:00:18. > :00:19.Tackling America's $3 trillion medical bill.
:00:20. > :00:23.President Trump faces a key vote on his plan to replace Obamacare.
:00:24. > :00:29.We report from Europe's biggest technology fair on the high-flying
:00:30. > :00:43.Welcome to World Business Report. A warm welcome.
:00:44. > :00:46.We will be focusing on the day's global business agenda.
:00:47. > :00:54.We'll return to our special coverage of events in London later this hour.
:00:55. > :01:03.That is the terror attacks in Westminster during the afternoon. We
:01:04. > :01:05.will talk about that in around about seven minutes or so.
:01:06. > :01:09.We start in the US, where the House of Representatives will vote later
:01:10. > :01:11.on President Trump's plan to shake up the healthcare system,
:01:12. > :01:15.Supporters say Obamacare has given access to health coverage
:01:16. > :01:27.But its critics, led by President Trump, say it's
:01:28. > :01:37.In 2015, the United States spent $3.2 trillion on healthcare.
:01:38. > :01:40.That makes it the most expensive healthcare system in the world.
:01:41. > :01:46.To put that in context, that share of GDP is way bigger
:01:47. > :01:56.Switzerland is second at 11.5%, closely followed by Japan,
:01:57. > :02:08.The Trump administration wants to cut it right back.
:02:09. > :02:10.It wants to stop fining people who don't take
:02:11. > :02:15.It wants to stop forcing firms to provide insurance.
:02:16. > :02:18.And it wants to curb government funding for Medicaid
:02:19. > :02:23.The good news, this would help fill the hole
:02:24. > :02:31.The Congressional Budget Office, which is non-partisan,
:02:32. > :02:34.says it would bring down the federal budget deficit by $337 billion
:02:35. > :02:51.The same office warns it would leave 24 million more Americans
:02:52. > :02:53.without health insurance within a decade, 14 million as soon
:02:54. > :02:59.It's put President Trump at odds with Democrats,
:03:00. > :03:12.The House bill ends the Obamacare nightmare and gives healthcare
:03:13. > :03:21.decisions back to the states and back to the American people.
:03:22. > :03:24.These are the conservative solutions we campaigned on and these
:03:25. > :03:26.are the conservative solutions the American people asked us,
:03:27. > :03:42.This is about disease, death and suffering.
:03:43. > :03:46.Mr Trump, come down from Trump Tower, walk among
:03:47. > :03:49.the people, and see the damage that this latest exercise in raw
:03:50. > :03:52.political power will wreak on the women, the men
:03:53. > :04:05.that gives you a sense of the heated debate in the US.
:04:06. > :04:08.Kate Andrews is News Editor at the Institute of Economic
:04:09. > :04:20.Good morning. This is no easy task for any government. It took the
:04:21. > :04:23.Obama administration a heck of a long time to get Obamacare into
:04:24. > :04:30.place. And now the Donald Trump administration is trying to change
:04:31. > :04:37.it and "make it better.' give us your take. They spend 17% on
:04:38. > :04:44.healthcare, more than anywhere in the world. This is a thematic. They
:04:45. > :04:49.have a very regulated health-care system dominated by special interest
:04:50. > :04:55.groups like insurance companies. Obamacare got more people onto
:04:56. > :05:01.Medicaid. Something like 44% of health spending in America is
:05:02. > :05:11.through government funded services. The idea that there is none is
:05:12. > :05:14.ludicrous. We are spending more on Medicaid than the NHS and Medicare
:05:15. > :05:17.combined. It has not been good for the middle-classInsurance premiums
:05:18. > :05:24.are continuing to write. Donald Trump is trying to repeal Obamacare.
:05:25. > :05:29.-- rise. He wants to replace it with something else. What about the
:05:30. > :05:34.figure that critics have thrown at him. 14 million next year will be
:05:35. > :05:41.without healthcare. 34 million in ten years' time. There is no easy
:05:42. > :05:49.answer to this problem in the United States. That is only the case if it
:05:50. > :05:55.is only repealed, not replaced. It doesn't seem that will happen. It is
:05:56. > :05:58.not politically viable. I just hope that the two political parties can
:05:59. > :06:07.come together and realised sometimes it is about making sure we have a
:06:08. > :06:11.universal guaranteed access to healthcare. Doing it through these
:06:12. > :06:18.massive subsidies in the state has been inefficient to the people
:06:19. > :06:24.receiving those subsidies. It is a problem the Democrats have failed to
:06:25. > :06:28.address. What about the insurance sector, the drug sector, the
:06:29. > :06:34.pharmaceutical sector? They need everyone on board for this to work.
