What if the government tried to give away a billion dollars to pay for emergency hospital bills for illegal immigrants? Do you think half the Southwest would be up in arms protesting? Far from it, in fact. The federal government actually does have such a program, but it hasn’t been much of a success.
The program, passed a couple of years back to reimburse hospitals for spending money on emergency care for illegal immigrants, has had very few claims filed, primarily because the paperwork is too onerous, hospital administrators say.
In addition, illegal immigrants are unlikely to advertise their status, and many hospitals are loath to ask about it, further complicating any effort the hospitals might undertake to apply for the money.
The government officials responsible for the program, though, are utterly clueless idiots.
Federal officials can’t explain why overburdened communities have not grabbed the cash.
“We are really not certain why providers are not claiming the money,” said Herb Kuhn, head of the government’s Center for Medicare Management, which administers the program intended to distribute the $1 billion between 2005 and 2008.
Nationally, only 15 percent of the money has been handed out three-quarters of the way through the program’s first year. — Chicago Tribune
Cato Institute director of policy studies Michael Cannon points out that the Republicans are unlikely to cut the program, even though it does give free health care to at least a few illegal immigrants.
“One of the program’s biggest supporters is conservative Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona, a member of the Senate leadership,” Cannon wrote. “Back in 2004, Kyl boasted that he had secured $42 million for Arizona through this program.”
A Republican Senator boasting about securing federal money for illegal immigrants. Who would have thought?
And who would have thought that a government welfare program would have so much paperwork that the cost of applying for the money would make it not worth it to even bother?
There are two problems here, and both need to be solved: First, that it’s too difficult to immigrate legally and work in the U.S., and second, that government continues to run welfare programs that are more properly handled by the private sector, which can actually get aid to those who need it.
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Karl Marx would love the popular moves among politicians in various state governments and the federal government to ban so-called "junk" food in schools, and to "put healthy food in" convenience stores and on the tables of those they define as poor. It's a very elitist and arrogant mindset that promotes this ideology, and it needs to be addressed.
Ultimately, the war supporters in Congress prevailed in the vote on the resolution. Still, the vote was significant because it places every member of Congress on the record as supporting or not supporting the unconstitutional, costly, violent occupation of a country that never attacked us. This vote should serve as an important reminder to the American people of where their representatives really stand when it comes to policing the world, empire building, and war.
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Dawn
Sep 20, 2006
What’s ironic here is the very same hospitals that rightly clamored for federal mom federal money to reimburse them for costs associated with mandated care for illegal aliens are the very same ones that, upon being presented with a pot of gold aren’t willing to invest the time and effort to claim it. In the meantime, the rest of the law abiding taxpayers of this country foot the bill through increased healthcare costs written off by the hospitals as the cost of doing business.
Kevin Fields
Sep 20, 2006
This is kinda weird. Perhaps those hospitials aren’t really suffering after all?
Matt
Sep 21, 2006
What’s a poltician to do? He’s asked for money to take care of a federal problem–illegal immigration–he gets it but those who asked for it are too lazy to fill-out some paperwork. OK, the paperwork in all liklihood probably needs to be streamlined, but for heavens sake in the meantime put your staff to work to claim a share of the pie. We constantly hear about the increasing cost of healthcare, well I’d like some help from the hospitals in keeping it in check.
Michael Hampton
Sep 21, 2006
You all seem to think that the paperwork is just some simple government form or something. It’s not.
Instead, it’s so many forms and so much work that hospitals are talking about hiring new staff just to file all the claims. They would be worse off doing that than just letting it go.
And all three of you are defending the stupidity of this program? Shame on you.
Kevin Fields
Sep 21, 2006
Hospitals should not have to deal with political issues. It should not matter if the patient is a native citizen or an illegal immigrant, what should matter is if sick people can get competent care. Sure our taxpayers have to foot a lot of the bills, but this should be an issue of morality first and foremost. But the reality is that it costs money to run hospitals and uphold a moral mandate that all patients who are sick be cared for, no matter their ability to pay. If the government is able to offer money to help alleviate these issues in the short-term, then theys hould make it easier to access it.
And no, I don’t think that paperwork is just some simple government form. I’m reminded of that every year that I fill out my taxes, and I have very little I actually have to fill out! There’s no reason that this should be a complicated form that needs to be filled out and then you wait months for somebody to file it.
