From the New York Times article:
". . . a national study by the RAND Corporation concluded that illegal immigrants account for about 1.3 percent of public health spending."

Los Angeles does not make a good example of the overall situation because the percentage of foreign born (both documented and undocumented) is far higher there than in other American cities, so singling out L. A. and claiming that it is illustrative of a nationwide problem is disingenuous.

And the same can be said for what might be called "hot spots" like Grady in Atlanta. These examples are not typical of the country at large.

Of course, it would be a lot easier and much less expensive if these folks who need dialysis would just stay home and die, like God intended.

As I say in my post at 20 Nov 09 - 06:10 p.m., just below; the P. S., second paragraph. Have Americans become so incompetent that we can't simple look at what other countries that are far less wealthy than we are, and learn by their examples? Or is it that we are so egotistical that we simply can't admit the even Taiwan has a better health care system than we have? One that is all-inclusive, as good as if not better, and far less expensive?

It's not as if we don't have the money and couldn't pay a bit more in taxes if needed to bring about a good health care system.

Americans spend $61 billion a year on soft drinks, $15 billion a year on bottled water, $8 billion a year on cosmetics, $41 billion a year on pets. They spend $9.4 billion a year on Starbucks' coffee alone. Medical spending on obesity-related conditions is estimated to have reached $147 billion a year.

[These figures derived by bringing up google and typing "Americans spend on—" and then "soft drinks," "bottled water," or whatever. Usually within the first few listings, you'll find the figure.]

And the undocumented worker matter is a side issue and does, in no way, justify abandoning the effort. It's a excuse and a red herring.

Don Firth