RE :”
I don't have a problem with a private organization deciding who they want to treat, and if that includes illegal aliens who can't pay, so be it. The consequence of government regulations controlling who businessmen can sell to are far worse than a private hospital making its own decisions on who they'll accept as a nonpaying patient. Same for a nonprofit organization — if a Roman Catholic or Baptist hospital sees part of its key mission being providing medical care for those who can't afford it, I don't want government regulating their religious mission by mandating proof of citizenship first. The real issue is whether illegal aliens should be allowed to get medical care at government-run hospitals. That's a legitimate public policy question, and I'm open to arguments for or against it, though as with anything else, we need to show a clear and pressing need for a change before making a change of that magnitude. ”
In Maryland they add a specific tax on our hospital bill that goes into a fund for the hospitals treating un-insured. Because Maryland is a illegal friendly state, offering a huge ID loophole for illegals in getting a drivers license you know illegals are a huge beneficiary of this treatment. This tax is intended so that hospitals in areas of high illegal concentration (and uninsured) like Baltimore do not get stuck anymore than those with low #s of illegals.
The federal government should offer to re-imburse hospitals that verify the ID of the patients, or notify them if they cant.
sickoflibs posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 11:41:59 AM: “In Maryland they add a specific tax on our hospital bill that goes into a fund for the hospitals treating un-insured. Because Maryland is a illegal friendly state, offering a huge ID loophole for illegals in getting a drivers license you know illegals are a huge beneficiary of this treatment. This tax is intended so that hospitals in areas of high illegal concentration (and uninsured) like Baltimore do not get stuck anymore than those with low #s of illegals. The federal government should offer to re-imburse hospitals that verify the ID of the patients, or notify them if they cant.”
Okay, I think I now see your point.
There's an important difference between a private company choosing to write off a loss or a charitable organization viewing service to those who can't pay as part of its charitable mission, on the one hand, and a state levying a special tax on those who can pay for health care to pay for those who can't pay.
Yes, I know that the cost from those who can't pay their medical bill gets passed on to everybody else who uses that hospital, but that's a decision by the owners or trustees of the hospital that would be taken into account by patients in a truly capitalist health care system. I realize that's not the way things work now due to the realities of insurance, but the solution is to move toward more capitalism in health care, not less.