Posted on 07/05/2011 12:37:26 PM PDT by jazusamo
While the Obama Administration halts deportations to work on its secret amnesty plan, hospitals across the U.S. are getting stuck with the exorbitant tab of medically treating illegal immigrants and some are finally demanding compensation from the federal government.
The group that represents most of the nation’s hospitals and medical providers recently urged President Obama to work with Congress to reimburse them for the monstrous cost of treating illegal immigrants. Federal law requires facilities to “treat and stabilize individuals” regardless of their immigration status, but federal support for the services remains “virtually nonexistent,” according to a letter submitted by the American Hospital Association to the president.
This week officials in California, the state with the largest concentration of illegal immigrants, joined the call for federal compensation after revealing that hospitals there spend about $1.25 billion annually to care for illegal aliens. The figure skyrocketed from $1.05 billion in 2007, according to California Hospital Association figures quoted in a local news report.
The problem will only get worst, according to officials, who say the $1.25 billion for 2010 could actually be higher. They complain that federal law forces them to treat patients in emergency rooms regardless of immigration status yet they get stuck with the financial burden. This has forced many hospitals to curtail services or close beds and could ultimately compromise healthcare.
Nationwide, U.S. taxpayers spend tens of billions of dollars annually to provide free medical care for illegal immigrants with states that border Mexico taking the biggest hit. Adding to the problem is the fact that Mexico, the country that provides the largest amount of illegal immigrants in the U.S., has long promoted America’s generous public health centers. It even operates a Spanish-language program (Ventanillas de Salud, Health Windows) in about a dozen U.S. cities that refers its nationals—living in the country illegally—to publicly funded health centers where they can get free medical care without being turned over to immigration authorities.
Heh---good one.
Education costs are the lion’s share of illegal immigrant costs and that is saying something.
LOL.
“While the Obama Administration halts deportations to work on its secret amnesty plan, hospitals across the U.S. are getting stuck with the exorbitant tab of medically treating illegal immigrants and some are finally demanding compensation from the federal government. “
They are not only suck by the Federal Government with the bill of treating illegal immigrants but everyone else who shows up in the emergency room due to the 1986 Federal COBRA act.
The Federal Government morally owes theses hospitals competition for the losses the Federal goverment forces upon them with COBRA.
I was out of town at the time. My mother took her in.
Thanks sickoflibs.
The question still remains, why were ER resources used when there are other, less expensive alternatives available?
Because the ER is the only thing my mother would ever consider. She would view the “other alternatives” as for the indigents and thus would never go. She’s very narrow in many respects.
solution??? raise taxes
$1.25 billion my ass...
With the heavy representation in Los Angeles, it would be preposterous to claim the cost was this low even in that one city.
My family and I attended a sporting event at RFK High School, where the Ambassador Hotel used to be. RFK was shot there.
The RFK school was built at a cost of $500 million dollars.
When our team showed up for the event, a member of the other team was heard to say something to the effect that our team was ‘too white’. In actuality, our team is not too white. It’s probably more like 80% hispanic.
While on the campus at RFK, we didn’t see one white child other than those on our team. Not one.
One of my family members made a joke while on campus. They said, you get to slug me every time you see a white student. They didn’t get slugged once.
This reverse racism goes unaddressed, and we’re the ones footing all the bills and getting fleeced in the process.
$1.25 billion. Liars...
Yet it is the 'indigents' that go to the ER. OK, well it seems your mom needs to be better educated about this. Emergency means EMERGENCY, and getting cough syrup doesn't quite meet it. Have a healthy day.
Solution: Take all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Put about 25,000 of them along the Mexican border. This will save hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
Thank you FRiend!
LLS
I tend to agree though am not aware of other figures. There’s tons of illegals in CA and I’d guess the majority get free medical care.
That RFK high school is pathetic, there were articles on it here on FR a couple years back. I believe it was the most expensive high school in the country and CA is now broke and probably the LA school district too.
Now that’s funny!
This is only about 1/3 or less of the public spending on illegal alien health care. The state gives them free health care programs that let them take their kids in, so the spending by hospitals for free walk in treatment is only a small part of the story. Then there is education, welfare, crime, unemployment. We would have a huge surplus, and a better employment situation, if the government would simply enforce the law.
$1.25 Billion On Illegal Immigrants and I would say it goes much higher than 1.25.billion..
Thanks for the post; ping. DEFUND socialist collectives, foreign and domestic.
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