Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

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.