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In his speech on health care reform President Barack Obama told Congress he planned to improve health insurance for those who have it and to create an insurance exchange to extend cover to those who do not. Some critics argue the planned reforms would make healthcare much more expensive, others say illegal immigrants will be excluded. The World’s Matthew Bell did some fact checking on claims and counterclaims that illegal immigrants will be excluded from government health benefits under any new reform plan.
The President did dissimulate. Since hospitals are required by federal mandate to provide care for whoever shows up in ER, then whether or not the federal health plan “covers” illegal aliens, someone’s footing the bill and that happens to be us. I’m in favor of open borders and universal health care, but to pretend that there are not costs to such “unfunded” federal mandates is dishonest.
The President did not dissimulate. The issue is whether any of the existing bills in Congress provide covereage, not whether illegal immigrants will continue to receive federally covered emergency room coverage as provided under existing laws. I wonder how many conservatives would publically argue against continuing the provision of such care, a minimal standard of decency.
That’s a fair point. Thank you for clarifying the issue at hand.