Posted on 04/12/2005 5:55:40 PM PDT by television is just wrong
Health care tightened in Montgomery County Undocumented immigrants can't get most services By RENEE C. LEE Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
CONROE - While the Montgomery County Hospital District provides public health care for documented immigrants who live in the county, it does not extend those services to illegal immigrants.
The district stopped providing non-emergency health care to illegal immigrants more than three years ago.
''We didn't think people who were here illegally should get care provided by the taxpayers," said board Chairman Francis Bourgeois.
A district policy removing undocumented immigrants from the medical rolls was adopted in 2001.
At the time, the district estimated there were 600 to more than 2,000 undocumented immigrants living in the county.
The board's decision came after then-state Attorney General John Cornyn ruled that federal law prohibited states from providing public health care to illegal immigrants without a specific state law.
In 2003, a new state law authorized hospital districts to offer care. Community advocates for illegal immigrants argued that the law required the board to provide clinical care to undocumented immigrants.
The board decided to seek an opinion from state Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Last July, Abbott ruled that illegal immigrants can receive public health care but that hospital districts are not required to offer it.
''The state attorney general said it wasn't mandatory, and that gave us the legal opinion that supported our policy," said Bourgeios.
renee.lee@chron.com
Think of the money we would save. Be able to care for our own citizens.
I have been told that women in Mexico expecting difficult births are encouraged to come here because everything is free. The Illegal alien has the best insurance of any citizen in this country and I'm sorry, but it is discriminatory to all citizens and legal residents to have to pay for them.
I would have liked it very much if the reporter had asked approximately how much was saved each year by this policy being adopted.
It would be at least 30 billion saved in California.
I heard a very sensible and simple suggestion today: cut foreign aid to Mexico by exactly the amount that it costs the U.S. to provide education, health care and incarceration to all the Mexicans who are here illegally. How quickly do you think Mexico would put a stop to this situation if we were to do so?
It's a sad state of affairs when a totally common sense statement like this could EVER be interpreted as CONTROVERSIAL!!!!
I can't believe this is coming from Montgomery County.
Excuse my comment - wrong Montgomery County - my apologies.
But this is a good policy regardless of which County it is.
I read somewhere that the illegals just move to Houston to get their health care. The money saving only occurs if the policy is used through out the country.
There is sanity somewhere in this great country!
Hallelujah!!!
The law only "authorized" hospitals to "offer" care - - it did not mandate anything. So if a hospital is flush with cash and wants to give it away, it may do so. On the other hand, if a hospital is trying to be fiscally responsible and keep costs as low as possible for paying customers, then they may tell illegals to go pound sand.
The Illegal alien has the best insurance of any citizen in this country and I'm sorry, but it is discriminatory to all citizens and legal residents to have to pay for them.
Never apologize for the truth.
I think they would still end up owing us money.
I suspect you're right, but, if our government had the guts to do it, it would get Mexico's attention.
If people that are not citizens get better medical care than citizens, there is most definitely something very wrong.
Of course, something is wrong - actually a lot of things. Our government's focus is on providing care and benefits for criminals, including illegal aliens, while screwing citizens six ways from Sunday. It's true at every level of government. Why do you think the various states have things like "seat belt enforcement" campaigns? Because they can collect a fine - not because they care one way or another whether you live or die in a car wreck.
So what are we going to do about it??
I don't have a clue. No matter who we elect, nothing changes and any suggestion that something be done outside the political process only brings cries for how we must preserve and respect the so-called "rule of law".
rule of law is a joke. If we had a rule of law the government would n't allow the illegals to stay here.
Which is exactly my point. "Rule of law" is a convenient slogan trotted out to shut you (and me)up.
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