Clinton health plan for Americans only

[rodeodance]

Source: ap



Clinton health plan for Americans only

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 10 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally would not be covered by her proposed universal health care plan.


The New York senator said she supports basic health services for illegal immigrants, including hospitalization and treatment of acute conditions. But she said the magnitude of the nation's health care challenge means her universal coverage proposal would not cover the 12 million people living in the country illegally.

"People who are here legally deserve some better treatment and acceptance in the law than people who are not here legally," she said. "These are hard choices."

As for ways to reduce pressure on the overburdened health care system, she said she could envision using "carrots and maybe a few sticks" to motivate people to lose weight and make other behavioral changes that could help.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071019/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_health_care;_ylt=Asbd_DDk7UUv71BqyrLD1y35R9AF

[Mojorabbit]

1. Hmmm

I want my doctor to advise me on my health care not the President nor insurance companies.

[rodeodance]

12. where does it say your doc will NOT be advising you?

[Mojorabbit]

36. carrot and stick

when it comes to health care is what she said in your op. I have had my fill of insurance companies and I can envision what carrot and stick will mean when both they and the govt decide what the stick will be.

[napi21]

2. Look folks. IF any Dem can manage to push through a universal

health plan at all, they would stand NO CHANCE at all if they said it would cover illegals! Even the Pubs fought Shrub on his immigration policy, and they don't fight him on ANYTHING!

Once a plan is put into place and proven to be working well, it can always be improved, but I think it would be very foolish to destroy all it's chances by making unreasonable demands up front?

[Catch22Dem]

5. Agreed!

As if universal health care wasn't going to be difficult enough, some people want to make it a COMPLETE non-starter.

[rodeodance]

9. yes, 'illegals' was a (FALSE) talking point in the kids health plan that failed today. Hillary learn

s her lessons well.

[napi21]

18. That's one of the reasons I think she's the front runner.

The opposition may say she has no REAL experience, but that's not true! She's smart, a quick learner, and learns from her & her husband's mistakes! I know it's still a long way to the election, and I was and still am a strong Dean supporter, so I'm well aware of how thing can go south in a heartbeat, but Hillary knows how to fight back, and that's one of the MOST IMPORTANT assets a Dem candidate can have!

[kurth]

3. What's wrong with that?

[EFerrari]

21. It's stupid to deny people health care because

it puts EVERYONE ELSE at risk. That's why.

[Le Taz Hot]

29. What's WRONG with that?

Look, I'm one who is adamantly opposed to unfettered illegal immigration by any group, but dude, there's a moral imperative here. If you're a health care professional and someone comes in with a sick child, what are you going to do? Turn them away just because they were born on the "wrong" patch of dirt? Come on!

Same thing with education. Some years back there was a law passed in California mandating all health care professionals and educators turn in people they thought were here illegally. At the time I was an educator and believe me, I know of NO teacher or health care professional that would deny a person an education or health care. Some things go beyond the law.

[northzax]

33. read what she said

urgent and emergency care would still be covered. Emergency rooms especially are forbidden from turning away patients based on their ability to pay. What this says is that undocumented residents of the US will not have access to government funded non-emergency care. basically just like now.

[BearSquirrel2]

47. It's covered right now ...

Everyone's emergency care is covered right now ... by everyone else who pays health insurance.

[Megahurtz]

39. Nothing that I can see. n/t

[Boomerbob]

4. Sounds healthy to me

I am a cancer survivor and if you have ever tried to get health care coverage from any insurers after having cancer it is impossible at least down here in the Bush league of Texas. It seems that the state allows insurers to put all those that need health care coverage, and have been rejected by all the insurers in the state, into a Health Risk Pool. The Texas Health Risk Pool allows those who must have insurance to pay the highest premiums, be denied the most for any type of coverage (they denied my cancer testing after my surgery, which after they provided they canceled my coverage all together!!!) And finally this fine monopoly tells me if I don't comply by filling out forms every few months they could cancel me out and I COULD BE UNINSURED EVEN THOUGH I WANT COVERAGE AND THEY WON'T SELL IT TO ME!!!
No wonder Hillary has to eliminate illegals from the coverage since THIS IS THE WAY THEY TREAT A NATURAL BORN AMERICAN CITIZEN.

459 more days until Bush is gone will we make it?

