Monday
Sep212009
Baucus Bill Could Delay Legal Immigrant Health Care Access
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 5:07PM
By Travis Martinez
University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Today, four immigration advocacy organizations urged the Senate Finance Committee Monday to provide legal and illegal immigrants with healthcare access. The National Immigration Law Center, the Center for Community Change, the National Council for La Raza and the National Immigration Forum are asking members of Congress to include provisions for legals in the recently unveiled America's Healthy Future Act. The Senate Finance Committee is slated to begin markup of the plan tomorrow.
Sonal Amegaokar is a health policy attorney of the National Immigration Law Center. She said that the glut of eligibility provisions currently in place could inadvertently block millions of eligible immigrants from receiving the benefits provided through the legislation. “At worst, the (healthcare reform legislation) will make it more difficult for eligible people from getting the coverage they deserve,” she said. “Health care reform today is progressing but is clearly not reflecting the reality of our society today... The more people you have covered and the more people you have paying into the system, it’s a better system for all of us."
"The exclusion of immigrants creates a serious racial justice concern for the center of community change,” said Kate Kahan of the Center for Community Change.
The bill was released last week by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. The bill would create tax credits for small-businesses to offer insurance for their employees; allow people to maintain their existing coverage; standardize Medicaid coverage to people living 133 percent below the poverty level and create tax incentives for health care providers to use electronic medical records. The plan would cost $856 million over the next ten years.
Baucus said that his plan would not add to the federal deficit and would be funded "through increased focus on quality, efficiency, prevention and adjustments in federal health program payments" according to his website.
http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/LEG 2009/091609 Americas_Healthy_Future_Act.pdf.
University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Today, four immigration advocacy organizations urged the Senate Finance Committee Monday to provide legal and illegal immigrants with healthcare access. The National Immigration Law Center, the Center for Community Change, the National Council for La Raza and the National Immigration Forum are asking members of Congress to include provisions for legals in the recently unveiled America's Healthy Future Act. The Senate Finance Committee is slated to begin markup of the plan tomorrow.
Sonal Amegaokar is a health policy attorney of the National Immigration Law Center. She said that the glut of eligibility provisions currently in place could inadvertently block millions of eligible immigrants from receiving the benefits provided through the legislation. “At worst, the (healthcare reform legislation) will make it more difficult for eligible people from getting the coverage they deserve,” she said. “Health care reform today is progressing but is clearly not reflecting the reality of our society today... The more people you have covered and the more people you have paying into the system, it’s a better system for all of us."
"The exclusion of immigrants creates a serious racial justice concern for the center of community change,” said Kate Kahan of the Center for Community Change.
The bill was released last week by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee. The bill would create tax credits for small-businesses to offer insurance for their employees; allow people to maintain their existing coverage; standardize Medicaid coverage to people living 133 percent below the poverty level and create tax incentives for health care providers to use electronic medical records. The plan would cost $856 million over the next ten years.
Baucus said that his plan would not add to the federal deficit and would be funded "through increased focus on quality, efficiency, prevention and adjustments in federal health program payments" according to his website.
http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/LEG 2009/091609 Americas_Healthy_Future_Act.pdf.
Reader Comments (4)
“The exclusion of immigrants creates a serious racial justice concern for the center of community change,” said Kate Kahan of the Center for Community Change."
Legal immigrants do now, and will continue to purchase health insurance. Illegal aliens should be given emergency health care and stabilization and then be deported. No more, no less. Why on earth is race brought up? Is this lady so dumb that she doesn't know illegal aliens come from every race, ethnicity and country? The only thing they all have in common is braking our laws! The 1986 amnesty was a total failure! Never again!
If healthcare "reform" passes with mandatory coverage for all Americans and legal residents, every lawyer (including the Pres) knows even if illegals are excluded there will be a constitutional review. And, ladies and gentlemen, our Supremes have already stated in other decisions that if "everyone else" is included, it is unconstitutional to exclude illegals. So the real worry is mandatory inclusion, and EVERY lawyer working on this bill knows it. Tricky, aren't they.
Illegal aliens already get FREE healthcare! Imagine that! You are in this Country ILLEGALLY and you get FREE healthcare from the American taxpayers!
