No Myth: Illegal Immigrants Covered under Obamacare

Since he obviously can't be bothered reading the bills he insists we need to support, Obama might be forgiven for characterizing as a myth something which is not one. Mark Tapscott highlights a report establishing that ObamaCare will cover illegal immigrants.

Among the many claims being made durng the August recess by Democrats from President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, to the lowliest back-bencher is that Obamacare absolutely, positively, cannot possibly ever in a million, zillion years provide coverage to illegal immigrants.

Just this past weekend during his regular Saturday address - devoted to addressing what he called "false claims about reform" - Obama said he wants "an honest debate" on health care reform, "not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright distortions."

In what he called the "first myth" being spread by critics of his proposal for a government-run health care system, Obama said they are wrong in claiming illegal immigrants will be covered: "That is not true. Illegal immigrants would not be covered. That idea has not even been on the table." Obama said.

Well, Mr. President, that idea must have been tucked under a stack of background briefing papers over there in the corner of the table because the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says this about H.R. 3200, the Obamacare bill approved just before the recess by the House Energy and Commerce Committee chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA:

"Under H.R. 3200, a 'Health Insurance Exchange' would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option...H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens-whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently-participating in the Exchange."

CRS also notes that the bill has no provision for requiring those seeking coverage or services to provided proof of citizenship. So, absent some major amendments to the legislation and a credible, concrete enforcement effort in action, looks like the myth on this issue is the one being spread by Obama, Reid, Pelosi, et. al.

Let me remind you of this as well:

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far.

New Penalties

Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties. “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)
What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment? The vagueness is intentional. In his book, Daschle proposed an appointed body with vast powers to make the “tough” decisions elected politicians won’t make.

The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.

On its face it looks “legit” ...

The important thing to remember about Section 246 is that it ONLY applies to the "affordability credits" described in THAT subtitle. It does not apply to any other provision of the bill.

They aren't allowed to get subsidies from the government in order to help them pay for insurance, but they are not excluded from any other part of the bill, and as the other poster pointed out, it is illegal for anyone to ask about citizenship status when providing health care services.

In addition, all it takes is one anchor baby for an entire household to qualify for the "affordability credits." That's described in another part of the credit language. So the ban on illegal immigrants getting affordability credits won't apply to large numbers of illegal immigrants - a family of ten with a newborn US-citizen baby will all be 100% eligible by virtue of that baby's citizenship.

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I recently posted without reading all the comments (a poor decision on my part). I see the issue of section 246 is already brought up. What the “affordability credits” are applies to Health Insurance Exchange and the bill as a whole. The only way illegal immigrants would be able to get health care in this bill is to pay for it (I haven’t been able to find any documentation that says otherwise). The affordability credits apply to need-based individuals that apply for the credits—all tax-paying Americans are eligible for those credits so long as their modified adjusted gross income does not exceed 400% of the Federal poverty level. Those credits do not pay for everything; they pay a percentage of cost-sharing in basic plans only (public or private). That means that premiums are still charged. For more information on illegal immigrants in the bill visit: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2165013/are_illegal_immigrants_covered_under.html?cat=75

Again, I urge everyone to read the sections of the bill in question, see how those sections relate to the rest of the bill, and then make an informed decision that is not based on my own banter.

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