Healthcare Part III: Movement on Illegal Aliens Issue
Posted on | November 16, 2009 | No Comments
On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a narrow margin, its version of a healthcare overhaul bill. Of Nevada’s representatives, Reps. Berkley [D] and Titus [D] from Las Vegas voted in favor, while Rep. Heller [R], representing Reno and Northern Nevada, opposed the measure.
As we reported in previous posts on our immigration blog, the role of illegal immigrants in a reformed healthcare system is still a matter of major debate. Anti-immigrant forces in Congress sought to bar undocumented aliens from purchasing health insurance in a new federal insurance Exchange, even though they would have been barred from any subsidies to do so.
The New York Times reports that the House bill that was passed resolved this fight with a common-sense compromise, no doubt due to pressure from the Hispanic Caucus and other groups that represent Latino voters. Anyone (U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, immigrants on a work visa, and undocumented immigrants) would all be able to purchase insurance on the Exchange, but only citizens and LPRs would be able to access income-based subsidies to offset the cost of the premiums.
In the Senate there is more disagreement. Two competing versions of healthcare reform legislation must be reconciled in the coming weeks, where one mirrors the House bill and the other bars aliens from the Exchange altogether.
Keeping aliens from the Exchange has no practical purpose, since the few who would buy insurance would do so at full cost and thus would actually help spread risk and lower costs for LPRs and citizens. But what is poor policy is often good rhetoric, and those who seek to bar aliens from the Exchange admit that their opposition is largely symbolic, driven by a desire to see the government show that it is “serious about its immigration laws” and a vague lack of confidence that the law can be written in a way that segregates insurance from subsidies.
In counterpoint, a spokesperson for the National Coalition of La Raza compares barring unauthorized workers from the Exchange to prohibiting them from highways, the Internet, and other aspects of the infrastructure we all share as workers and residents of this country. He also points out that using too heavy a hand on undocumented adults can penalize their LPR or U.S. citizen children and dependents, especially with regard to health insurance.
The debate over healthcare lumbers on; we can only hope that reason rather than rhetoric drives the way policy is crafted with regard to immigration status. If you or a loved one would like to adjust your status to improve your access to services like health insurance, please contact us in our Nevada offices for a free consultation.
Tags: Healthcare > Illegal Aliens > Immigration Attorney > Immigration Lawyer > Latino Voters > Medicaid > Nevada-Las Vegas > Nevada-Reno > Permanent Resident > Undocumented
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