:06:35. > :06:36.My concern is who will take the insurance companies on? Under
:06:37. > :06:44.Obamacare, insurance companies were the best recipients of funding.
:06:45. > :06:49.Their subsidies skyrocketed. That is the question on the table, who will
:06:50. > :07:01.take them on? Maybe it is President Trump. Who knows? And keep coming in
:07:02. > :07:04.and giving us your analysis. This problem has impacted markets for
:07:05. > :07:09.many days. We will go to Singapore and follow Rico Hizon who is
:07:10. > :07:13.following the markets for us. It is the politics and deadlock in
:07:14. > :07:18.Washington that is causing these headaches for markets globally. They
:07:19. > :07:24.are concerned. If you cannot make this change, what about future
:07:25. > :07:33.reforms and taxes? That is right. Many promises during the Donald
:07:34. > :07:39.Trump campaign. It is moving at a snails pace. That is why we are
:07:40. > :07:45.cautious over concerns that Donald Trump's agenda is in doubt.
:07:46. > :07:50.Nevertheless, look at the Asian markets during this hour. They are
:07:51. > :07:57.gaining slightly this session after Wednesday's retreat as investors
:07:58. > :08:06.picked up oversold shares. In Japan, the Nikkei is flat despite a weaker
:08:07. > :08:11.yen. That means a brewing political issue. That is because of Shinzo Abe
:08:12. > :08:18.and his wife and the state owned land bought at a fraction of its
:08:19. > :08:22.price to build an elementary school. And the Chinese markets, China and
:08:23. > :08:34.Hong Kong, Taiwan, a touch higher. They are waiting on a rate decision
:08:35. > :08:37.from Taiwan's bank. The US has gone down a bit over this indecision over
:08:38. > :08:42.healthcare Allah sees. Thank you very much, Rico Hizon. -- policies.
:08:43. > :08:48.Other news now. US telecoms firms AT and Verizon
:08:49. > :08:50.have withdrawn all non-search advertising from Google,
:08:51. > :08:53.as have car rental company Enterprise and pharmaceutical
:08:54. > :08:55.giant GSK, according An investigation by the Times found
:08:56. > :08:59.major brands were appearing next to YouTube videos promoting
:09:00. > :09:01.extremist views, generating The UK-based investigation led
:09:02. > :09:04.more than 250 brands The company has apologised
:09:05. > :09:07.and promised better tools Volkswagen will return
:09:08. > :09:21.to the unsecured bond market later when it tries to raise
:09:22. > :09:24.as much as five billion It's the first such bond issue
:09:25. > :09:28.since the diesel emissions scandal which has cost the company more
:09:29. > :09:31.than $20 billion in fines or drones, are fast
:09:32. > :09:48.becoming big business. The industry is worth
:09:49. > :09:50.$2 billion today, and is forecast to soar to some
:09:51. > :09:53.$115 billion in 2020. But after a series of widely
:09:54. > :09:56.reported accidents and near misses, drones face an array of legal
:09:57. > :09:59.restrictions across the globe. Joe Miller reports from
:10:00. > :10:21.the Cebit Tech Show in Hannover. A buzzing contender in a battle for
:10:22. > :10:26.the skies. One of several hundred reports for witnesses to enjoy. As
:10:27. > :10:33.long as you don't mention the "D" word. This is not a drone. It is a
:10:34. > :10:39.flying vehicle. It is a combination of a balloon, a plane, and a
:10:40. > :10:42.helicopter. It can take off and land without any runway. It can fly
:10:43. > :10:52.forward like an aeroplane after it switches to its wings. And it can
:10:53. > :11:02.carry heavy weights. You can deliver water and go through a minefield and
:11:03. > :11:08.removed mines. You can remove pollution as well. Many options.
:11:09. > :11:13.Exhibits like this simulator are focused on how much fun you can have
:11:14. > :11:18.with drone flight. But after a series of near-misses at major
:11:19. > :11:24.airports, the safety and regulation of drone flight is top of the
:11:25. > :11:33.agenda. One Belgium start up feels it can help. This turns it off if it
:11:34. > :11:37.is in a certain location. You can choose a drone you want to fly with
:11:38. > :11:43.and the application will tell you if you are allowed to ply and in what
:11:44. > :11:50.type of airspace. -- fly. It is not just for amateurs. No. It goes from
:11:51. > :11:57.amateurs to professionals. It can help in firefighting, et cetera. As
:11:58. > :12:02.drones get cheaper and cheaper, the temptation to take to the air gets
:12:03. > :12:11.ever stronger. But perhaps the future is in the hands of
:12:12. > :12:24.well-trained pilots. Joe Miller, BBC News, Hannover.
:12:25. > :12:25.You are with BBC News. We will remind you of the top stories.