BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: Greg F.
Date: 07 Nov 06 - 01:15 PM

No one in America is guaranteed health care

Yup- and that's to the eternal disgrace of the good ol'Red White & Blue.

Yeah, them god damn Mexicans! Where do they come off wanting to be able to feed their families? They're getting rich & living la vida loca on minimum-wage salaries or less.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Nov 06 - 12:31 PM

It's all relative. I don't think you get that many people from countries that aren't impoverished trying to sneak into the USA.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: NH Dave
Date: 07 Nov 06 - 12:22 PM

No one in America is guaranteed health care, although very few emergency rooms will or are allowed to turn someone away for lack of papers, or money. Your tax dollars at work.

That having been said, there have to be some perks from being an American citizen, or there would not be so many people trying by fair means or foul to enter the us and partake of the American lifestyle. At one time folks from Mexico entered this country to work, frequently at agricultural jobs, sending their wages back home to support their families, and then went back home themselves, after the work was done. These days they come in and stay until they are officially discovered by Immigration folks, and shipped back to Mexico at our expense. The earlier way was much cheaper.

Dave

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Nov 06 - 11:33 AM

How can someone born in the USA be said to have entered the country illegally, Doug?

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Nov 06 - 12:14 AM

They are US citizens by virtue of being born here, Doug. Would you deny infant Americans health care? Oh, that's right, you would, since you are a brainless, lock-step Bushite.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: DougR
Date: 06 Nov 06 - 11:34 PM

What is your point, kat? Is it that you are upset because the U. S. will not provide health care to those who enter the country illegally?

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Nov 06 - 07:31 PM

Here's a bit more: Illegal immigrants do not have access to Medicaid, but are eligible to receive care for emergencies including labor and delivery. Earlier when a woman delivered her baby under Medicaid, the baby was automatically covered under Medicaid for the first year of its life.

However the new rules provide no such coverage; requiring the parents to file an application and provide documents to prove the baby's US citizenship. These rules were effective from July, but some states have been a bit slow in implementing them. Doctors are becoming aware of the rules only now.

Here's more info: Administration officials said the change was necessary under their reading of a new law, the Deficit Reduction Act, signed by President Bush in February. The law did not mention newborns, but generally tightened documentation requirements because some lawmakers were concerned that immigrants were fraudulently claiming U.S. citizenship to get Medicaid.

Here's a link to the White House's FAQ sheet on the Deficit Reduction Act.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 06 Nov 06 - 04:18 PM

Without looking too deeply into the Medicare regs, a few things may be worth noting.

1. The article linked implies that hospital records of the birth are a sufficient "documentation" of the infant's citizen status.

2. For most Medicare benefits, an evidence of "need" has always been a requirement. The mother's need should already have been established, or she wouldn't have received Medicare assistance with the birth. This means the hospital should have all the information needed to make the application for the infant.

3. The requirement to confirm eligibility of the child does not prevent a hospital from providing treatment. It just means that if "eligibility" isn't confirmed they won't get paid (by Medicare) for treatment rendered. Most hospitals arent' too stupid to be quite sure of what's "approvable."

4. In all cases I've seen, payment of Medicare benefits is retroactive to the time at which a patient becomes eligible for coverage, regardless of how much later the determination of eligibility is fully documented.

5. Medicare in most states generally is so slow at paying that a month, or a few months, delay to get the paperwork done before payment should be routine for any medical practice that deals with Medicare patients.

(6. Private insurers often aren't much better in the "prompt payment" area.)

There may be real substance to this report, but quite a bit of additional digging would be necessary to really tell if the reported "change" actually means much. As the article exudes a faint aroma of "politics" I'm not sure how much digging I'd like to do; but changes in Medicare regs and policies are of sufficient personal interest that I suspect I'll attempt some follow up. It may take quite a while.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: dianavan
Date: 05 Nov 06 - 05:59 PM

"Dr. Jay E. Berkelhamer, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the new policy "punishes babies who, according to the Constitution, are citizens because they were born here."

Thats right! Since when can policy deny an American citizen their constitutional rights?

I hope the AMA will challenge this in court.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 06:39 PM

Dunno about "compassionate conservatives" - I imagine you'd be more likely to find them in the other conservatuve party you've got in America, the Democrats.

But there are still evidently genuine Christians in America kicking up a fuss about Medicaid cuts see here from the Sojourners website.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 05:53 PM

Where are the compassionate conservatives?

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: Greg F.
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 05:35 PM

Unfortunately far too few of the anti-abortion crowd are in fact "pro-life" - as this latest "christian"[sic] BuShite initiative makes abundantly clear.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 01:06 PM

This has to be a step too far for people who are genuinely pro-life.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 10:59 AM

Nits make lice: a Republican truism.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 08:30 AM

... seems to be along the Fascist line, mate...

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: Donuel
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 08:05 AM

What is worse than a hoard of 30 million immigrants?

A hoard of 30 million angry , desperate and sick immigrants.

Is the republican plan modeled in part after the Polish Ghetto for Jews?

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 04:13 AM

Once again, 'the land of the free' shows how freedom means the freedom to get things wrong.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: CapriUni
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 01:27 AM

:::Boggle:::

This is not the America I was promised in elementary Civics class.

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 01:03 AM

Requiring newborns to establish that they were born in the United States immediately after being born in the United States in order to be eligible for treatment in the United States Hospital in which they were born is a more absurd parody of bureaucracy than anything anyone could ever make up--

Subject: RE: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 04 Nov 06 - 12:33 AM

Herod would be cheering.

Subject: BS: Can't deport them? Endanger their babies
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Nov 06 - 09:37 PM

Like this is going to solve any problems with illegal immigrants...get 'em while they're helpless infants and let 'em die:

U.S. Tightens Medicaid Rules for Babies of Illegal Immigrants
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: November 2, 2006

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 — Under a new policy, children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants with low incomes will no longer be automatically entitled to health insurance through Medicaid, federal officials said today.

Undocumented immigrants are generally barred from Medicaid, but can get coverage for treatment of emergency medical conditions, including labor and delivery. In the past, once a woman received emergency care under Medicaid for the birth of a baby, the child was deemed eligible for coverage as well, and states had to cover them for one year from the date of birth.

Under the new policy, an application must be filed for the child, and the parents must provide documents to prove the child's citizenship.

The documentation requirements took effect in July, but some states have been slow to enforce them, and many doctors are only now becoming aware of the effects on newborns.

Obtaining such documents can take weeks or months in some states, doctors said. Moreover, they added, illegal immigrant parents may be reluctant to go to a state welfare office to file applications because they fear contact with government agencies that could report their presence to immigration authorities.

Administration officials said the change was necessary under their reading of a new law, the Deficit Reduction Act, signed by President Bush in February. The law did not mention newborns, but generally tightened Medicaid documentation requirements because some lawmakers were concerned that immigrants were fraudulently claiming United States citizenship to get Medicaid.

Marilyn E. Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Medicaid program, said: "The federal government told us we have no latitude. All states must change their policies and practices. We will not be able to cover any services for the newborn until a Medicaid application is filed. That could be days, weeks or months after the child is born."

About four million babies are born in the United States each year, and Medicaid pays for more than one-third of all births. The number involving illegal immigrant parents is not known, but is likely to be in the tens of thousands, health experts said.

Doctors and hospitals denounced the policy change and denied that it was required by the new law.

Dr. Jay E. Berkelhamer, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the new policy "punishes babies who, according to the Constitution, are citizens because they were born here."

Dr. Martin C. Michaels, a pediatrician in Dalton, Ga., said that continuous coverage in the first year of life was important because "newborns need care right from the start."

There;s more HERE.