The leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are now pushing for a provision in any so-called comprehensive immigration reform measure which would extend healthcare benefits to the millions of illegal aliens now in the country.
During the contentious healthcare debate earlier this year, the Caucus threatened to withhold their support for the legislation due to language in the bill which barred illegal aliens from participating in the program. They only voted for it after receiving a pledge that any amnesty bill passed, would allow illegal aliens to take part in the insurance exchanges, and would waive the five-year waiting period for legal residents to apply for Medicaid.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) recently told Politico: The expectation was that everybody knew it was unfair and that a new immigration bill would correct that.
When asked at what level of government he received this assurance, Grijalva said: High enough to feel secure about it.
If any amnesty is granted, the millions now in the country illegally, would shift to temporary legal status, under the Democrats plan, they would then be able to participate in the exchanges.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) stated: Clearly, if they have status for a period of time, even if it is a pending status, they are no longer an undocumented immigrant and therefore they could, for example, purchase insurance with their own money.
Of course, if the five-year waiting period for Medicaid is repealed, millions of illegal aliens would be able to to enter the already bloated and unsustainable system.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, 86 percent of adult illegal aliens would qualify for Medicaid coverage, under the current income requirement.
The added costs to the taxpayers would be in the billions annually. At a time when 1 in 5 Americans is either out of work or underemployed, suggesting that we add tens of millions more to the Medicaid rolls would be laughable, that is, if the Congressmen were not serious about the proposal.
Though President Obama will never mention this hard truth, if we simply ordered all illegal aliens out of the country and deported the ones who refused the order, as well as place our military along the border
Healthcare costs would stop rising and could even drop.
We do not need a government takeover of the best healthcare system in the world, nor do we need an amnesty bill for illegal aliens (a.k.a Comprehensive Immigration Reform), we only need to defend our border and expel those here illegally.
Its really very simple
Put an end to illegal immigration, and you put an end to the healthcare crisis.