Illegal Immigration & Health Care Reform: Prespective

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Specializes in nursing home, home health, hospital.

i don't have a political view at this time one way or another. i thought this info to be interesting and hope that all of you find it interesting as well and can continue to respect one another even if u disagree on the matter. thanks for reading, sorry it's long :nurse: the links are posted at the very end

(portion from link 2)the federal emergency medical treatment and active labor act (emtala) mandates that u.s. hospitals with emergency-room services must treat anyone who requires care, including illegal aliens. medical service for americans in affected communities is being severely damaged as hospitals absorb more than $200 million in unreimbursed costs. some emergency rooms have shut down because they cannot afford to stay open. local tax-paying americans are either denied medical care or have to wait in long lines for service as the illegals flood the facilities.

(from link 1) debate over health care to illegal aliens continues tuesday, july 28, 2009, 10:34 am the house energy and commerce committee will continue to debate the health care reform proposal with coverage under the bill to illegal aliens hotly under debate. although the bill contains a section that excludes illegal aliens from coverage, there are no provisions within the bill requiring beneficiaries to show their citizenship status.numbersusa takes no stance on the bill itself, but does oppose the extension of health care benefits to illegal aliens."the proposed health care scheme could force the american people to pay forthe health care of illegal immigrants," said house judiciary ranking member lamar smith (r-texas) in a congress daily update. house speaker nancy pelosi (d-calif.) said on cnn's "state of the union" over the weekend that the bill excludes illegal aliens, but opponents plan to offer amendments during mark-up of the bill that explicitly excludes illegal aliens. an amendment offered by rep. dean heller (r-nev.) was defeated during mark-ups in the house ways and means committee.

obama: no health care for illegal immigrants (link 3)

katie couric in an exclusive interview whether illegal immigrants should be covered under a new health care plan, president obama responded simply, "no." but he said there may need to be an exception to that policy for children. "first of all, i'd like to create a situation where we're dealing with illegal immigration, so that we don't have illegal immigrants," he said. "and we've got legal residents or citizens who are eligible for the plan. and i want a comprehensive immigration plan that creates a pathway to achieve that." "the one exception that i think has to be discussed is how are we treating children," he continued. "partly because if you've got children who may be here illegally but are still in playgrounds or at schools, and potentially are passing on illnesses and communicable diseases, that aren't getting vaccinated, that i think is a situation where you may have to make an exception."

facts coupled with a story of a illegal immigrant seeking medical care:

(link 4)*state legislatures across the country are seeking to limit the costs to taxpayers of illegal immigration, including health care benefits. in may, oklahoma lawmakers restricted illegal immigrants from receiving most public benefits; other states, such as nebraska, are seeking to follow suit. a bill introduced in indiana this month would make hospitals report how much they spend on illegal immigrants. on a national level, an effort to add legal immigrant children to the state children's health insurance program was blocked in the senate last year. instead, lawmakers added language to ensure that illegal immigrants were excluded. "the phrase 'illegal immigrant' is just radioactive at the moment," says leighton ku, a health analyst at the liberal center on budget and policy priorities. "efforts to provide additional benefits for the undocumented would be essentially perceived as adding fuel to the fire." illegal immigrants can get emergency care through medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and people with disabilities. but they can't get non-emergency care unless they pay. they are ineligible for most other public benefits. data on health care costs for illegal immigrants are sketchy because hospitals and community health centers don't ask about patients' legal status. in california, a 2004 study by the federation for american immigration reform put the state's annual cost at $1.4 billion. similar studies in colorado and minnesota in 2005 came up with much smaller estimates: $31 million and $17 million, respectively. one thing is clear: undocumented immigrants are driving up the number of people without health insurance. the pew hispanic center estimates that 59% of the nation's illegal immigrants are uninsured, compared with 25% of legal immigrants and 14% of u.s. citizens. illegal immigrants represent about 15% of the nation's 47 million uninsured people-and about 30% of the increase since 1980. "if you want to do something that will have a meaningful impact on the problem of the uninsured, then you must talk about undocumented immigrants," says james smith, a senior economist at the rand corp. because most illegal immigrants are relatively young and healthy, they generally don't need as much health care treatment as u.s. citizens, studies show. but while they account for less than 2% of national medical spending, their growing presence is a problem in places such as eastern north carolina, one of the nation's poorest areas. statewide, illegal immigrants accounted for one in four new residents from 1990 to 2004, according to a university of north carolina study. the state ranks ninth in the nation for illegal immigrants with more than 300,000, according to the pew hispanic center. for hospitals, "the burden of the uninsured immigrant is huge," says jeff spade, vice president of the north carolina hospital association. "it's exploded the amount of work that they have to do."

