Roundup of legal and illegal immigrant coverage by Obamacare

Julia Preston of the New York Times has a roundup of the current state of Obamacare as it relates to coverage of legal immigrants and illegal aliens here. While near the beginning she does try to pretend that the Democrats wants to prevent illegal aliens from receiving benefits, she also includes quotes from those working to stiffen the identification requirements and correctly pointing out what the Democrats are trying to do. Per her, the battle now is over whether legal immigrants will be covered immediately or whether they'll have a waiting period. She also includes this:

"You can either keep those immigrants healthy now, or exclude them and wait until they get really sick, then pay for it down the line," said Prof. Steven P. Wallace, associate director of the U.C.L.A. research center. "If you don’t pay now, you’re going to pay for them later."

That's a false choice: legal immigrants are supposed to have sponsors who'll ensure that they don't become public charges.

Wed, 11/04/2009 - 11:45 · · Importance: 4