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Government to Reimburse Hospitals for Emergency Care for Illegal Aliens
TBO.COM - AP ^ | May 9, 2005 | Kevin Freking

Posted on 05/09/2005 4:20:01 PM PDT by Sub-Driver

Government to Reimburse Hospitals for Emergency Care for Illegal Aliens By Kevin Freking Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Health care providers can charge the government for emergency care provided to illegal aliens beginning Tuesday.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued final guidance Monday that sets up a system for reimbursement. Lawmakers set aside $1 billion over four years for the program, created by Medicare legislation passed in 2003.

For hospitals in border states, the additional money can mean the difference between running a profitable business or an unprofitable one, said Don May, vice president of policy for the American Hospital Association.

"I don't know if it will completely change their financial picture, but for those hospitals on the border, this is going to make a difference in ensuring they are there to treat the patients, not just the undocumented ones, but all the patients living in those communities," May said.

Two-thirds of the money will be distributed to health care providers based on a state's percentage of undocumented aliens. The remaining third will go to providers in the six states with the largest number of arrests of undocumented aliens.

The states receiving the highest amounts in the current fiscal year are California, $70.8 million; Texas, $46 million; Arizona, $45 million; and New York, $12.25 million.

Payments to providers will be made on a quarterly basis and will be adjusted proportionately if the bills exceed the state's allocation.

One group that advocates stricter immigration policies said the government's reimbursement of hospitals was the right thing to do.

(Excerpt) Read more at ap.tbo.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; healthcare; immigrantlist
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If this is true, the Liberal dream of socialized medicine and free hospitals paid for by the government begins on Tuesday, but only for citizens of OTHER COUNTRIES.

This article must be a hoax. I can't believe this is a legit article.


41 posted on 05/09/2005 4:56:41 PM PDT by captainblacksmith
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To: Gritty
"Sometimes I feel like Alice in Wonderland"

Same here. I'm retired. Why do I have to fork over $700 every three months for health coverage? Somethings wrong here.

42 posted on 05/09/2005 5:00:36 PM PDT by AGreatPer
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To: All
Another stealthy way (Unless you are paying attention) to slowly progress towards nationalized health care. Start it with reimbursing States for illegals (Using our money) and their "plight" then move on.

What could happen is that people would be riled up to A)Demand better border control B)Think "Hey, they get "free" health care why can't I" C)Vote every stinking crook that promises to do one thing but acts completely different out of DC.

Sadly most will chose A or B and just get a lot of chatter and useless debate. Oh yes, spending will still increase and the demand for border control will be spun by the leeches in DC that "will act" but never deliver.
43 posted on 05/09/2005 5:07:01 PM PDT by rollo tomasi (Working hard to pay for deadbeats and corrupt politicians)
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To: 1_Inch_Group; 2sheep; 2Trievers; 3AngelaD; 4.1O dana super trac pak; 4Freedom; 4ourprogeny; ...

ping


44 posted on 05/09/2005 5:17:01 PM PDT by gubamyster
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To: The Red Zone

I agree with you. Actually, this is an improvement. Congress long ago passed EMTALA which says that anyone showing up at an emergency room must be treated. It never did bother to say who was going to pay for this little mandate. The result has been an increasing tendency for people who don't want to pay to use ERs as the 7-11 of health care convenience. Even to the extent that they give fake names and IDs.

The federal government said it would pay by giving disproportionate share payments (aka pork) to states. They were theoretically supposed to pay for the care EMTALA required but the money doesn't necessarily go to the places that actually get stuck with the bill. A little suburban hospital in my city had an illegal construction worker dumped in their ER after he fell three stories. He was paralyzed and they had to absorb the half a million his treatment cost. Since they don't see a lot of Medicaid patients they didn't get a dime from the state DSH fund.

As a result, hospitals in areas with lots of illegals (Los Angeles, Texas, Arizona)have been going bankrupt. This is a stopgap measure to make sure that the people that deliver the care the Feds require at least get paid for it. The other good thing is that it will give us an idea of what it is really costing. Currently costs are buryied in individual hospital profit and loss statements.

The next problem is how to pay the docs that staff the ERs. When they treat a free care patient the hospitals make them eat it. As a result they are not willing to staff ERs...

As with so many other problems in health care, the root cause is forcing people to give their services away without expecting payment.


45 posted on 05/09/2005 5:22:43 PM PDT by cosine
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To: TheBattman
JUST $1 BILLION? That won't scratch the surface. Particularly when you consider that most illegals go to the hospital emergency room for what most of us would go to the Dr.'s office for "routine" care and ailments.

