[sheana]

I love it when people are sooooooo wrong.
Scenario: 2 people go to the local county hospital, 1 is illegal, 1 is a 59 yr old citizen who has worked his whole life.
The admitting clerk uses a 000-00-000 social sec # for the illegal and a 111-111-1111 soc sec # for the citizen.
Both are treated and released.
The illegal NEVER gets a bill and the citizen is hounded for the rest of his life by the hospital for unpaid bills.
The county hospital wrote off $7 mil in 000-00-000 soc sec #'s last yr.
The citizen died and his wife who is on social security is still getting calls from collection agencies.
How is this treated the same?
This is a real life scenario that happened to my mother and father.
And oh yeah, that $7 mil write off was paid by the taxpayers of the county.
I also used to work in the system so know this is how it is done.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Michelle Malkin was complaining earlier this year about Bush's totalization agreement with Mexico. A totalization agreement between two countries has the two governments pooling Social Security information on people who paid into the Social Security system in both countries, and retired. In the case of Mexico, it would pay benefits to Mexicans who came here, worked, paid benefits, and retired back in Mexico.

Malkin and the plan's opponents complained that this plan could feasibly cost the US taxpayers somewhere in the neighborhood of $432 billion in benefits being paid to illegal aliens who came here, worked illegally, and returned to Mexico.

As we all know, Social Security is a "pay to play" plan; you can't collect if you didn't;t pay into it.

So, by her argument, Malkin admits to having lied in the past...illegal aliens have paid billion into the SS system, and trillions in unclaimed income taxes...how do you pay one without paying the other?

[bayourod]

All the federal government requires is that emergency room of hospitals that participate in Medicare stabilize anyone brought to them without regard to ability to pay.

State, local and hospital policies may require more, especially if the hospitals are non-profit or established by charitable foundation trusts.

Writing off $7 million seems insignificant for a county hospital unless you are in a small county. That's what county hospitals are for.

Most for-profit hospitals don't admit people without insurance or the ability to pay.

Do you and your family go to the county hospital or a private hospital?