Illegal Immigrants Get Public Health Care, Despite Federal Policy
Illegal Immigrants Get Public Health Care, Despite Federal Policy
Although Affordable Care Act provides them no insurance, 20 big counties treat them anyway
Dr. César Palacios is executive director of Proyecto Salud, one of the clinics in Montgomery County, Md., that provides health care to immigrants. PHOTO: STEPHEN VOSS FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By
LOUISE RADNOFSKY
March 24, 2016 4:08 p.m. ET
717 COMMENTS
WHEATON, Md.—When federal lawmakers wrote the act overhauling the nation’s health-care system six years ago, they ruled out any possibility of extending health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Local officials where many of those immigrants live are treating them anyway.
A Wall Street Journal survey of the 25 U.S. counties with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations found that 20 of them have programs that pay for the low-income uninsured to have doctor visits, shots, prescription drugs, lab tests and surgeries at local providers. The services usually are inexpensive or free to participants, who must prove they live in the county but are told their immigration status doesn’t matter.
Whether such programs are appropriate is a matter of debate. Many voters believe it is unfair to use tax dollars to help immigrants when American citizens struggle, and that doing so encourages illegal immigration. At the same time, American hospitals have long been required by law to screen and stabilize any patient, regardless of his or her ability to pay, which means taxpayers already are committed to paying for care in its most expensive setting.
County politicians figure it is cheaper, safer and easier to give basic health services to immigrants who can’t get insurance than to treat them only in the county’s emergency rooms.
“If federal programs exclude people who live here and get sick here, then someone has to care for them,” says George Leventhal, a Democratic council member who a decade ago started a local initiative to provide care to uninsured immigrants here in Montgomery County, Md., a suburb of Washington. “We all pay anyway.”
Local critics contend the county should support immigration enforcement rather than undermine it. Brad Botwin, a local opponent of illegal immigration, objects to the cost of the county health program. “They can’t fix the roads. The metro system is absolutely falling apart. But they have the money to put up these health benefits,” he says.
Republican and Democratic federal lawmakers alike agree with the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition against providing government-subsidized insurance to anyone who cannot prove a legal immigration status. The presidential candidates also are in agreement. The Republican candidates also advocate overturning the entire system created by the health law, along with stepping up immigration enforcement.
Unauthorized immigrants account for at least one-quarter of the approximately 30 million uninsured people in the U.S., the Congressional Budget Office estimates.
Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, an immigrant rights group, says programs to treat them are an example of people acting locally, despite Washington’s stance. “We may not have gotten federal legislative immigration reform, but I can tell you we are getting immigration reform from the ground up,” she told health-law supporters at a recent conference.
For communities that provide care to illegal immigrants, the financial commitment is significant. Interviews with officials in the 25 counties indicated that local initiatives provide nonemergency care for at least 750,000 unauthorized immigrants across those counties, costing them more than $1 billion a year—almost all from local funds.
Immigrant Health Care
Health care for unauthorized immigrants in the 25 U.S. counties with the largest populations of them
Show entries
Search:
Unauthorized immigrant population Health program that serves unauthorized immigrants?
Location/ Unauthorized Immigrant population / health program that serves unauthorized immigrants/ Number of immigrants treated annually (estimate)
Los Angeles County, Calif. 1,062,000 YES 135,000
Harris County, Texas 373,000 YES 65,000
Cook County, Ill.* 323,000 YES 20,000
Orange County, Calif. 274,000 NO N/A
Dallas County, Texas* 242,000 YES 115,000
Queens County, N.Y. 238,000 YES 71,000
San Diego County, Calif. 205,000 NO N/A
Maricopa County, Ariz. 190,000 NO N/A
Kings County, N.Y. 181,000 YES 80,000
Riverside County, Calif. 158,000 YES 7,600
Miami-Dade-Monroe Counties, Fla. 156,000 YES 8,500
Boston Area NECTA, Mass.† 148,000 YES 103,000
Santa Clara County, Calif. 142,000 YES 54,000
San Bernardino County, Calif.* 138,000 YES 1,300
Bronx County, N.Y. 114,000 YES 57,200
Clark County, Nev.† 113,000 YES 1,000
Alameda County, Calif. 109,000 YES 32,500
Tarrant County, Texas 103,000 NO N/A
Hidalgo County, Texas 94,000 YES 5,000
Fresno County, Calif. 86,000 YES 5,000
Broward County, Fla. 83,000 YES 900
Fairfax County, Va. 83,000 NO N/A
Montgomery County, Md. 83,000 YES 25,000
Gwinnett County, Ga.* 80,000 YES 21,600
Travis County, Texas 79,000 YES 36,100
Showing 1 to 25 of 25 entries
*Number also includes U.S. low-income, uninsured American citizens because county doesn't track immigration status †Boston supports a state-run program; Clark County has a state-overseen nonprofit program
Illegal Immigrants Get Public Health Care, Despite Federal Policy
Although Affordable Care Act provides them no insurance, 20 big counties treat them anyway
Dr. César Palacios is executive director of Proyecto Salud, one of the clinics in Montgomery County, Md., that provides health care to immigrants. PHOTO: STEPHEN VOSS FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By
LOUISE RADNOFSKY
March 24, 2016 4:08 p.m. ET
717 COMMENTS
WHEATON, Md.—When federal lawmakers wrote the act overhauling the nation’s health-care system six years ago, they ruled out any possibility of extending health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Local officials where many of those immigrants live are treating them anyway.
