While the national debate over health care reform rages on, another old debate raises it's head. That is the debate over what to do with those who don't come to this country legally or leave when they should. The numbers and the plans on what to do with those who are here illegally will go on and on and Americans will differ and argue for the foreseeable future.
There is one thing that Americans do agree on when it comes to those who came here illegally. That is they should not be able to benefit from any sort of national or single payer health coverage bill that Congress may pass. The US Census Bureau has estimated that of the 46 million people without health insurance 22% are not here legally.
In a survey by Rasmussen 2/3 (65%) believe that every single American should have access to quality health care. 22% disagree, and 12% are not sure. Rassmussen also found that when asked if Americans should be required to buy health insurance an overwhelming number (61%) said no. Only 22% said yes while 17% were not sure. The other thing Americans are sure of is if you are here illegally you should not get government health care coverage.
In a June 12, 2009 report Rasmussen found that 80% of U.S. Voters oppose providing government health care care coverage for illegal immigrants as part of the health care reform package that is working its way through Congress. So what is Congress going to do?
The Administration, current and past, have long used the number of 46 million people without health insurance. 80% of Americans don't want to play for health care coverage for more than 10 million of those without coverage. I also think I'm safe to assume that those 10 million people are not in the best position to pay for their own health coverage.
So what is Congress going to do? We are nowhere close as a country in deciding what to do with all the illegal immigrants in this country. However, it does seem that we have spoken about giving them government health coverage.
So, the debate rages on. Where do you stand?
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Comments
I'm a Californian and take diversity, inclusiveness, and human rights seriously. But we are so overwhelmed with illegal immigration that we got sick and tired of it a long time ago.
No way can we expect non working illegal immigrants to contribute to the system, let alone participate in the preventive medicine that is essential to any nationalized health care initiative.
Catch-33? Here it is. We can't deny necessary medical care to anyone in California, whether legal or illegal, so it's a moot point.
I have no problem with necessary medical care. If someone walks into an ER with a necessary medical problem they should be treated. We can't just send people out on the street to die.
I also don't think we need to be doing health care for anyone who can get a plan, at a reasonable, affordable cost, through their work. I have a daughter like that. She can, she should, but she won't pay for it.
All the illegal's that I know work and get health care through their employer just like I do. So I don't know if they are part of the debate. I do know that those who work under the table, like the men in front of Home Depot, are part of the millions of uninsured.
So you are part of the 80%. What do you think Congress will do?
BTW, lived in Riverside, owned businesses in San Bernardino for several years. Know your pain.
And forget any dental.
If you walk through any medical warehouse you'll find that many of the items are "assembled in Mexico." If some poor Mexican woman works for a buck an hour assembling U.S.-bound vaginal delivery packs in Mexico, we think that's great. But if the same poor Mexican woman makes it across the border and delivers a baby here, and actually gets the use of the same vaginal delivery pack that she herself assembled in Mexico, we think that's terrible.
We want all the benefits of cheap labor, and none of the costs. Good luck getting that.
I really understand and that is part of the problem. I believe that a country needs to protect it's borders. I also believe that we all but rolled the red carpet out for those here. However, when you have so many doing it the right way, and taking years to do it, what do you do with those who took a short cut?
I can also say that if I was a poor Mexican, I would be on the first coyote north.
It has only been in recent years that we have had such a problem with illegal aliens from Mexico. In other words something has changed, and we need to look at what factors make people want to come to the U.S. illegally.
The life of the illegal alien is very difficult, and I think that they wouldn't come here if they were able to have a decent life in their own country. But some parts of Mexico are economically devastated, and there are areas in which it is literally impossible to make a living.
In that regard we need to look at how some of our own policies may have contributed to this. For example, if you're going to have maquiladoras located so close to the border that the workers can literally see the U.S. from where they are standing, we shouldn't be surprised if those people decide to come here. If we're going to pay them $1 per hour in Mexican border factories, we shouldn't be surprised if they want to come here and make $6 per hour.
I'm not interested in blaming anyone, but I think it would be quite helpful to look at how our own policies may be contributing to the problem. Also, people need to be educated so as to understand the complexities and some of the deeper aspects of this issue and not just look at things on the surface.