a potent political issue opponents of illegal immigration see health care as a benefit that illegal immigrants don't deserve-and that taxpayers can't afford. in a special election to fill the seat of the late rep. paul gillmor, r-ohio, last month, the national republican congressional committee attacked democrat robin weirauch for backing universal health insurance because it could extend taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants. she lost the race. steven camarota of the conservative center for immigration studies says offering non-emergency medicaid to illegal immigrants would be more expensive than leaving them uninsured and in need of occasional hospital care. in those cases, hospitals lose money, and taxpayers pick up the tab. "either you enforce the law and don't have so many illegals, or you shut up about the cost," he says. while state governments, congress, the bush administration and presidential candidates wrestle with how to provide health coverage to uninsured americans, illegal immigrants rely on a patchwork of federally funded community health centers, which charge little for basic services and don't seek proof of citizenship. for medicine, they often rely on free prescription samples or over-the-counter drugs. from 2001 to 2004, spending for emergency medicaid for illegal immigrants rose by 28% in north carolina, said a march 2007 article in the journal of the american medical association. researchers cited increases in childbirth and prenatal care, as well as injuries and chronic disease complications. at the state and local level, illegal immigrants already cost more in public services such as education and health care than they pay in taxes, the congressional budget office reported recently. illegal immigrants make up less than 5% of the cost in most states, but closer to 10% in some california counties. in 2000, counties along the mexican border lost more than $800 million in health care services for which they were not paid; about 25% of that went to care for illegal immigrants, according to a report by the united states/mexico border counties coalition. some states, including new york, illinois and washington, as well as several california counties, cover illegal immigrant children with state tax dollars. "kids are the more sympathetic group, and they're less costly," says sonal ambegaokar of the national immigration law center, an advocacy group for low-income immigrants. since 2003, california's san mateo county has used local tax dollars as well as money from hospitals and non-profit groups to provide health insurance to all low-income children, regardless of immigration status. "these children are in our schools. they're part of our community," says beverly thames, spokeswoman for the county health department. "it's just important that they have access to health care." san francisco goes further, adding adults at local expense. some cities, including new york, encourage illegal immigrants to use public services such as health clinics without risking deportation. direct federal aid has been minimal, but in 2003, congress appropriated $1 billion over four years for hospitals and other health care providers that serve illegal immigrants. more than 15,000 providers have registered for payments, according to the centers for medicare and medicaid services. the sweeping overhauls of the nation's health care system proposed by democrats hillary rodham clinton, barack obama and john edwards would not provide coverage for illegal immigrants. "because the issue is so politically hot, people are staying away from it," says cecilia munoz, senior vice president at the national council of la raza, the nation's largest hispanic advocacy group. only dennis kucinich of ohio, a democratic long shot, proposes covering them. that's likely to mean little change in undocumented immigrants' health care status, already the worst in the nation. even among children, 53% are uninsured, according to jeffrey passel of the pew hispanic center. that compares with 9% of u.s. citizens' children.in north carolina's rural duplin county, more than one in four people are uninsured. the area's job growth is in low-wage agribusiness-"plucking chickens and gutting hogs," says greg bounds, chief executive officer of goshen medical center, the area's largest group of community health centers. businesses need the influx of illegal immigrants to take hard-to-fill jobs, but hospitals lose money when the workers need emergency care.until recently, most illegal immigrants here had one health care strategy. "they just weren't getting care before," bounds says. "they were just suffering and dying."

'scared to see the doctors' for many illegal immigrants, the fear of deportation outweighs the pain of illness or injury, so they live with their afflictions rather than seeking help until their health problems become critical. that makes things worse-for them, for hospitals that eventually treat them, and for taxpayers who ultimately foot the bill."they're scared to see the doctors," says genaro diaz,a legal resident who, at 59, is a father figure to many of the mostly male farmworkers here. "they think they'll send them back to mexico." now, at least some are coming to community health centers, part of a national matrix of more than 4,000 federally funded health centers that have sprung up throughout the country during the past 40 years. in 2006, those centers served 6 million uninsured patients, a 50% increase since 2001. at goshen medical center, nursing assistant jessica roberts recalls a woman who arrived more than eight months pregnant with her eighth child-for her first prenatal visit. "a lot of hispanic patients are scared of coming to the doctor's office because of who they're going to meet," she says, referring to their fear of deportation. at duplin general hospital, the challenge is staying afloat. because so many patients are seniors on medicare, low-income residents on medicaid or uninsured people who can't pay their bills, it's difficult to turn a profit. "we're living off reserves," ceo harvey case says. the university of north carolina's four hospitals are seeing an increase in the number of undocumented immigrants who need care for major illnesses or injuries. because they only qualify for medicaid on an emergency basis, their funding often runs out before they're able to leave. hospital officials sometimes work with the mexican consulate to arrange transportation back to their native countries. if that can't be arranged, the patients remain in the hospital for weeks or months. "it's a real catch-22," says sharon coulter james, senior vice president at the university of north carolina hospitals. "we would never put that patient out on the street in an unsafe environment. but there are patients who need those beds." in an effort to help local health officials better understand the immigrants who are inundating their area, the university of north carolina's center for international understanding sponsors week-long immersion programs in mexico. janet hadar, director of clinical care management for unc hospitals, recently returned from a trip that exposed her to residents' unsanitary living conditions. "it made me much more sympathetic to this population," she says. revels went on the same trip. now, she's back treating ailments large and small: skin rashes and hypertension, infections and nosebleeds. most patients pay $6 per visit and $6 per prescription. slowly, she's building a steady clientele. ignacio hernandez complained recently of recurrent eye pain after being struck by a sweet potato in the fields. guadalupe cortez came for his monthly diabetes check and emerged with a bag of insulin samples. without the clinic, "i don't know what i'd do," he says.

