A simple question for supporters of amnesty for immigrants with...

[harlinchi]

...no legal status as well as for those who support the idea of increased immigration without legal status for additional millions to come: Who will pay for their health care? Kids will break bones, women between 15 and 50 will get pregnant and on the job accidents will occur. Who is scheduled to pay?

I'm not seeking proposals; I'm asking about right now, as things stand, who will pay for hospital visits that will certainly occur?

[Minnesota Libra]

1. The short and sweet answer is You and I pay for it all with our taxes. nt

[harlinchi]

4. We pay with taxes as well as with increased premiums. n/t

[Minnesota Libra]

8. True enough and both will increase again soon - just watch nt

[sandnsea]

28. Subsidizing corporate business costs

Just like we do with legal Wal-mart workers and a host of other low-income workers in this country. The workers aren't the problem, not demanding people have living wages so they can pay for their own health care is the problem.

[Bluesplayer]

2. Technically, the Chinese will pay

Then our kids, and then their kids. Unless the apocalypse happens first, in which case we saved a whole bunch of money.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Here's a two-pronged answer for you.

1) Make them citizens.
2) Provide universal health insurance, like other industrialized nations do.

Problem solved.

For the record, I'm not pro-amnesty without a serious effort to shut down the border, streamlining of INS immigration procedures, and an increased legal immigration quota.

[harlinchi]

5. But these are things that MAY be done. If not, US taxpayers...

... and US insureds will pay and pay, in my opinion.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. Well no shit it may be done.

Amnesty "may be done" too. What's your point?

[harlinchi]

13. The original question asked about what happens as of now.

Before you spout off with profanity re-read the original post. It asks who pays as of now, not if some proposals were to be effected.

What's my point, indeed! Read, dude or dudette!

[Mass]

6. Who will pay for their healthcare if they are legal? Who pays for the

healthcare of the US citizens who cannot afford healthcare? What does this have to do with anything?

The answer is to reform the healthcare system for all, including the 40+ millions of US citizens who do not have insurance, not to use healthcare as a red herring to support anti-immigrant feelings.

BTW, nobody wants to increase immigration w/o legal status. We want to give legal status to the people who are ALREADY here.

[harlinchi]

15. Of course the answer is universal health care.

It's not here right now, however. Since there is no universal care, when immigrants with no legal status require health care, I pay. Us citizens have access to other poverty programs. Immigrants without legal status do not.

To reform health care and immigration at the same time or nearly so sounds like a huge bite to chew.

My only idea is to punish employers. Leave the immigrants alone; they've committed what I understand to be a misdemeanor. The employers are felons.

[Dhalgren]

20. What "other poverty programs" do poor citizens have access to

as regards their health care? Who is paying for the Iraq War? Who is paying for sweetheart crony business deals? Who is paying for the tax give aways to the rich? It seems that instead of blaming the people that are in the most need of help, we should focus our ire on the people who are causing the problems...

[harlinchi]

21. In PA , for example, there is a program called CHIP, for one.

It's a health insurance program for low-income residents.

Of course we're paying for the Iraq war, the sweetheart crony deals and the tax cuts for the rich. I agree that immigrants without legal status are not the problem; folks just trying to live rarely are. The folks that hire them, however, are the roots from which this unsightly weed has grown. It is unsightly to have folks protesting for the right to work as virtual slaves. It is unsightly for protests seeking the depressions of wages for the lowest earners in America.

When I focus on the people who are causing the problems, in this case, I see employers.

[AValdoux]

7. So let them die in the streets?

Healthcare is considered a HUMAN RIGHT in most developed countries? We still have a FOR PROFIT third party system based on your ability to pay?


AValdoux

[BOSSHOG]

9. I don't believe there has been enough emphasis

put on those who hire illegal aliens, pay them squat and provide nothing for them. If we are serious about slowing down illegals from crossing the border then it might behoove us to decrease the reasons they want to come here - jobs! Either that or have those who hire them provide the medical care you talk of. I really don't believe anyone in DC is serious about immigrant reform. Just a bunch of yahoos who want to go on record railing about immigrants so they can show their constituents how ruff and tuff they are without actually having to do anything concrete.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. Who pays for poor Americans without health care?

If I am following your argument, you are saying illegals shouldn't be here because they demand free health care when they need it, and therefore should be deported. By this logic, shouldn't all poor Americans who have lost their jobs and have run out of unemployment, etc, and are reduced to free health care be subject to the same thing?

[harlinchi]

17. No. There are poverty programs for low-income citizens.

Without sounding too much like Ebeneezer ("Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"), these programs do exist for citizens but not for immigrants with no legal status.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

23. Not every American can get them

I've seen friends who have lost their jobs, can't get another one, have their unemployment run out, yet have been denied these so-called "poverty" programs.

[sandnsea]

29. Another dweller in fantasyland

Yeah, I've heard people tell me there's lots of free places for me to get health care too. Republicans who have pensions and health plans due to union advocacy that they turned their back on when their stock portfolio became their primary concern.

Guess what. There aren't. Unless you're in real poverty or have small children, there's NO health care for you in America.

