SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
ADD TO THESE FIGURES $50 MILLION PER MONTH PAID TO ILLEGALS IN WELFARE FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY ALONE!
Controversy over Obama speech underscores cost of health care for illegal immigrants
By Karen de Sá
Posted: 09/10/2009 07:09:59
The latest dust-up over President Barack Obama's health-care-for-all mission — the congressman who angrily called Obama a liar during a nationally televised speech — underscored conservatives' fears that illegal immigrants would benefit from efforts to expand coverage.
But if immigrant-rich California is any indication, there are already millions of undocumented immigrants on publicly funded health plans — and it comes at a cost to taxpayers.
While the vast majority of federal benefit programs bar those who cannot present proof of citizenship, California has been more generous than other states. Taxpayers here contribute more than $1 billion each year to cover the health care costs of those who are in the country illegally.
The California Department of Health Care Services estimates 768,400 undocumented immigrants will receive coverage this fiscal year through Medi-Cal, the health program funded by state and federal tax money. The cost: $1.2 billion. While people without documentation aren't eligible for the full menu of comprehensive health care other low-income residents receive, those who show up at emergency rooms are covered.
Another state and federally funded program, Access for Infants and Mothers, serves pregnant women whose income is slightly higher than Medi-Cal eligibility allows. That program enrolls 12,000 women statewide at a cost of $123 million, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office. Some participants are presumed to be undocumented, said Lisa Murawski of the analyst's office, although no questions are asked.
According to the most recent estimates by the Public Policy Institute of California, there were 2.8 million illegal immigrants here in 2006 — one-quarter of the nation's total.
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