. . . you'd see why this may just be what finally kills the program.
James R. Edwards Jr. explains:
But it’s hard to envision how health reform can avoid tripping the immigration booby trap. Approximately 15–22 percent of the 46 million residents of the United States without health coverage are illegal aliens. That’s about 9 or 10 million people. More generally, . . . something like 12.6 million people, or more than a fourth of the total uninsured, are immigrants, both legal and illegal. . . . .
Two health-care plans working their way through Congress — the bill from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and a draft outlineput together by Baucus’s Finance Committee — could suffer because of this interaction between immigration and medicine.
For example, the HELP bill’s proponents hope to expand Medicaid so that everyone earning up to 50 percent above the federal poverty level can enroll (currently, Medicaid income requirements vary by state, with the poverty level being the usual limit). Since immigration law only requires relatives who sponsor someone for an immigrant visa to earn 25 percent above the poverty level, the end result would be that someone poor enough to qualify for Medicaid would be able to sponsor new immigrants to the U.S. What are the chances that these newcomers sponsored by Medicaid recipients would be able to afford health insurance when their sponsors can’t?
. . . .
No health legislation on the table requires federal, state, or local agencies — or private institutions receiving federal funds — to check the immigration status of health-program applicants, so some of the money distributed via Medicaid and tax credits inevitably would go to illegal aliens.
Also, the HELP bill makes citizens and lawful aliens eligible for a new Right Choices program — an advocacy program providing Democrats jobs spending taxpayer money. And another part of the Finance Committee plan would exempt illegal immigrants from a mandate to buy insurance. Uninsured Americans would have to pay a fine, but uninsured illegal aliens would be off the hook — thus, they would have no reason to buy their own coverage or to stop receiving taxpayer-funded health services at clinics, emergency rooms, etc.
If the children’s health reauthorization early this Congress is any indication, liberals intend to redistribute income even to aliens. The Pelosi Congress dropped requirements that SCHIP applicants document their legal status, dumbed down standards so stolen Social Security numbers can be accepted, and allowed illegal aliens onto SCHIP for up to 90 days.
A recent Rasmussen poll found 80 percent of American voters oppose covering illegal immigrants in any health-reform bill, while just 11 percent support it. And 70 percent oppose universal health care if illegal aliens are included.
The American people may soon realize how much health reform will benefit immigrants and cost the native-born. When that happens, the volatile politics of immigration could derail universal health care.
Did you catch that sentence in bold-face above stating that illegal aliens (unlike citizens) won't even be obligated to buy health insurance, and will therefore continue to use expensive taxpayer-provided emergency and routine medical care services? That means our problem of overburdened emergency rooms and spiraling costs of local health care may continue even after spending a trillion dollars.
So what exactly would we be buying for our trillion?
Nothing we need and everything we don't. Bureaucracy. Red tape. Waste. Fraud. Excessive demand for health care that is actually costly but offered as "free." Insufficient numbers of doctors and manufacturers willing to work once the free market's excellent rewards for innovation are no longer available to them. Political patronage. Fewer medical advances. Rationing of "free" health care through delays, red tape and denials of care rather than through appropriate pricing for medical services that keeps supply and demand in balance. An uptick in needless deaths due to delayed and denied treatment.
Can the American people be made to understand this in the brief time that remains before Democrats try to push through their ruinous agenda?
Perhaps not, but surely they can understand that a program that will take hundreds of billions of dollars from the pockets of law-abiding citizens to provide expensive "free" health care for those in the country illegally is complete madness.
Illegal Immigration and health care are heavily connected, believe it or not. Massive high taxes are imposed on the US taxpayer to pay for so called emergency hospital care for illegal immigrants and their families. Except foreign nation use the emergency room for their basic needs, such as the flue or a splinter in the finger. As always the taxpayer is the recipient? Health care revision can never happen while Taxpayer carry the heavy burden of paying for the millions of illegal workers and families, who have settled here. As an example 80 hospitals and clinics locked their doors for good in the Sanctuary State of California, because huge hordes of individuals came their for free health care. Why do you think California found themselves with a $24.5 billion budget deficit?
Those who want to just follow the same old road, can do so with the profit taking commercial insurance. Those who would be satisfied with a government run health care program, can now start demanding it from the lawmakers. Those who see a Universal health care system, similar to most developed countries in Europe, should start informing every Representative and Senate politician starting today. Rationing in places like England, was caused by the major impact of uncontrolled immigration. I see--THE RATS--are coming out of the woodwork, using propaganda and downright lies about government run medical care? The Special interest lobby, status quo have very wealthy fingers in the pie and do not want Health care for everybody? It's a trillion dollar business like Cancer treatments.
The pharmaceutical companies, AMA and others have very much to lose? Even many corrupt politicians are stockholders in this behemoth money machine. Most American working class can do--without-- high premiums, pre-existing condition clauses. deductibles, co-pays that is representative of the wealthy medical care insurers.
Unless our politicians commit themselves to a strong E-Verify, Police enforcement 287(g) and enforce all federal employees are vetted, so illegal immigrant workers can be rooted-out. The push for AMNESTY, will even draw another invasion in to our nation once the word goes out.
This free health care atrocity was placed on the unknowing American, years past and never been rescinded. This has favored the business community, because they pay--ABSOLUTELY NOTHING-- to a maimed or sick illegal worker, because it's passed on to the consumer. IF YOU DESIRE A NEW HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, WHERE YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR INSURER? WHETHER YOU WANT THE FOR PROFIT INSURANCE OR GOVERNMENT MEDICAL CARE SYSTEM? TODAY IS CRITICAL. SO CALL YOUR SENATOR OR CONGRESSMAN 202-224-312. Just like illegal immigration , we cannot afford anymore to subsidize the business that hire them or the millions of illegal families. GOOGLE--on the web to find the truth.
Posted by: Brittanicus | July 17, 2009 at 07:13 PM