Friday, September 25, 2009

Wrong problem

Census data published this week shows by area of the country percentage of people without health insurance. Those states with the lowest percentages invariably have the fewest illegal aliens. Maybe tackling the problem of health care reform should start with the illegals.

We can't truly judge the costs of our health care while we allow 8-12 million people to abuse the system. Reform proponents are often touting the cost of treating the uninsured at E.R.s. My guess is that if we had data broken down demographically about which groups abuse the E.R most often Illegals would head the list.

We need to cure the problem not treat the symptoms.

3 comments:

  1. E-verify could become a very significant immigration enforcement weapon, as it’s shown to work extremely well? Opponents have used the courts in erroneous lawsuits as a delaying factor but failed to impress a Maryland federal judge. This application discloses unauthorized immigrants in the workplace, being continually modified in its operation as spreads into the business world. It now has been unleashed on government contractors and subcontractors to locate illegal foreign labor. We should reward those government public servants who have battled outside special interest groups for American workers. But denying elected office to those who tried to kill or weaken its capabilities. Americans should harass their politicians to enact E-Verify permanently and prepare its operational program offering many uses in the incessant law enforcement fight.

    In credit practices it could determine a person’s right to buy any vehicle, if in the United Statesillegally. It could also disrupt radical organizations like ACORN that was instrumental in assisting foreign nationals buying house mortgages, which had a major impact in the real estate collapse. E-Verify should also be installed in financial institutions, to stop fraudulent transactions using bogus SS # or IRS ITIN loan identification numbers. E-Verify could help emergency rooms identify illegal immigrants using forged documents and enable law enforcement to track the employer. That business should be forced to pay for the person’s injury or treatment instead of the proverbial taxpayers. Schools, colleges could check new student admittances for their immigration status. The E-Verification identification system could accomplish numerous other extraction processes, in determining a person’s right to government benefits. In addition, I'm for Health Reform and public option for some family members. Illegal immigrants should be exempt, except for emergency hospital access.

    DON'T LET E-VERIFY EXPIRE ON SEPTEMBER 30? CALL YOUR LAWMAKER AT 202-224-3121 AND DEMAND OTHER USES. E-VERIFY COULD HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT, IN THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF OUR COUNTRY. CUT-OFF ALL BENEFITS. INSIST ON RESCINDING THE BIRTHRIGHT LAW, APPLICABLE TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MOTHERS. WE NEED NO NEW AMNESTY. E-VERIFY COULD SAVE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT IS BEING PAID OUT TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN SANCTUARY CITIES AND STATES. IN ADDITION SAY--NO--TO FOREIGN NATIONALS BEING COUNTED IN THE 2010 CENSUS. GOOGLE-- NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIAL WATCH & CAPSWEB FOR FACTS ON YOUR DOLLARS, STATISTICS, OVERPOPULATION, FAILING INFRASTRUCTURE AND CORRUPTION IN WASHINGTON.

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  2. I haven't looked at the Census data, so my question is only a question, not an assertion.

    Is there a direct correlation between the number of illegal immigrants and the percentage of uninsured? Or could there also be a significant indirect correlation?

    I'm thinking, off the top of my head, that the states that immigrants (legal or not) might be most likely to gravitate toward would also be the states with lots of big, diverse cities. And in those big cities you might have lots and lots of low paying jobs that don't offer a full menu of benefits.

    I'd also note that ER abuse is pretty widespread, not just among illegal immigrants. I work in Human Services, with many families that have low incomes, not much education, and are dealing with a variety of disabilites (from mental illness to mental retardation, learning disabilities, substance abuse, etc). I see a lot of the clients I work with (and their families) going to the ER again and again because their doctor couldn't get them in that afternoon for a cold, because there's no urgent care facility close by (I work in a rural community), and because they basically just don't know that this isn't a cool thing to do (or sometimes just don't care). I have listened to many, many people tell me about their trip to the ER to let a doctor know they had a migraine, or forget to get their prescription renewed, or to check out a persistent cold.

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  3. Jockeystreet, Looking at the census data they only listed the states and percentages of uninsured. It was just an observation on my part of the states and references from the news of states with high incidents of illegal immigrant problems Texas, California,and Florida were all near the top of the list.

    My point was until we deal with factors like illegal immigration it's hard to make proper choices in health care reform.

    A step by step approach to reform would be much more palatable. Allowing for corrections when mistakes are made. Trying to do too many things at once is only going to lead mistakes that a slower approach might avoid.

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