A friend of mine recently shared a story of complications she suffered following a mastectomy while traveling in France. She visited one emergency room, and another specialist. Her costs were about $45. Yes, I believe we should cover every person in the country. If people are here illegally,and that's a problem, then there are other solutions than denying them medical care, which we will ultimately guarantee, at a higher price when their condition grows critical, and they visit an emergency room.

Yes.

It is a basic human right.

“I swear by Apollo, the healer, Asclepius, Hygieia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath and agreement:

To consider dear to me, as my parents, him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and, if necessary, to share my goods with him; To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art.

I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.

I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion.

But I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts.

I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.

In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves.

All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal.

If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.”

All American citizens, will not ever have equal access to medical care. Forget Immigrants. I am talkin about those who have birth certificates as well as pictures in their year books.

Right now you might have Medicare, but those better off certainly purchase supplemental insurance policies. All 67 year olds are not treated equally and never will.

Do I wish this will turn out otherwise? yes

It will always be Class A, Class B, Class C.....

So the issue really is, WHAT IS THE BASE POLICY GOING TO COVER?

There have to be, in my mind, yearly check ups FOR EVERYONE. Otherwise, how will we effectively prevent plagues and such?

WE already have, theoretically, access to ER's for EVERYONE.

THE END

Do you believe that Health Care Reform legislation should extend full coverage to illegal immigrants* just the same as for U.S. Citizens?

Do you mean "undocumented aliens"?

Do you mean "full coverage" or do you mean the partial coverage that U.S. citizens will be receiving?

Do you mean health care or health insurance?

In any case, as far as the legislation goes, of course undocumented aliens should be allowed to buy whatever health insurance plan they want! The more the merrier! (There are, what, 12 million undocumenteds in the country?)

As far as my views on health care, I think everyone should be treated equally.

Is this a trick question? Because you caught some people.

Do you believe that Health Care Reform legislation should extend full coverage to illegal immigrants just the same as for U.S. Citizens?

What does this mean, exactly? Should illegal immigrants be offered the opportunity to purchase insurance policies, including the public policy, through the exchange? Should they be offered the same subsidies that will be provided to low-income Americans to purchase insurance? My answer to both questions is "no".

It's hard enough convincing Americans to pass a comprehensive package of health care reforms, a package that includes potentially expensive outlays for US citizens and legal residents, without including illegal immigrants in the scope of the benefits. We will kill this opportunity if we also ask our fellow-citizens to make additional outlays for people who are here in violation of the immigration laws that we established.

Offering social insurance benefits to illegal immigrants is also an enabler for businesses who intentionally employ undocumented workers in order to skirt hard-won US labor laws, thus putting more employment and wage pressure on American workers. We shouldn't be providing incentives for this kind of law-breaking by making it more attractive.

The United States should maintain liberal immigration laws that provide for law-governed and manageable processes for accepting a healthy number of legal immigrants each year. But immigration, and the rights and privileges that come with citizenship and legal residence, do need to be a law-governed. Progressive social policies depend on the idea of a social contract. People who want to build a "Great Society" need to be able to define and regulate who is or is not in that society, so that they can rationally plan the programs and budgets such a society requires, with predictability and sustainability. Commitments of social benefits are unsustainable where immigration flows are unpredictable, and it is unfair to ask our fellow-citizens to support this. In the end such commitments lead to permanent crises in the budgetary process, and constant pressure to roll back entitlement programs.

It seems to me the logical consequence of refusing medical care to anyone, here legally or not, is the prospect of having people die on the doorstep of emergency rooms throughout the country.

The Glen Becks and the Limbaughs and the Dobbs' and the Armeys of the world might sell that as an acceptable practice to hate-filled throngs. And I have no doubt that this same "intelligentsia" that directs what passes as political thought for the GOP are prepared to accept the consequences as "justice" for "illegal aliens." But I gotta' believe that most within those throngs would not stand idly by as a child dies at their feet for mere reason that their mother and/or father are undocumented.

Whether they realize it or not, most sentient human beings recognize health care as a human right. And they would not be so willing to deny anyone the right to health care if confronted directly with the death choice that they are presently encouraged to embrace.

I had to think about this one for a while.

While I have to agree that we shouldn't be turning anyone away from adequate health care, the truth is, people in this country are being turned away every minute of every hour of every day, and most of them are not illegals. The Emergency Rooms are full because they've now become the last refuge for the uninsured. Health care beyond the basic is already conveniently being denied even those who carry insurance.

We could argue this debate about allowing illegals the same health care we receive, but at what point does adequate care become inadequate or marginal because of the numbers who aren't paying into the system? Where should the money come from?

The clear answer is to radically change the system, but how? And when? It won't happen tomorrow, or even the day after that.

Who suffers when the system is dangerously overloaded? Everybody. What can we do about it? Morally and ethically, the answer for me is yes--we SHOULD take care of everybody. I WANT to take care of everybody. But realistically, I have my doubts. When profit takes a back seat to moral obligation, then we have a chance. Until then, it's a question too big for me.

First, I think there is a difference between a right and a necessity. Food, clothing, shelter, (like health care) are all necessities, but do I have a right to them? A right is something that cannot be denied. How can I have a right to something that someone else must provide? How do I have the right to demand that others must work to produce goods and services for me in exchange for nothing? So, while these things are necessities, they are not rights, and our society provides them as charity, out of compassion, not because we must. That being said, I would allow IA's to purchase insurance (but would not subsidize it), and would provide basic life sustaining care at ER's. But I would aggressively secure the borders and would deport illegals and their children, regardless of where the children were born (because I believe it is an intentional misreading of the 14th amendment to assert the children of illegals are citizens). In short, I won't deny them medical care, but I will kick them out of the country.

CB,

Will you please cite source for: 'like Obama himself said to the woman whose 100 year old mother got a pacemaker 5 years ago. - He said maybe she should just be given a pain pill instead).'

Interesting. I am only a couple hours away from Yukon, Canada and most I know there haven't had these issues and are pleased with their healthcare program. But, I understand your premise.

Just so we know what we're talking about, here are some interesting statistics:

http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2009/09/survey_undocume.php

Some tidbits:

*"a 2005 RAND study...found that nationally the medical cost for the undocumented was $5.2 billion annually" (That's less than 2% of the total cost for those keeping score at home).

It is estimated that if the healthcare reform provision barring undocumented immigrants from coverage is not enforced, the total cost per year could be more than $30 billion a year. It's also estimated that it wouldn't come anywhere near that number since most immigrants are young and healthy. And, if you let those who want to purchase insurance pay for it, well, then it would cost the government much less. Possibly even next to nothing.

Another statistic cited in the study that is far too often overlooked when we start having hissy fits over immigration: Immigrants are consumers, whether or not they have papers. In 2006, in Riverside County, CA, undocumented immigrants pumped about $1.5 billion into the local economy. The cost? $220 million.

The healthcare system is broken and it doesn't have anything to do with immigrants.

Immigrants contribute far more to the economy than they get back (including paying taxes). But they are the most powerless among our population, so they make easy scapegoats when we face tough problems.

Frankly, it makes me sick.