on some nights in 2006, "we would only see eight patients," revels says between treating farmworkers' ailments. more recently, "i have not had one slow night."

http://www.numbersusa.com/content/news/july-28-2009/debate-over-health-care-illegal-aliens-continues.html

http://www.theamericanresistance.com/issues/health_care.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/21/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5178652.shtml

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-01-21-immigrant-healthcare_n.htm

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Re: article #1 - sounds like the US should make primary care avaliable to aliens to avoid emergency department clogs and, god forbid, actual americans waiting in lines.

Specializes in nursing home, home health, hospital.

I'm not 100% on where I sit with all this health care reform stuff just yet there so much to take in. I can see your point as to why we should legalize it but in the same token I think that if we do legalize it then perhaps those immigrants that currently fear deportation would no longer fear it. Meaning that we might see an even bigger rise in illegal immigrants in hospitals as well as a even bigger debt to the health care facilties because we are then saying it's okay to come get medical attention even though your here illegally. Of course if we do allow it and those individuals that are seriously sick may end up getting the medical attention they need inside of spreading an infectious disease around. It's hard to say really. I dont feel like I'm educated enough on the subject, but I do know that my first gut reaction like a lot of Americans who were born here is going to be that they whom ever they are, where ever there from are here illegally and that it's not right to allow them the benefits of OUR citizenship. BUT... Then I think that nearly everyone who is an american has a family member that was once an immigrant and that everyone should have access to places and supplies to better their health. I guess it then comes down to doing the "right" thing and applying for citizenship rather then jumping the border somehow and leaving here illegally. I dunno like i said i still have an internal conflict with the whole lot of it.

I think it's reasonable not to extend healthcare coverage to adult illegal immigrants. If I go to Canada, break a bone, and go to an ER, I will still receive a bill.

But kids regardless of immigration status should be covered.

I have no internal conflict over it. I don't feel they should be receiving ANY medical care here, or welfare benefits. Most of them do not pay into the system, so their using it amounts to stealing from the taxpayer.

I don't know how or why this is so hard to see. I'm in agreement that anyone who wants the better life should come here, but they should do so legally, like everyone else. Importing these people in large masses without requiring the duties of citizenship is going to destroy this country, as it has every other country that did the same thing.

We wonder why health care is in such a mess. We wonder why we need "reform." We wonder WHY we have to reform a system to "provide" healthcare to 45 million uninsured. There are NO guarantees that universal healthcare will be provided only to Americans. You bring in Obama care and import more illegals and you can kiss this country GOODBYE.

"I have no internal conflict over it. I don't feel they should be receiving ANY medical care here, or welfare benefits. Most of them do not pay into the system, so their using it amounts to stealing from the taxpayer."

Many of the DO pay into the system. Many still have all the normal social security and medicare deductions. But, because of their illegal status they never will see the benefits of paying in that citizens get.

You know, it really makes me mad that illegals are getting things like health care handed to them. It is not fair to those who are citizens and those who immigrated here FAIRLY. My mother and her family all came here LEGALLY. They worked their butts off and became citizens and they should do the same! I strongly feel that they should be either become citizens or GET OUT...no exceptions!! If my mother can do it from a 3rd world country....WHY CAN'T THEY?! :banghead:

/rant

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You know how with my "alien" mind I think... what is NOW the first priority? Health care for all, or new immigration law?

Well, trying not be subjective at all, loool, if I can lol, I think like that. If you want to not spend money on health care for ilegal aliens....FIRST of all, SECURE the borders, and then the ilegal numer will decrease, SECOND make a law very clear related with what will be happen with illegal immigrants ALREADY NOW in US .You could not let them without medical assistance just because are here, make thinks clear, made them residents of US or deport them....and after and JUST AFTER all of these thinks are clear, after and just after... do whatever you want to do.... and make whatever health care law you want... your choices... your results, lol

Without a clear immigration law... stopping medical services for ilegal immigrants already in US , without giving them any other alternative like....you could go back in your country or you could become resident here....is just a human rights breakout.... you could not let someone to die just because is ilegal immigrant from long time ago here in US? We are humans!

I hope that someone will be enough smart to think about what will be happen with A LOT of illegal immigrants ALREADY in US. They worked for you and still work for you where you never wanted to be! They destroyed their health working like that! They worked for nothing many of them! They deserve health care, even if they just did only 10 kids, these kids works for you now damn it!

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