Patrick says:

Nothing new. I’ve heard this out of LA hospitals for years.

Ah_Yea says:

This is one reason why our healthcare (insurance) is out of control.

Notice that she states that reporting an illegal is a waste of time?

I know for a fact that if an American with no money went to the emergency room of a Mexican hospital, that the American would be thrown out the door, even if it meant they would die on the doorstep.

And before the bleeding heart crowd starts crying about how immoral it is to refuse service, bla, bla, etc, etc, think for a moment that at this one hospital alone they are spending many millions on people who shouldn’t even be in our country. Who pays for this? Everyone else!

Think about how many hospitals have gone bankrupt because of stuff like this. Think about how many people who are legal citizens suffer because they cannot afford healthcare because of stuff like this.

Ah_Yea says:

#1, yes, so have I. Many of the hospitals I personally know of which closed down were in the LA metro area.

Now there are plenty of legal citizens who go to the emergency room to get help who have no insurance, but… Eventually much of that does get paid back.

I believe most of those services should be scaled back to those who are here illegally. Yes you heard that right. Call it one of the risks you incur when you decide to crawl over a fence instead of entering the country the right way.

RussG says:

These people aren’t stupid, they know that this situation is untenable, but none has the guts to stand up, or, more specifically, the financial means to take responsibility for a hopeless situation that can only end in the death of the man and a lawsuit. This is the real problem with the situation, which we are seeing more of in every industry, including our government, which is the ‘not on my watch’ philosophy.

Freyar says:

#9

They aren’t bankrupting our health system maybe, but at 1.1 million dollars for ongoing health care over three years with no money coming back in (and expenditures involving lawsuits as well) it certainly is a big chunk. Even if it is a hot-button issue that doesn’t resolve all of the problems, it’ll reduce the strain for American health care in the first place.

Doing something in this case, which is easily seen as a drain on health care resources is something that should be done while people put pressure on congress for the other issue.

bobbo says:

Isn’t the real issue here our lack of border enforcement? Charity care of illegals in hospitals, schools, and prisons does mount up. Supposedly it keeps our food, hospitality, construction, and meat packing industries cheaper to operate and provides a net benefit according to those in power.

I say, close our borders, ship the illegals back to the border and send our politicians with them.

Don says:

In the system that we have now, everyone thinks that they are entitled to the absolute best care, at any price. They then want to pay nothing for this care. Then, if they do not get a perfect outcome from this expensive care that they paid nothing for, they feel they have the RIGHT to sue for millions of dollars. The current high costs that the people who can pay for healthcare go partly to pay for the care of the cases mentioned in the video.

The whole mess is going to spiral into the ground in the next 10 to 20 years or so. As sad as that day will be, the government will end up being responsible for healthcare in this country someday. The current system just cannot sustain itself over the long haul.

Don

Awake says:

Here is what a LIAR like that woman will not tell you:

What hospitals claim are their costs and what their costs end up being are very very different.

Look at a large hospital bill, and how it is paid by an insurance company. The hospital may claim $130,000 in treatment costs, but then the hospital ‘discounts’ the bill to $35,000 to the insurance company, because they have a ‘relationship’. So the real cost to the hospital, including a hefty profit, is $35,000, not $130,000. Is anyone reading this forum really stupid enough to believe that an insurance company will pay $40 for a few aspirin????

Multiple studies PROVE that the economic BENEFIT provided to American citizens by illegal labor greatly exceeds the costs incurred by the USA. If you include reduced prices on goods and services as provided by low-cost labor, and the tax income (sales taxes, uncollectable Social Security, etc), the US gains several BILLION dollars of net income from the illegal workers. That is why both the Democrats AND Republicans are unwilling to clamp down on the situation… it would be devastating for the US economy to lose those workers.

People that claim that illegals cost the US money are just not very well informed, and most are so ‘redneck’ that even when told the truth about illegal immigration they are unwilling to accept it.

Part of the cost of hosting a low cost workforce is the occasional need to provide medical care for those workers…. but the FACT is that we still end up waaaaay ahead, both economically and in our standard of living by the presence of this low wage workforce.

FWIW, there are indications that the illegal immigration may have actually have been solved by the Bush administration and it’s utter incompetence… our economy is sooooo bad that illegal immigrants are going BACK to their countries because work opportunities are better there. Do you know that the GNP of Mexico is TWICE that of the USA, and that the dollar has weakened substantially against the Mexican peso. The way things are going, soon Americans themselves will be emigrating in hope to find a decent paying job.

bobbo says:

#16==Awake==do you have any references confirming/calculating/estimating the cost and the benefits of illegal workers in the USA?

