Posted on 07/12/2006 7:14:49 PM PDT by Dysart
FORT WORTH -- The Tarrant County League of Women Voters is joining another political advocacy groups campaign to expand publicly funded healthcare to illegal immigrants through JPS Health Network clinics.
The group is expected to ask the Tarrant County Hospital District board Thursday to reverse its position on charity care for illegal immigrants at JPS clinics. The board could consider the request at its August meeting.
The board voted in 2004 to restrict charity care to legal residents of Tarrant County. Illegal immigrants can still access JPS clinics if they have health insurance or if they pay cash for services.
I think the public needs to be aware that JPS is a public hospital district, and there is a mission to the poor and low-income residents of Tarrant County, said Charlotte Hyams, first vice president of the Tarrant County League of Women Voters. We are going to urge the board to reconsider their 2004 vote. We believe that JPS mission is to provide healthcare for the indigent, including the undocumented immigrants who live here.
Under federal law, no patient can be denied treatment in an emergency room. The JPS board voted 6-4 to prevent illegal immigrants from utilizing the networks charity program, Connection, following an opinion issued by the Texas attorney general that leaves the decision up to hospital districts whether to extend such programs to noncitizens.
Last month, Allied Communities of Tarrant asked the JPS board to include illegal immigrants in charity healthcare. Board Chairwoman Erma Johnson Hadley, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, said last month that the board would consider the issue after JPS administrators studied the impact of such a policy change.
Some JPS board members have said that the taxpayer-supported hospital district must first serve the legal residents of Tarrant County before spending money on illegal immigrants. In an informal poll of the 11-member board, a majority say they would vote to continue prohibiting illegal immigrants from receiving charity care at JPS clinics.
JPS staff members are gathering information from other public hospitals to estimate the cost of servicing the undocumented population, said JPS spokesman Robert Earley, senior vice president of public affairs and advocacy.
We are also in the midst of communicating with any and all sources to best determine what the undocumented population is for Tarrant County, he said. I have asked ACT to provide any numbers that they have.
JPS is also analyzing its own records to help estimate how many illegal immigrants may live in Tarrant County. After JPS stopped serving illegal immigrants at its clinics in 2004, about 3,100 such patients were identified as enrolled in Connection, according to Star-Telegram archives.
Although the issue is not on todays hospital board agenda, members of Allied Communities of Tarrant and the Tarrant County League of Women Voters said they will ask the board to vote on the policy at the August meeting.
We are trying to maintain a relationship with JPS because they do a lot of good things, said Patricia Gaffney, a spokeswoman for Allied Communities.
The group, which is made up of mostly church leaders, presented a plan to help JPS better reach the countys indigent population and to help educate the public about how to access the public health system.
JPS officials say they would welcome a grassroots relationship with Allied Communities to better serve those in need of healthcare.
Hyams of the League of Women Voters said her group of about 150 members has studied the issue of healthcare for illegal immigrants since September. They will present their findings today at the JPS board meeting.
I was just thinking the same thing. There would be nothing to prevent the League from paying for all the ILLEGAL health care that it, or any liberal group, wants to pay for. Just quit sucking the taxpayers dry.
That's it. I shall email them my idea at once. I'm sure my little program for them will be just the ticket to remove their liberal guilt or feed their philanthropic urges. And it won't cost me a dime. :)
A Somali arrives in Minneapolis as a new immigrant to the United States. He
stops the first person he sees walking down the street and says, "Thank
you
Mr. American for letting me in this country, and giving me housing, food
stamps, free medical care and free education!"
But the passer-by says "You are mistaken, I am Mexican."
The man goes on and encounters another passer-by. "Thank you for having
such
a beautiful country here in America!"
The person says "I no American, I Vietnamese."
The new arrival walks further, and the next person he sees he stops, shakes
his hand and says "Thank you for the wonderful America!"
That person puts up his hand and says "I am from Middle East, I am not an
American!"
He finally sees a nice lady and asks suspiciously, "Are you an
American?"
She says, "No, I am from Russia!" So he is puzzled, and asks her,
"Where are
all the Americans?"
The Russian lady looks at her watch, shrugs, and says ... "Probably at
work!"
I think the public needs to be aware that JPS is a public hospital district, and there is a mission to the poor and low-income residents of Tarrant County, said Charlotte Hyams, first vice president of the Tarrant County League of Women Voters. We are going to urge the board to reconsider their 2004 vote. We believe that JPS mission is to provide healthcare for the indigent, including the undocumented immigrants who live here.
Fine. If that is what you think the mission is, Ms. Charlotte Hyams, YOU can pay for these illegal migrants healthcare. I DON'T WANT TO!!!
BEGS the question; "Why do women think they have anything to say that's worth listening to?"
No doubt rates would lower if everyone would receiving "free" health care paid their fair share. I've toyed with the idea of what the value of a tax refund(for recovered subsidized health care) would be myself. I do realize that there will always be a certain percentage of people who cannot pay for a multitude of valid reasons. I'm okay with that. But for citizens of another country sneak into this country and take these benefits which they are not entitled to, then I have a problem. One of the biggest inflationary factors in high health care costs is, of course, excessive litigation. But that's a whole 'nother subject.
I'm uninsured as well currently and have been for a couple of years. I was misdiagnosed with a rare blood disorder two years ago, and have been informed that even though the dx was erroneous, I must wait three years before they can underwrite me. I'm self-employed(in the health care industry!) and have been paying out of pocket for my medical expenses for two years now. Fortunately, this hasn't amounted to much as I'm actually quite healthy.
So far we have no support on this thread for "free" health care for illegals. It's a tiny sample, granted, but I say it reflects the wishes of most.
Okay, I'm hoping your being funny. There are some brain-dead males out there, Gore et el, who really aren't worth listening to either!
ping
If you can find an email or physical address, why don't you post it on this thread so we can ALL make the same suggestion? I tried Google but could find no contact info.
Exactly. I can't believe some people think they have the right to go into your wallet and hand out your hard earned money.
Advocates of socialized medicine see it the opposite way: "If we can give free health care to illegals, then we have a powerful argument that citizens should get it too." It's a deliberate, Trojan Horse approach to adopting HillaryCare.
Excellent proposal.
susie
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