My blog on Monday about health care reform proposals and illegal aliens generated a lot of questions and some interesting missives, so let's take a look at where we are on that hot button subject.
First, let's review the situation under current law.
Illegals can't get government funding for health care, except in case of emergency room care, which is paid for by state Medicaid programs.
If illegal immigrants go to a regular doctor, they pay. Nothing in the health reform bill would change either of those.
Several readers don't believe that's the case, but that's the best explanation I can offer.
Others said they want Congress to explicitly say that illegals can't get coverage for regular doctor visits.
"This protection is seemingly simple, and there's no reason not to put in a clear limitation," said B. Warren.
In the end, I bet that Republicans - and some Democrats - might force something like that to be included in a final bill (if there is a bill.)
Democrats have found out just how 'hot' the issue of illegal immigration can be in recent years. I don't think they have the votes to keep something like that off a health reform bill, even if they don't want it on there. Stay tuned on that one.
"The biggest problem I see is not that the bill allows for illegal immigrants to covered but that there is not a system to check or to enforce this in the bill," wrote Jason, echoing a common complaint from Republicans in the Congress.
Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) tried to include such a mechanism in the bill during work in the House Ways and Means Committee, but that was rejected on a vote of 26 to 15.
You can see the text of his two page amendment at http://bit.ly/igExp .
Heller wanted to use the Income and Eligibility Verification System and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements programs, which are part of the Social Security Act, to check for use by illegal immigrants.
"Democrats voted against an amendment offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) to better screen applicants for subsidized health care to ensure they are actually citizens or otherwise entitled to it," said Ways and Means Committee Republicans after the plan was defeated.
Like I said above, I could see something like that making a comeback later on in the health debate.
But again, if you think the bill has major provisions in it, or major loopholes allowing for coverage of illegals, it might not be so clearcut.
My blog on Monday about health care reform proposals and illegal aliens generated a lot of questions and some interesting missives, so let's take a look at where we are on that hot button subject. First, let's review the situation under current law. Illegals can't get government funding for health ...
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