Then after that, if my taxes go to pay for the services these folks get, but I do not benefit from ANY of the services they provide, aren’t I and everyone else in my situation getting screwed by the system while only some others are benefiting? Is that the way the tax system is supposed to work?

miamiguy says:

Tech probs tonight—

bobbo said, on July 6th, 2008 at 8:37 pm

#11–miamiguy==Ah Yea has the opinion that Mexican hospitals don’t treat indigents whether they are American or Mexican and for that opinion you think he would DESERVE to be treated in a manner that you think does not happen?
AGAIN:
Ah_Yea says:
“I know for a fact that if an >American with no money went to the emergency room of a Mexican hospital, that the Americanspreading>and if he did end up on the doorstep of one of his fanciful >MEXICAN< hospitals, I wonder what kind of care he would deserve after his bigoted comments. The finest, I hope for his sake.

Prejudice is prejudice.

Peace.
miamiguy

bobbo says:

#20–miamiguy==certainly prejudice is prejudice but YOU were talking about the appropriate basis upon which healthcare services should be rendered. I believe healthcare should be delivered based on a person’s medical condition whereas you post it should be denied in cases where the patient has prejudiced/wrong ideas/experience.

That position is simply so ludicrous, I wanted to give you a chance to recant, but so far you are doubling up on stupidity. Please clarify while I go off and check Awakes equally self referential posting.

bobbo says:

Awake==thanks for the link. Its good that anyone posting an affirmative fact have something to back it up with, and you certainly do. I copied 4 sections of immediate interest.

1– The public sector costs and benefits of immigrants vary by level of government. To the federal government immigrants represent a net gain. Their state-level impact varies by state. At the local level the costs of immigrants—and of the native-born—exceed taxes paid. The major “cost” of immigrants is education of immigrant children. /// This might explain why the Feds don’t enforce the border? They benefit while the states are suffering, such as in the posted thread. Keed the States poor, and the Feds have power as they hand out benefits. Still, I guess it depends on if you think you live in “a State” or in the USA? If your local hospital goes broke giving local services, what does it matter that Washington DC is getting a net gain?

2–Estimating tax revenues from immigrants requires a dynamic picture that includes all immigrants, not just recent arrivals. Incomes earned and taxes paid both rise with length of time in the United States. The average household incomes of both legal immigrants and refugees who entered before 1980 are higher than natives. /// The study is hard to review as it confusingly references legal and illegal immigrants. Bad Form. Makes me wonder why they are so sloppy?

3–Overall, annual taxes paid by immigrants to all levels of governments more than offset the costs of services received, generating a net annual surplus of $25 billion to $30 billion. /// Seems to be inconsistent with Quoted Para #1? I can make sense of it, but that leaves me not sure what the authors are actually trying to report.

4–(((Me–you already apologized for using something 14 years old and that can be overlooked generally thinking the issues/results are pretty much the same? But this section says that the poverty status of immigrants are getting worse with time. That being the case, any “positive” interpretation of this report are entirely suspect now?))) Poverty Status: Rise in Poverty for Recent Immigrants. Notwithstanding the high average incomes of legal immigrants, one of the most striking trends over the past decade has been the increase in immigrant poverty. Household poverty increased for all groups between 1980 and 1990, but the increase was much greater for immigrant households than for native households.

Well, I believe your position might have been true 14 years ago. But shouldn’t our current views be supported by current facts?

RTaylor says:

Nothing is, and will be done because business desires cheap labor. Nobody wants to touch hot issues that will cost votes. We have such an fear with being called racist that it can paralyze government. Even when the issue has nothing to do with race.

bobbo says:

#26–Mustard==and I accept that. Not for illegal aliens though.

bobbo says:

#28–Awake==really?–Well on your affirmation, I will go back and check that out. Why would a report summary focus on some other bad report? Doesn’t make much sense.

You are correct I place the burden on YOU for affirmative statements you offer as facts.

I don’t have such a burden. It is simply my opinion that the border should be made secure and we would be better off without illegal aliens flooding our society. I don’t state that as a fact, just my opinion.

Fact–opinion.

Awake==Why is it so wrong for me not to want my country to be flooded with illegal aliens? And am I so wrong that I warrant a claim of “prejudice” from you? As it is==every country in the world protects its borders except the USA. I made that as a fact statement.

Heh, Heh!!!