Did you read this??? Texas hospital being overrun by illegals!! And this is ONLY one state in the U.S.!!?

Question

Sept. 24, 2006, 1:14PM
'Border baby' boom strains S. Texas
More illegal immigrants are pouring into the state to give birth


By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

RIO GRANDE CITY — First it was a trickle, now it's a flood.

Rising numbers of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America are streaming into Texas to give birth, straining hospitals and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, health officials say.

Doctors and health officials say they are overwhelmed by both the new arrivals and those immigrant mothers who already are in the state. Even Houston's feeling the pinch. An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the 10,587 births at Ben Taub General Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital last year were to undocumented immigrants, administrators say.

Also feeling the strain is Starr County, an already poor South Texas county that has the region's only taxpayer-supported hospital district.

Immigrants "want a U.S.-born baby" and know that emergency room staffers don't collect any money up front, said Dr. Mario Rodriguez, an obstetrician in Starr County.

"The word is out: Come to Starr County and get delivered for free. Why pay $1,000 in Mexico when you can get it for free?" Rodriguez said.

''When we are separated only by the distance of the river, it's easy to do," Starr County hospital administrator Thalia Muñoz said. "It's gotten worse, and it's because the economy in Mexico is not good and because we provide all these benefits."

Unfortunately, doctors say, Starr County isn't alone.

''Our little snapshot is duplicated in all the municipalities between here and California," said Tony Falcon, a Rio Grande City physician who was appointed to the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission in April. ''What you see here is what is happening in Brownsville, McAllen, El Paso and San Diego."

He operates a private family clinic and delivers babies at the Starr County hospital. About a third of his deliveries are what he calls "walk-ins" — mothers in labor showing up at the ER.

''Obviously, it has a huge impact on patient health and the kind of health care that's provided," Falcon said. "You don't get the kind of prenatal care you should get."


'Anchor babies'
Immigration-control advocates regard the U.S.-born infants as "anchor babies" because they give their undocumented parents and relatives a way to petition for citizenship. They estimate that 360,000 of these babies are born in the U.S. every year and warn that the numbers are rising.

Once parents have an "anchor baby," they become more difficult to deport, said Jack Martin, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a lobby organization in Washington, D.C.

''It's a fairly big factor in complicating the removal of illegal aliens," Martin said. "Illegal aliens know that and, to some extent, we think they're being influenced into having children as soon as they get into the U.S. to complicate their removal."

Some lawmakers want to begin denying citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants.

Birthright citizenship, as it is known, has been in force since the approval of the Constitution's 14th Amendment in 1868. But several bills under consideration in Congress would abolish the longstanding federal policy. Sponsors include U.S. Reps. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, and Nathan Deal, R-Ga.

In a largely symbolic move, the Michigan House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Sept. 8 to end birthright citizenship.

Undocumented immigrants say they are being attacked unfairly and think that all children born in the U.S. should have equal rights.

Socorro Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant who in August gave birth to her fourth child on U.S. soil, said she and her husband aren't trying to take advantage of immigration laws or abuse the health care system.

''We're not here to have a child. We are here to work," she said as she cradled her infant son, Orlando Soto.

Gonzalez, 42, said she moved to South Texas four years ago to join her husband, a cabinet maker. Two of their older children were born at a private midwife's clinic, she said, and two were delivered at taxpayer expense at hospitals in McAllen.

Gonzalez said the benefits of undocumented immigrants' labor in the U.S. more than compensate for the costs of their medical bills.

''I don't see why they should deny a medical service if we're here struggling for this country," she said. ''Because of the help of Mexican workers, whether they want us or not, this country is progressing."

Still, someone has to pay the bills, and not everyone is happy about that.


Uncollected medical bills
Starr County Memorial Hospital had $3.6 million in uncollected medical bills in 2005, up from $1.5 million in 2002. The total when fiscal 2006 ends on Sept. 30 is expected to hit $3.9 million, chief financial officer Rafael Olivarez said. Unpaid bills for the past five years will reach nearly $13 million, he said.

To make up for the shortfall, Starr County's hospital district is proposing a 25 percent tax hike.

Already, the U.S. government is pitching in, setting aside $1 billion in Medicaid funds to pay for emergency care received by undocumented migrants over the next four years.

But Olivarez said getting the reimbursements isn't easy. Federal officials ''told us at a meeting they would pay us about 20 cents on the dollar," he said. "But it's better than nothing."

No one knows for sure how many undocumented immigrants there are or what they cost the health care system. Most hospitals don't ask whether patients have papers.


Total cost unknown

''It puts them in the position of being border police," said Amanda Engler, a spokeswoman for the Texas Hospital Association in Austin.

Harris County Hospital District officials say their policy is not to question patients directly about their citizenship.

''We do not explicitly ask if our patients are illegal, but we do ask them for proof of Harris County residency," district spokeswoman Shannon Rasp said. "Often citizenship status becomes clearer when billing issues come up."

Eighty-three percent of the undocumented immigrants receiving in-patient care at the district's hospitals and clinics last year were from Mexico, officials said. Six percent were from El Salvador or Guatemala. And the remaining 11 percent were from such countries as Britain, Canada, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Vietnam.

