Bummer: BBB Hits Illegal Aliens And Legal Immigrants Over Health Care

Is Politico trying to get me to like the bill, which still spends too much, even more?

Megabill hits health care for immigrants, including legal ones, hard

As President Donald Trump intensifies his targeting of undocumented immigrants, the GOP megabill passed Thursday takes aim at those here legally by revoking their access to subsidized care.

Under current rules, those immigrants — green card holders, refugees, survivors of domestic violence, and individuals on work and student visas — can purchase health insurance on the Obamacare marketplace and receive tax credits to offset the cost. Some of them are also eligible for coverage through Medicaid, the state-federal program for low-income people, if they earn incomes below the poverty level, as well as Medicare, the federal program for elderly people.

But the provisions in the GOP megabill narrow immigrant eligibility for these programs, allowing only green card holders, immigrants from Cuba and Haiti, and immigrants from certain Pacific Island countries access to federally funded health care.

The move to restrict coverage for legal immigrants comes as the Trump administration pushes ahead on its aggressive immigration campaign, delivering mass deportations, challenging birthright citizenship, and ending temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

When people apply for visas, be they work or student, they are supposed to be self-supporting, not having the citizens of the US pay for them to be here. That is part of the terms of those visas. So, they shouldn’t be on Obamacare and getting tax credits. They shouldn’t be on Medicaid. For one thing, an immigrant is really more defined as someone moving someplace and intending to stay. Visa holders are temporary visitors to the U.S. Green card holders, many of whom are on a path to citizenship, should be able to pay for their own way as a term of their legal path to citizenship. Why do we even have permanent residents in the first place? OK, discussion for another day

“These are the largest cuts to health coverage that we have seen, and this will be one of the largest cuts to immigrants in recent years,” said Drishti Pillai, director of immigrant health policy at KFF, a health policy think tank in Washington. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan scorekeeper, estimated similar provisions would leave 1.3 million lawfully present immigrants uninsured in 2034. Low-income green card holders in the five-year waiting period that applies to them for Medicaid, but who are currently eligible for subsidized Obamacare coverage, are expected to be the largest group hit.

Well, then those illegals and visa holders can leave. Better yet, do not come. Why do we have low-income green card holders? All those leftist wackos threatening to move to Canada, the UK, or elsewhere, well, those countries require them to ba able to earn their keep.

The provisions have been overshadowed by broader Medicaid cuts, and the politically fraught nature of immigration has made Republicans reluctant to speak out about the restrictions. Still, they have raised concerns in both red and blue states because it would mean their already financially strained health care systems would have to bear the higher costs of uncompensated and emergency care.

There are no cuts: there is a reduction in the rate of increase, which is easily offset by not giving illegals and others government funded healthcare. If Democrat states want to pay for the illegals, have at it. That’s on them.

Under fiscal pressure, blue states, including Minnesota and Illinois, have moved to roll back health care access for undocumented immigrants, who are not eligible for any federally subsidized health care programs. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, approved a state budget that will scale back free health care for undocumented immigrants.

I thought they weren’t eligible for it in the first place? Was that another lie?

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