Who's the liar? In search of the million dollar illegal immigrant to end all health care reform

"600 Words by Esther J. Cepeda"

The health care debate has been hijacked by angry people who have health insurance, don’t want their applecart upset, and thusly have resorted to spreading out-and-out lies about the current attempt at reform.

Some so angry, they’ll catcall the president during a nationally-televised address to congress. Thanks for being so classy Rep. Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, as you yelled "You lie!" when Obama said no illegal immigrants would receive benefits under his plan.

Let’s get something straight about all of the healthcare proposals currently being floated in Congress: IF the federal government DID subsidize health care, illegal immigrants would be excluded from benefits.

Too vague for you? OK, let’s try it a different way: there is a section in all of the bills, such as I understand them, specifically outlining that there will be no federal payments for undocumented aliens.

The Library of Congress’ research arm released a report on August 25 verifying that in all the proposed bills, "unauthorized aliens would be barred" from receiving any federally subsidized money for health care.

Oh that’s not stopping the same sorts of people who dreamt up "death panels" for insisting otherwise as they try to fire-bomb health-care reform, according to Julia Preston in today’s New York Times piece "Health Care Debate Revives Immigration Battle."

According to the article, people like Senator Charles E. Grassley will tell you that though this restriction is clearly articulated, the House bill is "so poorly cobbled together" that it effectively moots the restriction.

Texas Representative Lamar Smith said that Democrats had "intentionally left gaping loopholes" that would allow – heck, even encourage!!! is the subtext – illegal immigrants to get federally subsidized health care.

How to keep illegal aliens to foxtrot through loopholes, however, is a sticky matter. In 2005, a law was passed requiring all applicants to Medicaid to verify their citizenship status, and some have floated the idea of using those same guidelines for any new program.

But, ouch, this country doesn’t have a feasible and comprehensive system for keeping track of who’s who here – probably a relic from olden days when the citizens of this country weren’t quite so eager to ensure that the non-citizens among us were run out of the country on a rail.

Sure, we could require every person currently living in the United States to produce proof of citizenship for nearly anything but guess who gets left out in the cold?

Old people, who can’t produce original official birth documents.

The flaky, who have a tendency to lose stuff.

Victims of fire or other natural disasters, who lose all of their possessions.

There are surely about a million scenarios, but for a moment forget any future systems; the current one is conducive to a lot of head-scratching. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform audited and analyzed the verification costs and results of six states and found that the more stringent rules imposed by the 2005 legislation requiring proof of citizenship increased federal costs by $8.3 million and only detected eight illegal immigrants on the state rolls.

Yep, that’s about a cool million spent per illegal immigrant.

Wouldn’t it be more effective to drop the verification requirements and enact some sort of cruel, Dickensian punishment for defrauding the government of Federally funded benefits (that’s almost close to being true already, which might be the number one reason there were only eight lawbreakers found in that particular study)?

Wouldn’t that $8 million be better spent – if any far-reaching health care reform bills were passed – on outreach into communities with high illegal immigrant populations to let them know that the new laws require them to buy health insurance or face tax penalties?

Tax penalties above and beyond the current penalties of paying into social security and the Internal Revenue Service without a penny of benefit in return, that is?

What – you didn’t know that? Yes, illegal immigrants pay taxes: FICA and Medicare. Let’s not forget Social Security – to the tune of $12 billion in 2007. Plus sales taxes, and gasoline taxes. And also property taxes, which fund almost all of the costs of local schooling in Illinois and the rest of the country. Hey, I’m not saying any of this is good or bad, but it is a fact too-often overlooked.

But what the heck, let’s just go ahead and bar anyone who can’t come up with an official document – legal or illegal, black, white, brown, whatever –  from access to health care, whether it be preventative or emergency.

After all it’s not like we all breathe the same air. Or ride the same buses, or attend the same schools – elementary, high school, or college – together. It’s not like we have an H1N1 flu outbreak looming over us…those pesky viruses know how to target only those who’ll have the means to overcome illness.

Nope, all the legal, currently-insured people should just continue to do their best to dive-bomb healthcare for the legal or illegal neediest among us so they can live healthily and happily ever after.

Thanks a lot, Joe, for adding to the chorus of "haves" who will say just about anything to keep healthcare from the "have-nots."

Esther J. Cepeda writes the "600 Words" & "Pregunta del Dia" columns, and is also the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Her views and reporting do not necessarily reflect those of ISAC. "600 words" is a registered trademark of EeJayCee, Inc., Copyright 2008. May be reprinted with permission, contact eejaycee@600words.com

Comments

[blackmamba]

Right now 87.4 million Americans(29%) already have government health care under Medicare, Medicaid and veterans. This does not include all of the government workers,employees and elected officials like those in Congress. Raising the specter of illegal immigrants is a diversion from a basic fact. Some of our legislators do not want the rest us of us to have access to the same quality affordable health care that they have alongwith those in federal prisons.

Joe Wilson, Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity all hail from the white supremacist Confederate wing of the Republican party. If they were African American they would be labled hate ful racist extremist who are always playing the race card and banished fromcivil society. Instead like Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond and the Jerry Falwell they show the advantage and privilege of being part of the white Anglo Christian majority.

[Corey Miller]

Everytime I hear a Republican speak on any issue lately, I seem to think of what it's like to live in complete denial...In denial about healthcare..In denial about what century this is, and in denial about who is President.. Your good old boy days are over...Please get over your shallow ideologies, and do your jobs...

