Does our public medical care system treat illegal immigrants better than American citizens?

Question

This will take a minute to read and I ask if you do not care to read please this in full please answer another question.Parkland Hospital, hasalmost 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. The hospital spent $70.7 million delivering 15,938 babies in 2004 but managed to end up with almost $8 million 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 to pay her $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 effects? 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 to 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) an 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!
Their (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 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 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 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.

Answer 1

That is absolute Bullshit, not the first time i've heard this before obviously. Why does our government just stop, just stop these ridiculous laws. Stop listening to these retarded civil rights groups. No anchor babies. No benefits. Then people call you racist and ask why you hate illegals. I WONDER WHY.

Answer 2

Thank you, thank you! What you wrote should be required reading for everyone residing in this country, but especially by the Liberal Congress and the Liberal Supreme Court.
I served in the Army during the Viet Nam war and I tell you my wife did not get anything like those illegal women.
Even though our income was below the National Poverty line (both while on active duty and after) we had to pay in full for all medical care.
I would like to point out, though, that most Mexicans (and others from Central and South America and the Carribean) don't actually speak Spanish. It is difficult for an American to understand a Brit or an Aussie; there is a much bigger disparity between Castille (Spanish) and what the other Spanish-speaking people use. If you use the dialect common in California, the Mexs from Arizone, Texas and Florida can't understand you.

Answer 3

Yes, it does. An illegal goes to the emergency room with a cold or a life-death situation, gets treated and it's for free. A citizen is harmed in a car accident, gets cancer, or any other problem and they will be hounded by the hospital and dunned by bill collectors until they are forced into bankruptcy.

And while all babies deserve the best care, illegals should be getting an airplane ticket home, not the opportunity to drop "anchor" baby on U.S. soil for free.

Answer 4

I do believe this story is true, but on the other hand I think whatever reason the mother has, the BABY comes first and that means that everyone should be able to get good OB services. I am white, and I can say that I have seen many Americans get just as much as you think the hispanics do. In WA state immigrants period are not eligible for welfare medical insurance, neither are their children. I also have seen several non-eng speaking latinas give birth and get given the shaft b/c nobody told them they could have other options or recieve other help. whether indigent or not, ALL babies deserve top care and concern. While in Texas, it may be that the majority of indigent prego mums are illegal latinas, but in other areas/states that's not true. Also I have some latino fams who got ripped off and are paying every month on hosp bills when they cant afford it, b/c no one told them the hosp has a sliding scale for indigents, esp for pregnancy and emergency care.

Yes, it is ridiculous to require span at the school, but obviously in your area it is needed to ensure the BABIES get top care, this is not catering ot illegals, this is caring for innocent babies who cannot speak for themselves.

Yes, it is also ridiculous that the larger print be in another lang than Eng. Though I am not a hardliner anti-immigrant, I do believe that english should be our first and required lang. Though in many areas it may be necessary to have things printed in other langs as well.

Answer 5

Illegal immigrants receive the SAME emergency care as anyone else at their economic level who cannot afford care. You have no basis for your assertion that their care is better. If a US citizen or legal immigrant had gone to the same hospital with the same situation, she would have received the same treatment.

Answer 6

It's all to true and angers me very much. Receintly I was in St Luke's hospital in Milwaukee and I could not believe my eyes. While looking for the reception desk I could not find it at my first glance because they have the mexican word for reception in big bold letter and that english word "reception" in fine print under it. pretty soon everyone will be required to speak spanish and english will be an elective.

Answer 7

Why not? Our congressmen all treat them better than us! They HATE us unless we are capitalisticly preditorial and full of selfish GREED and hate god and are queer and dont own guns otherwise THEY HATE US! All congressmen burn in hell. I want to see them burn! I would torchure them if I could for how they have done us all!!

Answer 8

What are you talking about? The brits and the euros love to tell each other we let people die in the street if they don't have money While they get it for "FREE'

Answer 9

my sister was having money trouble when it came her time...
i told her to just go in saying "no habla senor..."