healthcare for illegals?

Question

Subject: PARKLAND MEMORIAL HOSPITAL/DALLAS




If you want to verify accuracy: http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/parkland.asp

When have we had enough?

Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas is a fairly famous institution and for a variety of reasons:

1. John F. Kennedy died there in 1963
2. Lee Harvey Oswald died there shortly after
3. Jack Ruby-who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, died there a few years later..by coincidence

"On the flip side, Parkland is also home to the second busiest maternity ward in the country with almost 16,000 new babies arriving each year. (That's almost 44 per day---every day)

A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal immigrants. That"s 11,200 anchor babies born every year just in Dallas . According to the article, the hospital spent $70.7 million delivering 15,938 babies in 2004 but managed to end up with almost $8 million dollars in surplus funding. Medicaid kicked
in $34.5 million, Dallas County taxpayers kicked in $31.3 million and the feds tossed in another $9.5 million.

The average patient in Parkland 's maternity wards is 25 years old, married and giving birth to her second child. She is also an illegal immigrant. By law, pregnant women cannot be denied medical care based on their immigration status or ability to pay.

OK, fine. That doesn't mean they should receive better care than everyday, middle-class American citizens. But at Parkland Hospital, they do.

"Parkland Memorial Hospital has nine prenatal clinics. NINE.

The Dallas Morning News article followed a Hispanic woman who was a patient at one of the clinics and pregnant with her third child---her previous two were also born at Parkland. Her first two deliveries were free and the Mexican native was grateful because it would have cost $200 to have them in Mexico. This time, the hospital wants her to pay $10 per visit and $100 for the delivery but she was unsure if she could come up with the money. Not that it matters, the hospital won't turn her away. (I wonder why they even bother asking at this point.)

"How long has this been going on? What are the long-term affects?

Well, another subject of the article was born at Parkland in 1986 shortly after her mother entered the U.S. illegally---now she is having her own child there as well. (That's right, she's technically a U.S. citizen.) These women receive free prenatal care including medication, nutrition, birthing classes and child care classes. They also get freebies such as car seats, bottles, diapers and formula.

Most of these things are available to American citizens as well but only for low-income applicants and even then, the red tape involved is almost insurmountable.

Because these women are illegal immigrants, they do not have to provide any sort of legitimate identification---no proof of income. An American citizen would have to provide a social security number which would reveal their annual income---an illegal immigrant need only claim to be poor and the hospital must take them at their word.

"My husband is a pilot for the United States Navy (yes, he fought in Iraq ) and while the health care is good, we Navy wives don't get any of these perks! Car seats? Diapers? Not so much. So my question is this: Does our public medical care system treat illegal immigrants better than American citizens? Yes it does!

As I mentioned, the care I have received is perfectly adequate but it's bare bones, meat and potato medical care---not top of line.

Their (the illegals) medical care is free---simply because they are illegal immigrants? Once again, there is no way to verify their income.

Parkland Hospital offers indigent care to Dallas County residents who earn less than $40,000 per year. (They also have to prove that they did not refuse health coverage at their current job. Yeah, the 'free' care is not so easy for Americans.)

There are about 140 patients who received roughly $4 million dollars for un-reimbursed medical care. As it turns out, they did not qualify for free treatment because they resided outside of Dallas County So the hospital is going to sue them! Illegals get it all free! But U.S citizens who live outside of Dallas County get sued! How stupid is this?

As if that isn't annoying enough, the illegal immigrant patients are actually complaining about hospital staff not speaking Spanish. In this AP story, the author speaks with a woman who is upset that she had to translate comments from the hospital staff into Spanish for her husband. The doctor was trying to explain the situation to the famy and the mother was forced to translate for her husband who only spoke Spanish. This was apparently a great injustice to her.

In an attempt to create a Spanish-speaking staff, Parkland Hospital is now providing incentives in the form of extra pay for applicants who speak Spanish. Additionally, medical students at the University of Texas Southwestern for which Parkland Hospital is the training facility will now have a Spanish language requirement added to their already jammed-packed curriculum. No other school in the country boasts such a ridiculous multi-semester (multicultural) requirement.


PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERY US CITIZEN YOU KNOW.

