NPR examines the health care and illegal immigrants claim

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/09/illegal_immigrants_left_out_of.html

 

That's a nice idea. Good luck enforcing it. ERs aren't gonna start denying people treatment because they don't have proof of legal residency.

 

^^^ Exactly. My understanding anyway is that you cannot be denied care at an emergency room, regardless of citizenship. Hell, I'd like to believe that if I were traveling outside of my home country and got injured, I could get urgent care regardless of my residency.

 

I know what your saying, you are saying they will just go to the emergency room in order to skirt the issue. But what you are missing is that many republicans have been spreading the lie that the health reform will make it so illegal aliens will get health care through our system, and that is a flat out lie.

Basically what it is saying, is that it is not a legitimate reason to not support health care reform.

 

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Right, so non citizens can buy their own insurance policies. Whats your point? Do you think that for some reason that folks shouldn't be able to buy their own insurance policies?

That is much different then supplying them free health care on the government tab.

 

All that language suggests is that non U.S. citizens are not excluded from purchasing health care. But you cannot be federally subsidized. You'd have to pay the full freight.

That's a hell of a lot different than what the conservatives have been suggesting.

 

How is health insurance purchased from the Federal Government not "federally subsidized" insurance? do you really believe that the program will take in more than it spends?

 

Obama said that illegal immigrants would not be able to get coverage under the plan in question. That's at best an intentionally misleading phrase, and at worst an out-and-out lie.

 

I could keep cutting and pasting quotes from the original article I posted, but I think it would be faster if you just clicked the link and read it.

 

I did read it. It says "no direct federal subsidies allowed." That's referring to the premiums. Any General Fund monies that go to paying out claims for care given to illegals can certainly defined as an "indirect federal subsidy."

 

No it isn't. If you really read the article, it talks about the problem is how to enforce it, and put safeguards in place. Try taking your time and reading it thoroughly. It says flat out they are not eligible. What it goes on to say is that safeguards are not in place and there is no current enforcement in the legislation to stop people from taking advantage of it. Imagine it like this. We put a law in place requiring people be 21 to drink. But we don't have any identification system in place to make sure it runs right. Then you would have an accurate picture of the situation.

 

H.R. 3200: Sec 246 — NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS

"Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States."

 

Affordability credits are discounts to the premiums. I'm not talking about the premiums. I'm talking about the money paid out by the government to the provider of the health care procedure/service. Anything paid out that is more than the premium paid by the illegal himself is federal money being used to subsidize health care for illegal aliens.

 

Wook, they just refuse to get it. They don't want to get it, so it's wasted effort.

There's an intentional loophole in the bill that ensures that not only will illegal aliens not pay for emergency care, like they do now, but they won't pay for long term care, which is currently not the case. The issue isn't what the law says, it's how to enforce the law. Without the enforcement mechanism, you can write whatever you want in the bill and the result will be that we cover illegal aliens. The confusion is easily remedied by putting in the language of the Republicans specifically exempting illegal aliens from getting government care.

Here is another part of the bill the other side never brings up: (Section 152, Page 50) Guarantees delivery of services regardless of any "characteristics". Citizenship status is a "characteristic".

 

Do you believe that illegal aliens should be able to purchase insurance to be used in the country in which they're illegally residing? We'll agree to disagree.