[Esther J. Cepeda]

People, stop hyperventilating (but thanks to those who did not resort to using the CAPS LOCK key).

Why doesn't anyone get the difference between the federal mandate to provide emergency health care to every and anyone - because we've YET to become the sort of country that let's people die on the street - and long-term partial or full-coverage health insurance that would cover anything from minor illness to catching serious disease in its tracks before it becomes an even costlier issue?

Two separate items.

Illegal aliens would not get coverage under any comprehensive reform.

And yes, we as a nation, will not let people in emergency situations die regardless of race/color/creed/citizenship status - that is not up for discussion in this reform movement.

[Suzanne Leaders]

Dear Esther, No wonder the Sun Times is going broke. You should be ashamed of yourself, continueing to spread the lies. Of Couse illegals are going to be covered. It is a backdorr amnesty.

Why don't you do so research before you write this propaganda? DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!

Congressional Research Service:

Illegal Aliens Can Receive Benefits Under House Health Care Bill
August 26, 2009

( Washington , DC ) Tuesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the “research arm” for the United States Congress, issued a report validating an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), that illegal aliens would be able to receive benefits under the House health care reform bill, America’s Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).

The report, Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200, states definitively, “H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens – whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently – participating in the Exchange.” H.R. 3200 establishes a Health Insurance Exchange which would provide individuals and small businesses with access to health care plans, including the “public option” to be managed by the government.

CRS also confirms FAIR’s assessment that the House bill does not include a mechanism to prevent illegal aliens from receiving “affordability credits” that would subsidize the purchase of private health insurance. CRS specifically noted the absence “of a provision in the bill specifying the verification procedure.” Because the language is ambiguous, all CRS could reasonably conclude is that any eligibility determination would be the responsibility of the Health Choices Commissioner.

The CRS analysis comes after weeks of denials by Members of Congress that illegal aliens could receive benefits under the House bill. These denials were echoed by countless media and health care “experts” who dismissed public concerns as myths, or as politically orchestrated attacks.

“Case closed. Illegal aliens will be eligible to participate in the health care program offered by the House bill unless Congress acts to amend the bill,” stated Dan Stein, president of FAIR. “The loopholes and omissions in the House bill are not there by accident,” continued Stein. “These loopholes were intended to extend benefits to illegal aliens while allowing Members of Congress to deny those facts to the American people.”

The House Ways & Means Committee had the opportunity to include language that would have barred illegal aliens from enrolling in the proposed public option or receiving the affordability credits, but chose not to. An amendment offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) would have applied the same eligibility verification procedures for coverage under H.R. 3200 that have been used for years to prove eligibility for Medicaid. That amendment was rejected by a party-line vote.

Based on its own findings and those of CRS, FAIR is calling on Congress to:

Adopt clear language that makes illegal aliens (and nonimmigrants) ineligible for enrollment in publicly funded or subsidized health insurance programs.
Require electronic eligibility verification for any health care reform proposal through the existing Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.
Maintain a five-year eligibility waiting period for legal immigrants to ensure that individuals don’t come to the U.S. and immediately tap the system.

“For the past month, irate citizens, concerned that their tax dollars will be used to fund health care for illegal aliens, have been unfairly portrayed as uninformed rabble by their elected representatives and a host of media organizations,” said Stein. “It is time for the politicians to close the loopholes, and for the media establishment to acknowledge that they got it wrong.”

[Eileen Truax]

Great piece, Esther. I'm posting it on my Facebook.

[John]

Our President did lie last night and more than that one instance that the lone representative called him out on. Although it was rude to interrupt the President while he was speaking, there were numerous times he was interrupted by applause and no one is complaining about that today.

The fact remains that all people receive health care in this country when it is asked for whether you have the ability to pay or not. Under the proposed house bill, all people will still receive health care when asked for. The federal government has the provision that they won't pay for illegal immigrants, who will then when there is only a single payer plan?

The President opened up this can of worms again last night by presenting it in his speech, and clearly does not have the best interests of the needy and poor immigrant communities in mind, quite the opposite by stating that they will be excluded!

Do you really trust this politician called President Obama? If so, be prepared to be disappointed.

[Michael Hunt]

Esther, this is your best column yet. Well written, chock full of facts, not just opinions, and straight to the point.

I would add only that the applecart protecting angry insured are angry because they are scared. They are scared because the health insurance industry has spent billions (yes, billions) to put more than 50,000 (yes, 50,000) lobbyists into the mix, and has bought or rented (only an honest politician stays bought) voices in both houses of congress to make certain that they are scared.

Misinformation and intimidation are the order of the day, and Rep. Joe Wilson is following orders, not his conscience.

By the way, I am one of the Flaky.

[JS]

Esther,

I have to paraphrase an old joke, "So other than that, how did like the play Mrs. Lincoln?"

So other than the fundamentalist nuts, did you enjoy the speech? Just wait until the next election cycle when words said with the brain unengaged, to kow tow to the small segment of the insane right, suddenly reappear in campaign ads.

[George]

Basically, those against healthcare reform are just against Obama. I've started calling this the "Bubba Syndrome."

If you'll recall, the right-wing-nut-jobs did everything they could to get at Pres. Clinton.

Why?

Because he won. Wouldn't have mattered which Democrat won the White House. The Republicans hate losing (we all do, but they've taken things a bit further).