Answer 1

You have documented your point well. How to deal with the problem has not been solved.
Once the USA allows someone to work in this country, it is practically impossible to deny health care to that person and his/her family. It is very dangerous to have people carrying illnesses. The population would be exposed to those illnesses if they are contagious, and how would we know if they are contagious if the individual is not seen by a doctor?
So, to make it short, control the immigration, both legal and illegal, reform the health care system and also make that system flexible enough, so it does not take an arm and a leg to provide simple services.

Answer 2

It seems painfully obvious that our government and others are enabling them to come and take advantage of the system we have built for AMERICANS not people that break our laws and enter our country illegal I think I will start robbing banks I am broke so that will be O.K. right? do you think the teller will help me because I truly need the money? I think it is time to kick out ALL of the people in power positions that make laws to help them break laws. we are told that we have a representative government but who are they representing? It surely not any one I know It is time for a change I plan to vote the Richard Pryor way NONE OF THE ABOVE what is next voting rights for illegals? 2nd amendment means we can defend our home land frrom invasion when the numbers reach over a million I would call that an invasion and time to defend our way of life.

Answer 3

What makes you so mad is that we have many American citizens who have no healthcare at all, and one illness brings financial disaster to an entire family, and then you read stories like the one above.

My husband and I pay for healthcare, we are self employed and it is a rediculous amount per month for the two of us for major medical plus an RX plan and that does not include child birth when we are ready to have a baby.

Answer 4

We should not be giving free health care to illegal aliens. Our govt should charge Mexico for the cost of U.S. hospital's providing health care to illegal alien Mexicans. We spend tens of billions of dollars a year providing services to illegal aliens and we get precious little in return (check the facts below). I am certainly willing to mow my own lawn, prepare my own meals, wash my own car, and do other work that illegal aliens are now doing for many Americans.

We do not need so many illegals to do "the jobs that Americans won't do," as Bush has stated. Bush is wrong! There are not many jobs Americans won't do; and they are mostly in agriculture. We can get temporary workers and legal immigrants to do these jobs. We must not give amnesty to all the illegal aliens as those extremist, traitorous Senators want to do (McCain, Graham, Spector, Feinstein, Kennedy, Salazar). Defeat the Senate Amnesty bill!

Answer 5

I am tired of jobs requiring you to learn Spanish or paying you incentives if you do. That is a unfair advantage to those who grew up in Spanish speaking homes—that in unequal opportunity employment!
Come one, I mean jobs like, Subway, (American) Retail, etc.. it’s not like we are talking about Hispanic Restaurants and stuff---that sort of thing pisses me off and for that I have refused to learn Spanish and study Japanese! (which I have been studying for years anyways..)

Answer 6

wow that's crazy. its hard for my mom to get a job (and she's an accountant) because a majority of the jobs require you know Spanish. she is 43 years old. its not that easy for someone who grew up in Michigan to learn a completely new language...

oh yea and tri-care (military medical insurance) sucks completely. i used to have it. and they are horrible.

me and my hubby cant afford health insurance. but the only reason I got medi-cal was because i am pregnant. and my husband cant get it because he makes to much money...which is rediculous. he only makes $1300-$1600 a month and thats supporting two people. plus car insurance $150,car payment $300, rent $300 (which is considerably low since we live with the inlaws until he graduates college) and other various bills $530 it all comes out to $1280 in bills. not including the babys stuff we have to buy soon and diapers.


yet he cant qualify for medi-cal. and i dont qualify for financial aid. (which i would only use until i got a job, which will be in six months)


but its oh so easy for illegal immigrants to get all these benefits they dont even pay for.

Answer 7

We need to quit giving freebies to illegals. Let them give birth out on streets..word will get out and they'll do their breeding in mexico.
No more free health care to illegals, no more welfare to illegals..and fine the hell out of the dumba$$e$ that hire them.
Sadly, I dont think that its ever gonna be that way. What you see now is the beginning of the end of a once great country

Answer 8

Florida hospitals are a mess because of illegal immigrants using them as their own free private healthcare.
I am interested in this issure, but do not wish to read a long essay this or any other morning!

Answer 9

We have EXACTLY the same problem at University Hospital in San Antonio.

Answer 10

We have had enough.Our own citizens can't get healthcare,but yet,those here illegally get everything paid for.
I am disabled and on medicare.I can't get the tests my Doctor wants me to have because they aren't covered by medicare.My teeth are literally falling out of my mouth because I can't afford to go to the dentist.I had to fight last year for them to cover my yearly and mammogram because they said it wasn't medically necessary.
Their sense of entitlement is over whelming...and it will only get worse