Posted on 08/26/2003 8:57:21 AM PDT by Robert Drobot
The Arizona Supreme Court has rejected a plea by the state's Medicaid provider to limit medical coverage for illegal immigrants to emergency room and acute care.
The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS, manager of the state's Medicaid program, is obligated to provide care to illegals beyond emergency room and other acute care wards, justices ruled unanimously Thursday.
According to Capitol Media Services and the Arizona Daily Star, AHCCCS – which currently pays $75 million to $80 million a year in emergency care for illegals – had refused to reimburse hospitals for services it said were not covered. About one-third of that amount is covered by state taxpayers; the federal government covers the rest.
AHCCCS had argued it was only obligated to pay for emergency treatment – coverage that stopped once patients were moved to non-acute care wards. But Justice Michael Ryan, writing for the high court, called that definition far too narrow.
Frank Lopez, a spokesman for the Medicaid agency, said officials would have to review the ruling, but he expressed confidence AHCCCS would end up paying for the care of illegals who previously were not considered the state's obligation.
A series of lawsuits followed after AHCCCS refused to pay for the extra care in several cases.
In consolidating the complaints, justices said the state Medicaid agency could not base its decision whether or not to pay the claims on where the care was being given at hospitals.
"Whether a patient suffers from an emergency medical condition (that the state must cover) does not depend upon the type of bed or facility the patient may be in at any given time," Justice Ryan wrote.
He said AHCCCS must instead use a standard of care based on whether a patient's symptoms have, or could, put them in serious jeopardy, seriously impair function or result in a severe dysfunction of any organ or body part.
Despite the justices' ruling, the high court did not say whether AHCCCS would have to cover any of the bills that resulted in the lawsuits. Rather, the high court sent the case back to trial judges, asking them to review each patient's record using the correct standard.
Critics of providing unlimited medical care to illegals argue many of them use emergency departments as clinics, a practice that not only can delay care for others but, since E.R. care is more expensive, can also raise the overall costs of operating a hospital. This is especially true in areas suffering from high immigration.
As WorldNetDaily reported, the cost of providing medical care to illegals in and around Los Angeles is rising so fast that many hospitals have cut services or closed emergency departments.
According to Project USA, an immigration reform group, the problem is "epidemic" throughout California. The group adds the problem is compounded because fewer taxes are being paid to support care for illegals.
"Since employers usually pay illegal aliens 'off the books,' neither the employer nor the workers pay payroll taxes," the group says.
Regarding health care, former immigration Lawyer Matt Hayes said "it is amazing that America is willing to provide free medical treatment to people who are not citizens – and even illegal aliens – while the home countries of most all of those people will not do so."
"For the fiscally conservative, free medical treatment for illegal aliens in an emergency is better than free medical treatment for illegal aliens for all maladies, all the time," Hayes said in a column for Fox News.
"But because America is now deluged with illegal immigrants like it has never been – 8 million by the most recent government estimate – the cost to taxpayers, even for emergency medical treatment, has skyrocketed," he said.
The Border Counties Coalition, formed by the elected officials of the 24 U.S. counties that border Mexico, Hayes said, reported medical expenses for illegal immigrations in 2000 was $832 million just for those counties.
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., says the cost to the entire nation is in the billions.
"According to one estimate, the cost of providing federally-mandated health care to illegal immigrants is between $1.5 billion and $2 billion annually," he said in a Jan. 11, 2002 statement.
Related stories:
Illegals busting education budget
Illegals crushing L.A. health system?
Mass immigration causing urban 'bloat'
Immigration fueling California growth
'Army' to patrol southwest border?
Border becoming smuggler's paradise
Expert: Crack down on illegals inside U.S.
Dual citizenship for Mexicans?
Document fraud imperils homeland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon E. Dougherty is a staff reporter and columnist for WorldNetDaily.
Ryan needs to know we've nothing left for our families. We have been reduced to living from paycheck to paycheck, because this leach and his arrogant fat black robe buddies are no better than the outlaws he is feeding from our tables.
Ryan, is clueless. The system has been toe tagged, and waiting burial. Fair weather and happy days are over for him and the rest of the arrogant gutter scum blowhards running government.
Because President Bush could care less if Mexican's and others that are in our country illegally, obey the law. You just keep working and paying taxes, as they need your money. And you better obey all laws or else!
The Congress is comprised of corrupted scum who don't give a damn about borders, language, culture and American business.
The presidency has been visited by a succession of men who believe they have a manifest destiny to develop a multi-national corporate mind-set within the NWO through a failed no borders trade policy that has paralyzed the ability of small business to employ Americans and compete with cheap foreign competition.
An imperial 'executive' arrogance has no compunction with using taxpayer money and blood to wage war with any force competing with that goal - using its vast bureaucratic army to unload contrived subterfuges to manipulate America into supporting their lofty goal - to save us from ourselves.
The majority of the Supreme Court shredded its oath of office when it allowed Lincoln to wage war on states that withdrew from the union, and mocked our sacred Constitution ever since. They believe they are only talk to God, provided He will acknowledge they are 'supreme'.
Thomas Jefferson correctly observed, "The constitutions of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed; that they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property and freedom of the press."
More to the point, he observed, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
Government in America has been stolen by the greatest threat to our ability to provided for our own. We are surrounded by pretenders in church and in government. We have tyranny in government, and from within Christianity.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.