You are so right on with this comment. I recently took my five year old daughter to an emergency room here in Atlanta (she had a broken elbow). While checking in I noticed that the vast majority of people waiting seemed to be Hispanic...and this was in the north side of Atlanta, not L.A. I inquired about this with the check-in attendant(i.e. do Hispanics get sicker at a higher rate than whites and blacks?) and he just laughed at first. Then he went on to tell me that 90% of the Hispanics are on Medicade with no deductible so they bring their kids in with a sniffle or a sore throat. Meanwhile I handed him my American Express to cover my $75 co-pay. What a great country we are creating.

46 posted on 05/09/2005 6:03:55 PM PDT by crabapple joe
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To: Sub-Driver
The article mentions "emergency care". What it doesn't mention is long term care, a luxury afforded to illegal aliens at no cost to them. We have to pay for our own long-term care if needed, yet the illegals will still get it free of charge, still paid for by state taxpayers.

Bush throwing a small scrap to angry America...

47 posted on 05/09/2005 6:51:50 PM PDT by janetgreen (CLOSE THE BORDERS)
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To: JoanneSD

Bend over Freepers........Enjoy!!!!


48 posted on 05/09/2005 6:57:12 PM PDT by Sterco
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To: Sub-Driver

OK by me as long as the money comes out of the foreign aid we give to their home countries.


49 posted on 05/09/2005 8:01:47 PM PDT by glm
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To: Sub-Driver

Where's that punk Dane to tell us were all racists? LuizGonzales, you're up to bat.


50 posted on 05/09/2005 8:52:28 PM PDT by sixmil (In Free Trade We Trust)
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To: Peach
Well I assumed the president signed the bill into law. He is, after all, the president.

No, you're supposed to say, "Yes, that dirty rat fink, President Bush, sold us down the river when he signed this stupid law!"

Or, at least that's what I always say. ;)

51 posted on 05/09/2005 9:48:55 PM PDT by Ol' Dan Tucker ("There ought to be limits to freedom" --George W. Bush, May 26, 1999)
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To: Sub-Driver

All of the states except Arizona are what's called sanctuary states that give aid, comfort and pander to the illegals. That is where a lot of the problems come from. These other three states run interference with the federal government to try and keep them from doing anything with the illegals.


52 posted on 05/09/2005 9:52:22 PM PDT by AIC
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To: the anti-liberal

If you were awake at 4AM the morning that they passed this bill, they may have asked you. So far as I know, this bill was snuck through the American people in the middle of the night by the REPUBLICAN Congress. We have sorry a$$ people in Washington now.


53 posted on 05/09/2005 11:25:12 PM PDT by texastoo (a "has-been" Republican)
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To: Sub-Driver
The remaining third will go to providers in the six states with the largest number of arrests of undocumented aliens.

An interesting incentive to increase arrests of illegals.

54 posted on 05/09/2005 11:45:08 PM PDT by Once-Ler ("They call me 'The Pork King,' they don't know how much I enjoy it." - Sen. Robert Byrd)
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To: Sub-Driver
Insane in the Brain.

An American Expat in Southeast Asia

55 posted on 05/09/2005 11:46:24 PM PDT by expatguy (http://laotze.blogspot.com/)
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To: the anti-liberal

"$1 billion over four years... but will that even be enough?"

250 million dollars a year will not be enough. They will send even more patience across the border once the feds help pay. It will, however, be a quick fix solution for keeping some ERs available near the border.

And get this: Mexico has is the fifth richest country in the world! Why do we give them any aid? And why do we allow such a rich country's convicts to come here for a 'fresh start'? It's not our fault that there's such vast disparity there. Maybe they need to take another look at all their socialist ideology.


56 posted on 05/10/2005 2:53:30 AM PDT by Arthur Wildfire! March (<<<< Profile page streamlined, solely devoted Schiavo research)
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To: Ol' Dan Tucker

LOL. I have to get that rule memorized.


57 posted on 05/10/2005 4:33:49 AM PDT by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever killed or captured.)
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To: Sub-Driver

Great. Now everyone who shows up without insurance will be deemed an "illegal alien" and the federal government billed for their care. That billion bucks is going to evaporate in 4 months, not 4 years.


58 posted on 05/10/2005 6:15:23 AM PDT by John Jorsett (email: mistersandiego yahoo.com (put the at sign in between those two))
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To: Sub-Driver

One billion? How long will that last? A month?
And why are my hard-earned tax dollars going to pay for a bunch of illegals?


59 posted on 05/10/2005 6:22:26 AM PDT by Little Ray (I'm a reactionary, hirsute, gun-owning, knuckle dragging, Christian Neanderthal and proud of it!)
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To: Sub-Driver

Okay, so let me see if I can remember all of this. I am now responsible for my healthcare costs, my family's healthcare costs, the one-fourth of Tennesseans on TennCare's healthcare costs, the senior citizen's on Medicare's healthcare costs, the welfare queens on Medicaid's healthcare costs, and now the stinking criminal invader's healthcare costs. Did I miss anybody?



60 posted on 05/10/2005 6:58:37 AM PDT by tnlibertarian
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