a plan that sets new limits on carbon emissions for the nation s power plants. this measure calls for a 30% reduction by the year 2030. states have a wide range of options to meet that goal. the new initiative takes effect next year. it s part of a larger climate action plan that also promotes renewable energy sources like solar and wind. it s a big announcement today and it also could be a big election issue coming up as well. meanwhile, the senate is expected to introduce a bill later this week to end long delays for veterans at va hospitals, allowing vets to seek care outside of the va at private doctors offices, military bases or community health centers. it also calls for emergency funding to hire new doctors and nurses. so many needed. it would forgive college loans for health care professionals who agree to work at va medical centers. we re learning new details this morning about the nsa s global surveillance program. citing documents from former nsa contractor edward sno
to send veterans to private doctors. the va assistant departmentty undersecretary for health confirmed as much. does the va have every legal authority it needs to pay for a veteran s whose care is delayed to receive care outside of the va system? to my knowledge, sir, yes. the va said it spent $4.8 billion or 10% of its overall health costs at nonva hospitals last year, and from 2008 to 2013, outpatient visits to private doctors grew by 72%. the question is, why weren t more veterans informed about their right to see a private doctor if the va couldn t see them? i know the inspector general is looking into this. what about the attorney general, eric holder, anymore talk about him actually looking into this? well, some democrats started calling for attorney general eric holder to investigate. what could amount to not just the scandal but a crime.
veterans needs to get care outside of the va system. to my knowledge, yes. reporter: the va spent $4.8 billion at non-va hospitals last year. about 10% of their overall health care costs. in many cases, the va did not inform vets that by law they have the right to seek at private hospitals. i m sick and tired of it too. we have a department of veterans affairs when we send a subpoena to them, they don t answer it. they don t respond to our questions. reporter: in an interview today, defense secretary chuck hagel says the sndal make him sick but stop short of calling for the secretary to resign. we re getting reports that nigerian military officials say they it think they have located these girls who were kidnapped. the nigerian defense chief told demonstrators that in the
mitt romney brought it up during his campaign, john mccain brought it up when he ran for president and he is bringing it up now as a senator whose phoenix v.a. center has been deeply affected by the problems. so what they are looking at is the idea of veterans have the flexibility to get care outside of the system and have the government pay for it. the second question, arthel, is a excellent question. who supports this? it will be tough to get democrats to back the idea of privatization. and part of the reason is the v.a. groups are not necessarily behind it either. although, i m wondering if at this point they might be more amenable to it. the last time we heard from them on this issue was in 2012 when the veterans group came out against it. where are they against it? it is really interesting. because if you look at studies about the v.a. and satisfaction, the rates of satisfaction are in
the plans were certified without having networks in place they just waved plans through. but the plan that s have what does that mean? it means he don t know which doctors are going to be available. for plan that s have formulated networks, on average they re offering access to 40% to 50% of the number of specialists offered in their older plans being cancelled it s going to be harder to get access to a doctor and going to be probably hard to get access to a doctor you used to go see. big issue if you go outside of the network, cost to you could be upwards of 100%. you can pay out of pocket. why? because the co-insurance is very low. amount of money paid to offset the costs of care outside of their very restrictive networks is typically low.