The "Gang Of Six" Senate Finance Committee
Senate Finance Committee Chairman and leader of the so-called “Gang Of Six”, Max Baucus of Montana today introduced the “America’s Healthy Future Act” and called upon Senate leadership to endorse the proposed legislation.
The “new” plan, designed to revive the stalled healthcare initiative, contains key provisions to ensure illegal aliens do not participate in future benefits previously provided for, however obtusely, in the House bill. It reads:
Name, social security number, and date of birth will be verified with Social Security Administration (SSA) data. For individuals claiming to be U.S. citizens, if the claim of citizenship is consistent with SSA data then the claim will be considered substantiated. For individuals who do not claim to be U.S. citizens but claim to be lawfully present in the United States, if the claim of lawful presence is consistent with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data then the claim will be considered substantiated. Individuals whose claims of citizenship or lawful status cannot be verified with federal data must be allowed substantial opportunity to provide documentation or correct federal data related to their case that supports their contention.
While not calling for a “Government Option” it does propose “Healthcare Exchanges” or government run stores where insurance can be purchased. In the House proposal, Illegal Aliens have not been prohibited from purchasing insurance through these exchanges with their own money. The Baucus plan changes that.
Legal U.S. residents will be able to obtain insurance through the state exchanges. Parents who are in the country illegally will not be able to buy personal insurance coverage through the state exchange but will be able to buy insurance for their U.S. citizen or lawfully present children.
Of course, most illegal aliens do not need insurance. They have used the hospital emergency room as their doctor, and the hospitals have been paying for this; a factor which has contributed to the closure of more than 84 hospitals, 65 emergency rooms and more than 70 acute care hospitals in CA alone in the last 10 years. That's $8.6 billion unreimbursed emergency care costs in just 2007.
The National Council of La Raza , as predicted, is not at all happy with the new proposal nor are they heartened by the Presidents performance thus far. In a press release issued today, La Raza President and CEO Janet Murguia said:
“We support health care reform and the process of moving legislation forward, but we are concerned that the tone of the debate has put roadblocks in front of meaningful reform. Health care policies should not be dictated by a heckler. NCLR cautioned decision-makers that giving in to the dishonesty of Representative Wilson would undermine U.S. citizens and legal immigrants, and that is what has happened.”
Murguia refers of course to Congressman Joe Wilson’s “You Lie!” outburst during the Presidents speech before a joint session of Congress.
The Obama Administration and Democratic leadership have been backpedaling since the accusation and rushing to ensure that no language, offering benefits to illegal aliens, exists in any current proposals. The Baucus plan further emphasizes the disconnect between what the Administration thinks is in the bill and what is not. That’s the trouble with using ambiguous language in the first place. Before long, even the people who created the verbage do not know what it means anymore.
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Comments
If la raza is unhappy then I guess that makes me a happy racist
What Jim Said!
Both Lisa and Jim are racists.
Bob,have you been drinking?
In a perfect world we could afford to give everyone in the world free healthcare. In reality, we are bankrupt and can only afford to give healthcare to Americans and legal residents. This isn't about race, it's about being able to pay for healthcare for our citizens. There is only so much the American taxpayer can pay.
We are bankrupt,yet they throw around Trillion,like it is nothing more than change found beneath old cushions on a derilict
couch.La raza is miffed,this is excellent!
Calm down folks, Healthcare bill is still in the works and in the meantime ponder if the native americans had kicked the squatters hundreds of years ago if we will be debating this healthcare bill.
Read history,you're starting to sound like a broken record!
This sounds better, with the wording finally spelled out that illegals will have to prove they are legal. Now they have to work out how to let the ER's provide care for emergency/life or death situations ONLY, but once that illegal is stable, they must be released to take care of their own selves, on ther own dime. We cannot let illegals continue to raid our hospitals for free healthcare.
I'm sure LaRaza and the illegal lovers are really P.O.'d about illegals being shunned by Obama's admin. I love it !!
This is a good indicator of how people will react one he starts amnesty talk again. Americans have made it perfectly clear that illegals deserve nothing but a boot back to their own country. Let's keep up the pressure on illegal immigration !!
Did you know people on Medicare take out on an average 3$ for every 1$ they are supposed to have put in the system ? This includes folks who have actually paid into Medicare and folks who never did ( mad mommies and dadies ).
"Read History" what are your qualifications?
You tell em,George!
At the end of the day, Obama is going to get his healthcare and immigration bills passed. Illegal immigrants who are exempted from healthcare will get accepted after they are legalized. I am told there is going to be a wait period (3-4yrs) before they can start applying for healthcare after legalization. Since healthcare is anyway going to take a few years to be fully operational it will make no difference to illegal people. So all this opposition is waste of time.
But a racist nevertheless.
Read History, you need some remedial English classes.
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