US: Health Cover For Illegal Immigrants?

Obama’s Plan: The United States President Barack Obama, has a magical plan in his mind to avert granting any healthcare benefits or coverage to undocumented immigrants. “The best means to deal with any illegal immigrants is to make them legal. We should strive at making a complete reform for them to have legal PR”, he said.

The Health Care Bill: The way the bill is being written with respect to covering illegal immigrants is unclear and can be comprehended as to cover as well as exclude illegal aliens. The main question raised is how to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants. In June, the National Council of La Raza asked the Congress to pay for to render the illegal immigrants’ taxpayer-funded health care under the bill. If the bill is passed, President Obama can be certain of lack of America’s support.

Public Health Perils: According to the Director of the El Paso heath district, infectious diseases that were earlier brought under control have again become apparent along the border. About 57.8% of all fresh cashes of tuberculosis have been reported in the United States. The TB virus rate found in foreign-born people was 9.8 times greater than what was found in people born in the USA. These illegal aliens are now being found in sectors of food-processing & hospitality services.
Effect On Health Costs: All because of these illegal immigrants, health care costs could get higher. These stats can be vague as hospitals do not ask for a patient’s legal status prior to their check-up. A seven-year old study in California by Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated the state’s yearly healthcare costs at $1.4 billion. The same figure for Texas in the year 2006 was $1.3 billion in 2006. Moreover, about 59% of people are residing illegally and uninsured.
Fear Health Check-Ups: A number of such illegal immigrants fear health check-ups as they don’t wish to be deported. This outweighs the pain of the illness or injury for them. Jessica Roberts, a nursing assistant said, “Countless Hispanic patients fear to come and see the doctors as they don’t know who they will encounter. She recalls a woman who arrived eight months pregnant with her child for her first ever prenatal visit.

Catch-22 For Hospitals: The doctors at various hospitals are experiencing a difficult situation. Sharon Coulter James, senior VP University of North Carolina Hospitals said, “We’re experiencing a real catch-22. We can’t put any patient in an unhealthy surrounding but someone else deserves the beds more than those.” Moreover, there are some hospitals which are unaffordable for low-income groups. At Duplin General Hospital, CEO Harvey Case says, “We’re facing losses regularly. For us, the challenge is to continue afloat.”