Tommy Jefferson
Sep 21, 2006
Matt
Sep 21, 2006
Don’t know about a moral mandate to care for all patients, but I do know hosptials are mandated to provided care according to a statutory mandate. Its called EMTALA–Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. Regardless of ability to pay, or legal status in the United States, anyone who presents him/herself at a hospital for care must be accommodated. No insurance–the hospital writes off the cost. An especially egrecious problem for hospitals and communities on our southern border since they encounter a substantial illegal immigrant population using their emergency rooms for both emergency and routine care. Of course these folks have no insurance and most don’t have the ability to pay cash for the medical care. Still beyond me why the hospitals in those communities aren’t stepping up to the plate and submitting the paperwork to the Feds for reimbursement. Saying the paperwok is just too extensive is just an excuse. Find a way to do it.
Kevin Fields
Sep 21, 2006
If you do not believe that all of our sick should be taken care of, then for your sake I hope that you never fall on hard times and find that you are turned away because of your inability to pay for your care.
As wealthy a nation as the United States is, both in money and in helping hands, there should be no reason why any individual who is ill and in need of care cannot receive it. And for a nation as steeped in religious philosophy as we are – Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, etc. – there is no excuse for us to say that the poor should suffer and go without. Even if you do not subscribe to any religious belief, at the very least human morality and decency should prompt you to help your fellow man, woman and child when they need it.
Michael Hampton
Sep 21, 2006
Absolutely, and that’s the whole point: You should help your fellow man, but it’s quite morally wrong to force someone to do so.
Kevin Fields
Sep 21, 2006
There has to be some give somewhere, though. Things would be much worse if we allowed for hospitals to turn away patients because they could not afford the services. At the same time, things are just about as bad if the government is put in charge of running a public hospital. I have no issues with mandating all hospitals provide care for all patients, but the government IMO has to provide the money to help them do so. And of all things that one can bitch about as far as what happens with taxpayer dollars, using it to provide healthcare is pretty much on the bottom of my list. At least until we can stop paying for unnecessary wars, bridges to nowhere and unjustified fattening of politician’s bank accounts.
Sickofthiscrap
Sep 24, 2006
By anyone saying that it should be mandated that hospitals take in someone regardless of their ability to pay is a socialist for thinking that we need someone else to provide for us when we cannot provide for ourselves. What some B.S. Hospitals are businesses like anything else, and like other businesses they should have the right to refuse service. There used to be charities and churches that helped someone with this stuff, and it seems like people have been lead to feel guilty for seeking that assistance from their fellow man. As far as I’m concerned this should be Darwin’s theory at it’s core. Survival of the fittest. Such as the hurricane katrina victims. If they didn’t have the smarts to get the hell out of dodge before they where told to do so by the government, then it’s on them, not anyone else. There is no excuse for them to be waiting in trailers for big brother to rebuild there lives, they need to do it themselves!
Michael Hampton
Sep 24, 2006
We even have teaching hospitals which will take patients for free so that people can get medical training under supervision from more experienced doctors.
We’d probably have more creative ideas like this without government screwing everything up.
This is not an impossible problem, and it doesn’t require government intervention.
Kevin Fields
Sep 24, 2006
When the government and society has made it nearly impossible to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, then we’re going to have to have a system that gives a hand-up.
And as screwed up as the various systems that we have here in the United States are, I’ve been very grateful that they have been available when I have been on hard times a time or two. A little bit of assistance can go quite a long ways.
Unfortunately for every little bit of assistance I *have* received, I’ve also had to deal with a lot of MOUTH from people who automatically assume that I’m lazy and unwilling to do anything from myself and it would be better if myself and my family just die or starve to death rather than a few of their measly tax dollars being spent. This is why people are made to feel guilty when they find themselves in such circumstances.
As for the Katrina victims, a good part of the reason why they have to wait on government assistance is because the government is HINDERING them from doing so. You may want to learn more about what you speak before you speak again.
Richard Grabman
Oct 06, 2006
MAYBE “illegal immigrants” aren’t the problem. Maybe it’s uninsured patients
Kevin Fields
Oct 06, 2006
Well, to be sure, a lot of the problem is definitely GREED. While I’m not the biggest John Stossel fan, several months ago he did a 20/20 segment looking at how hospitals treat the insured and uninsured differently. Uninsured patients at several hospitals often were paying 2x-3x more for the same services compared to insured patients. Even when offering to settle a bill, hospitals and their doctors by and large appear to be gouging the uninsured.
Darlene
Mar 16, 2007
I believe illegal aliens have no rights in the United States. They are a burden on our government. They are a burden on our healthcare system and they should all be gathered up and deported. Illegals have got it all wrong, as does the ACLU and the Human Rights Commission. This is “The Land of the Free.” This is NOT the “Land Where Everything is Free.” I see no problem with a hospital providing first aid, but a hospital or doctor should never be MANDATED to give up their resources to provide extensive or long term health care to “illegals”. Those individuals that say “society owes it to them” should empty their bank accounts and give it all to the “illegals”. They would change their tune if they were mandated to “give it all”.