''Using anecdotal information provided us by our staff, statistics from other public hospital systems and our patient demographics, we believe that approximately 70 to 80 percent of our obstetrics patients are undocumented," Rasp said.

In all, 57,072 patients visited the district's hospitals, clinics and health centers last year, and nearly a fifth were undocumented, Rasp said. The cost of their treatment was $97.3 million, up from $55 million in 2002.

Answer 1

so what? he can lick a sack! it was run by illegas/legas all the damn freakin' time, what are whites? they should be run by NATIVE AMERICANS!!!!

Answer 2

I live in Texas and the problem is much larger than even the article indicates. If you break an arm, expect a 5 hour wait because the ER is jammed with people who have no health insurance and know they can get free medical care (including well baby visits) by showing up at the ER. The problem will only get bigger as American corporations depend on NAFTA and undocumented, slave wage employees in our service sector.

As long as the jobs are here, they will keep coming. Who can blame them? If your choice is starvation in Mexico or a new life for your family, you will come to the US.

It isn't racism to say that we have an immigration problem. It isn't racism to say that the immigration problem is taking a huge toll on our healthcare system. To me, racism is blaming immigrants because we want low cost goods and services produced at a wage an American worker won't take.

Answer 3

I understand how most people are concerned about immigration, but not much is different now then it ever has. The US has a dependency on cheap labor, and they probably always will. You can close the border all you want, but cheap labor from all over the world will still flock here.

Yes it costs money in health care, but the answer isn't as simple as closing the border. Our economy relies on the fact that we have cheap labor to pick our fruit, to clean our houses, to mow our lawns, to dig our ditches and the list goes on.

When you kick out the immigrants, the cost of services goes up along with the cost of goods they help create. And yes they do contribute in taxes. Not on in income tax which they can't claim because they have a fake social security card, but also in sales taxes on goods they purchase and property tax on the properties they rent.

You want the cost of health care to go down, get rid of all the lawyers that have driven the cost of health care through the roof.

Keep your opinions if you like, but at least look at the whole picture and not just what you have been spoon fed.

Knowledge is power.

Answer 4

I do know about the two hospitals in Houston personally Ben Taub is a county hospital that has complained for years about having to dish out money for this and that from the police department to the homeless they are always doing this to receive more money from the state and from the police,firemen,and sheriffs department. It gets the money and has it trust me. The same with The LBJ hospital which is relatively new for a hospital in that district.

Answer 5

We should send them all back! And when we're done with those Mexicans, then we should start on those third generation Irish and Italians! After all, they cause the great depression, and you could even make a case for World War 2 considering that followed suit! I mean it, if your last name starts with Mc, San, or has an unacceptable amount of vowels and syllables in it, you're gone! We can start with Lou Dobbs! After all, his parents probably came over with no papers, took a job in a sweat shop somewhere in the Bowery from a hard working Iroquois man whose family have worked this land since its creation! How dare those pasty red headed potato munchers! Now if you'll excuse me, the Lusitania is departing, and 7/8th of me has to be on it. Good day.

Answer 6

It's funny how illegal Mexicans ignore these post and then turn around and say but what about the other illegals why is everyone pointing the finger at us? or the say We do contribute to taxes (with a stolen ss number) Because anyother way for illegals to pay taxes would be illegal. We can post this stuff all we want illegals still can't SEE what they are doing wrong.

Answer 7

Wait wait wait!! The last time I was in the E.R I had to sit there and answer questions (with a painfully throbbing broken ankle I may add) about my insurance, my address, emergency contact etc. etc.........

I know the illegals are in labor at the time, but I'm sure someone could ask those questions to someone with the illegal woman.

Better yet.........if this hospital knows this is going on could we not have INS there...ready to question people?

A few mothers get turned away and a few dad's get taken into custody.......I bet the illegals would think twice before trying to have their illegal babies in that hospital.

Answer 8

I think that everyone should get a chance here in the US, but legally. It really upsets me that people are doing this and then us taxpayers are stuck footing the bill, but we are screwed when we are sick because we can't afford healthcare for our family.

I think that we need to focus on our country first before we focus on illegals coming over. I personally think that the children that are birthed by illegal immigrants should not be considered Americans so that they cannot apply for any type of assistance. It's a wicked loop: come over illegally, get on public assistance, come into our school system for free and then make our kids have to adapt to their language, work under the table because they can't legally work, but still able to get public assistance. It's so f'ed up.

No, I'm not racist, I just think that we need to focus on Americans.... real.... legal Americans.... our poverty, the uneducated people here, the people whom are on public assistance, before we worry about putting some illegal chica with 6 friggin beaners on our welfare. She can stay as long as she wants... but don't give that punta welfare and don't let her kids go to school when there is a ton of American kids who can't afford school.

Answer 9

If its better care for the kids then what are you complaining about? You want to force your financial issues over the welfare of the children. BS, I'm glad your not my mother!

Answer 10

Thank you for these good news! And if "illegals" run hospitals, what should Penis Clinton run, brothels, like Naser Oric does?

Answer 11

The really messed up part is if you are a legal citizen you have to show proof of financial responsibilty, i.e. insurance or have the money up front.