[mike_c]

12. I will....

I'm not being facetious-- I view meeting the needs of people to be the proper role of government and I would be happy to see my tax dollars spent this way instead of murdering people in Iraq.

[harlinchi]

18. If that were the choice, me too! n/t

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

24. Amen!

I agree with you. I think we should think globally in regards to basic human rights, one of them being the right to health care.

[Cobalt Violet]

14. It would be helpful if we could bill their country of origin. n/t

[pagam]

16. Health care for immigrants

Before answer, let me introduce myself. I am a long time member but I normally do not get to post some of my response due to not having access to a p.c at home.I AM NOT A FREEPER! ! ! !


As for healthcare for "illegal immigrants" Un less we address the reasons they come here in the first place and enforce the laws already on the books i.e it is ilegal to hire someone who has entered the country illegaly, it is the tax payers who will continue to pay for health care for all uninsured people in this country.

[DavidDvorkin]

19. Who will pay for the effects of not providing health care?

[harlinchi]

22. The US taxpayer and US insureds will pay for this as well.

It'll just cost more. The longer people wait before seeking treatment for most illnesses and injuries, the greater the treatment will cost. Of course, the patient will pay in health...

[Capn Sunshine]

31. This "taxpayer " you keep mentioning.....

wouldn't it be better to ADD 14 million more taxpayers to the pot?

[harlinchi]

33. It sure would! Especially if they were paid a reasonable wage! n/t

[skeeters2525]

25. I'd Rather

I'd rather pay for their health insurance,

Then nuts thatsupport a President that lies to start wars. How much could we pay for without a lying President, Pentagon, and Media.


So maybe you should quit blaming immigrants for all the problems in the Country and reapply your Reich Wing talking points to yourself.

I see immigrants doing more about Democracy then we are. We have our votes stolen and we whine.

We watch thousands gassed and murdered in our name in Iraq and we do nothing.

Welcome all immigrants, you are much more dedicated to freedom then we are.

We will sit on our ass and whine, while you take it to the street.

And yes, I know I am being general, plenty Dems do a lot. Just not enough. We didn't change crap since 2000.

[harlinchi]

26. What the hail are you talkin' 'bout?

If you will provide me with the quote where I blame immigrants for all of the problems in the country, I'll apologize. If not, you should!

Like a teacher of kindergarten children would say, "I'm waiting..."

[sandnsea]

27. Who supports amnesty?

Why do you use right wing inflammatory words?

Who will pay for hospital visits? Gee, aren't companies supposed to pay their workers enough so they can pay for medical care themselves? Why do you blame workers because they're being exploited by cheap labor corporatists?

[Capn Sunshine]

30. Who pays now?

You think the problem in ERs is Illegals? No, it's the millions upon millions of residents without health insurance. In California, undocumented workers are just a percentage of the total.

Don't let them distract you from what's going on: not everything wrong with the country is the fault of undocumented workers.

[harlinchi]

37. I don't think very much is their fault at all.

I truly believe that those who employ them in search of greater profits do the country a bad turn, a felonious bad turn.

[Mountainman]

32. You are already paying for it. If they were legal they could help pay for

it through their income taxes.

[Bridget Burke]

34. A general amnesty has NOT been proposed....

(Not since Reagan, that is.)

One proposal offers a chance at citizenship to those who have been here a while, have good records & can pay back taxes and/or a fine. They are ALREADY paying sales tax & property tax (possibly indirectly). The more legal status these folks gain, the more taxes they will pay.

RIGHT NOW--we're paying for a lot of poor people. Even those of us with insurance pay more for health care than we used to. We need to stop the government wasting money on imperialist adventures & start asking the rich & corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. More affordable health care for all is possible. As is better education. And rights for ALL workers. You choose to ignore these other issues but I'm not playing your game.

[harlinchi]

36. Thank you for the most impressive response I've seen to this post.

I do agree that the quicker folks here get legal status, the better it will be for all concerned, except the so-called businessmen who employ immigrants without legal status; these 'businessmen' could likely be accurately called by far worse names . I know the people we're talking about already pay a great deal of taxes, specifically those you mention. I also am aware that those who get social security cards are also paying into the fund with little chance of ever receiving benefit.

I don't ignore the other issues you mention; I address them in other areas. But since this has evolved into an 'attack the one who posted' event, I'll try to better explain my intent. I simply meant to underscore an aspect of the immigration debate that is not being adequately addressed, that of health care costs for those who enter illegally. Was I attempting to demonize any group of people? I sure was; the one who hire folks with no legal status.Once again, my unclear writing has led me down a path where I appear to be defending an idea with which I do not agree.

Here's a proposal to attempt to get a little fairness in corporate taxation: no government contract can be let to any corporation who outsource more than 75% of its employment or who offshore more than 75% of its business activity for tax avoidance purposes.

What do 'ya think?

[McCamy Taylor]

35. We already pay for it, through higher prices for those with insurance.

With legal status, more of them will qualify for jobs with insurance, so we will pay for LESS of their health care.