Illegal aliens have made America the dumping ground for all their illegal alien children, then we have to school them and give them free medical care.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSe3C5vMafM&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ZnX9JRo5M&NR=1
I for one, am sick and tired of these ILLEGAL ALIENS snubbing their nose at our immigration laws and the many other laws of this Country. If our Federal Government can not ENFORCE our immigration laws, and get these ILLEGAL ALIENS out of this Country, then let the States do it! One way or another, an end has to come to this illegal immigration, and not with AMNESTY! Amnesty will only encourage more ILLEGAL ALIENS to invade our Country and reward those who broke our laws and raped the American taxpayer in many ways...depressing our wages, taking our jobs, overwhelming our schools with their ILLEGAL ALIEN children, driving without a license or car insurance, all the crime from stolen identities to rape, drugs and everything else.
It's time for ZERO TOLERENCE with these ILLEGAL ALIENS. It's time for them get out of this Country and back in their own Country where they belong. When we get rid of the ILLEGAL ALIENS, we will get rid of all the problems that go with them. THAT IS A FACT!
The only way that Congress will pass immigration reform, is by--FORCING---it through the House and Senate? There is the gigantic obstacle of public opinion on this conflagration of an issues and it will only be enacted over the dead carcasses of the American culture. We have already seen the utter indifference of our legislators who have trampled on citizens rights to allow millions of cheap foreign labor past our borders and ports of entry. They have spawned awesome lies, to cater to the business world, whose wealthy favors have performed for those in seats of power. In the majority of laws passed by both Democrats and Republicans, the overall authority--THE PEOPLE--have intentionally been left with no redress? This is likely to happen with another path to citizenship, whom by no means deserves such an award. They knew full well the consequences of breaking into another country and should bare the penalty of deportation.
Compassion doesn't enter the situation, because in most other countries deportation is far from the worst solution that awaits you? We are governed by the "Rule of Law" and without it; we would become just another dictatorship. Last time there was a very lenient AMNESTY, the whole enactment turned into fraudulent pantomime. Our country cannot afford to keep turning a blind eye to the rampant corruption in Washington? This time the American people are fully united in a cause to stop this path to citizenship, because the outcome is exorbitant taxes to support those already here and those who will descend on us afterwards? The conveyor belt must be stopped or our beautiful country will turn into a toilet bowl of poverty stricken foreigners, who do not assimilate and have no intentions of speaking the common language.
In nighttime committees they have secretly under funded the border fence, 287 G, a federal training program to apprehend illegal aliens on the streets and highway by the police. They have all but rescinded the no-match-letter, to disclose illegal immigrants in the factory, office, store or any industry. ICE raids have been smothered by a lady Napolitano with questionable excuses? Then pro-illegal immigration comrades Sen.Harry Reid, Speaker Pelosi tried to restrain E-Verify, the verification identity process available on any computer, but were defeated by the voices of millions of the US population. Both have very low rating in the public domain; both are elected officials of massive illegal families in their home states.
Now in corrupted legislation they want to count the 20 million plus illegal immigrants in the 2010 census, and thereby stealing congressional seats from states with smaller populations who should be receiving the correct slice of federal billion dollar funding. California--the SANCTUARY STATE--should be cut off sharply from any extra money from the government, owing that they genuflected to the foreign invasion and released millions of dollars in citizen welfare, to any body not legally in this country. Some Border States cities are more like third world enclaves, instead of the 1980's shining metropolises. Our health care has suffered almost irreparable damage from free treatment, our schools and other public services have also been jettisoned to attain more indigent foreign labor.
All the billions spent should have been allocated to repairing our collapsing infrastructure, instead of pandering to the business consortium's, congregational religion, unions, mega business entities and a nefarious mix of ethnic organizations. Don't let your politicians of the hook. Contact them at 202-224-3121 and demand--NO MORE-- Immigration Reform. Find out who is undermining immigration enforcement laws, and remember to throw them out of office. There is a distinct smell of corruption in the hierarchy on the Potomac that you need to learn about at NUMBERSUSA & JUDICIAL WATCH. Quasi government agencies as with the Council of Foreign Relation are part of a silent conspiracy to remove all borders to the free flow of labor, lowering wages between Canada, Mexico and the USA.