A Wall Street Journal survey of the 25 U.S. counties with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations found that 20 of them have programs that pay for the low-income uninsured to have doctor visits, shots, prescription drugs, lab tests and surgeries at local providers. The services usually are inexpensive or free to participants, who must prove they live in the county but are told their immigration status doesn’t matter.
Whether such programs are appropriate is a matter of debate. Many voters believe it is unfair to use tax dollars to help immigrants when American citizens struggle, and that doing so encourages illegal immigration. At the same time, American hospitals have long been required by law to screen and stabilize any patient, regardless of his or her ability to pay, which means taxpayers already are committed to paying for care in its most expensive setting.
County politicians figure it is cheaper, safer and easier to give basic health services to immigrants who can’t get insurance than to treat them only in the county’s emergency rooms.
“If federal programs exclude people who live here and get sick here, then someone has to care for them,” says George Leventhal, a Democratic council member who a decade ago started a local initiative to provide care to uninsured immigrants here in Montgomery County, Md., a suburb of Washington. “We all pay anyway.”
Local critics contend the county should support immigration enforcement rather than undermine it. Brad Botwin, a local opponent of illegal immigration, objects to the cost of the county health program. “They can’t fix the roads. The metro system is absolutely falling apart. But they have the money to put up these health benefits,” he says.
Republican and Democratic federal lawmakers alike agree with the Affordable Care Act’s prohibition against providing government-subsidized insurance to anyone who cannot prove a legal immigration status. The presidential candidates also are in agreement. The Republican candidates also advocate overturning the entire system created by the health law, along with stepping up immigration enforcement.
Unauthorized immigrants account for at least one-quarter of the approximately 30 million uninsured people in the U.S., the Congressional Budget Office estimates.
Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, an immigrant rights group, says programs to treat them are an example of people acting locally, despite Washington’s stance. “We may not have gotten federal legislative immigration reform, but I can tell you we are getting immigration reform from the ground up,” she told health-law supporters at a recent conference.
For communities that provide care to illegal immigrants, the financial commitment is significant. Interviews with officials in the 25 counties indicated that local initiatives provide nonemergency care for at least 750,000 unauthorized immigrants across those counties, costing them more than $1 billion a year—almost all from local funds.
Immigrant Health Care
Health care for unauthorized immigrants in the 25 U.S. counties with the largest populations of them
Show entries
Search:
Unauthorized immigrant population Health program that serves unauthorized immigrants?
Location/ Unauthorized Immigrant population / health program that serves unauthorized immigrants/ Number of immigrants treated annually (estimate)
Los Angeles County, Calif. 1,062,000 YES 135,000
Harris County, Texas 373,000 YES 65,000
Cook County, Ill.* 323,000 YES 20,000
Orange County, Calif. 274,000 NO N/A
Dallas County, Texas* 242,000 YES 115,000
Queens County, N.Y. 238,000 YES 71,000
San Diego County, Calif. 205,000 NO N/A
Maricopa County, Ariz. 190,000 NO N/A
Kings County, N.Y. 181,000 YES 80,000
Riverside County, Calif. 158,000 YES 7,600
Miami-Dade-Monroe Counties, Fla. 156,000 YES 8,500
Boston Area NECTA, Mass.† 148,000 YES 103,000
Santa Clara County, Calif. 142,000 YES 54,000
San Bernardino County, Calif.* 138,000 YES 1,300
Bronx County, N.Y. 114,000 YES 57,200
Clark County, Nev.† 113,000 YES 1,000
Alameda County, Calif. 109,000 YES 32,500
Tarrant County, Texas 103,000 NO N/A
Hidalgo County, Texas 94,000 YES 5,000
Fresno County, Calif. 86,000 YES 5,000
Broward County, Fla. 83,000 YES 900
Fairfax County, Va. 83,000 NO N/A
Montgomery County, Md. 83,000 YES 25,000
Gwinnett County, Ga.* 80,000 YES 21,600
Travis County, Texas 79,000 YES 36,100
Showing 1 to 25 of 25 entries
*Number also includes U.S. low-income, uninsured American citizens because county doesn't track immigration status †Boston supports a state-run program; Clark County has a state-overseen nonprofit program
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