[EFerrari]

22. Welcome to DU, Boomerbob.

Looks like we're on our own.

[Le Taz Hot]

30. The system is broken and the illegals

aren't the ones who broke it -- look to greedy corporate America for that and the politicians, both R & D, who are in their pockets. Btw, Hillary's health care proposal does NOTHING for you. Read the fine print, they can charge you as much as they want to charge you and you HAVE to pay it.

[bigwillq]

37. Hello

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[partylessinOhio]

6. Blame the sick and beat 'em with a stick! HRC sucks!

Blame the victim and not the insurance leeches.
:crazy:

[rodeodance]

10. can you explain your comment please?

[partylessinOhio]

14. Too much "big sister" interfering with people's private lives:

'she said she could envision using "carrots and maybe a few sticks" to motivate people to lose weight and make other behavioral changes'

Is that any clearer?

Edit to add: She sounds too Repuglican to me - they are notorious for blaming the health care user for their health problems.

[toopers]

46. That statement alone is very scary . . .

Why does anyone want the government controlling such an important aspect of their lives? Where would she stop?

[Jameson and Craic]

52. I don't think it's blaming the sick at all

[Jim Sagle]

7. And this is bad because?

:shrug:

[rodeodance]

11. I think Hil was putting this point out for all to see (given the bad press on the kids health plan

that Repugs said covered illegals)-------when it clearly says in the bill that it does not.

[EFerrari]

20. Because it's stupid public health pollicy.

[northzax]

35. so take your pick

the current system, or hillary's system.

one or the other. no country in the world pays for medical care for people who cannot provide documentation of their eligibility for the program. I carry an NHS card from the UK for just that reason.

[Jim Sagle]

49. So you'd rather throw good health care out the window if it didn't include illegal aliens.

Fuck that bullshit.

[MissB]

8. Does Canada provide health insurance for non-citizens?

I don't see anything wrong with Clinton's proposal.

[rpannier]

17. She also didn't say citizens. She said it wouldn't cover people her illegally

That would mean...I'm guessing...that the program would cover foreigners working here and people who were visiting the US legally. It just wouldn't cover people who were here illegally.

My only problem with it (and it's a fairly big problem -- for me) is that the people here illegally working in California, Arizona, Florida, etc make huge contriburions to the economy in terms of their labor and their work keeps produce prices low for much of America.

But, I am also a realist. The republikkans torpedoed DUH-bya's immigration bill and they have challenged him on NOTHING!
Some issues are a non-starter and I recognize that if the plan included people here illegally it would sink before it left the dock.

[Auntie Bush]

51. Seems to me they don't spend much on our economy...they send almost

all of their wages back to relatives in Mexico. So, yes, they are good for the economy...Mexico's economy!

"is that the people here illegally working in California, Arizona, Florida, etc make huge contributions to the economy"

[midlife_mo_Jo]

26. Canada provides emergency treatment for non citizens

And if you're a legal resident, I think you can pay about $50 a month for coverage.

[Mz Pip]

13. Okay

I don't have a problem with this.

Would I be given free health care if I was in Mexico illegally? In Germany illegally? In Norway illegally?

Let's deal with our own citizens first before guaranteeing anything to people who are here illegally.

Good grief, in a perfect world anyone anywhere would be able to get health care any place in the world. But lets just try to get some needed services for people in our own country before we tackle the inequities of the world.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Hulk]

15. Democratic Party....PLEASE DON'T STICK US WITH HILLARY!!!

Yes....she's a thousand times better than what we have raping us in the WH now...but she is FAR from the best we can do for this country.

I am all for Universal Health Care in the country. Understand that "illegal immigrants" will still be served, and "illegal immigrants" will be unable to pay their expenses and vanish into the night. But at least focus on the American legal population first. Who knows...maybe the countries of origin will pick up the tabs for their citizens....<cough, cough>

[superkia]

16. If the health care industry can still deny claims or only give...

partial payments, I think its still shit because many people in bad situations will continue to go bankrupt and live stressful lives trying to survive. I don't understand why only one candidate wants the profit out of health care and the American people seem to have accepted the fact of people being denied? If a politician is going to fix something, fix it dont just play with it a little. As long as the profit stays it will never get better for some...ever!

[dflprincess]

45. That's right

I wish everyone would stop referring to Clinton's plan as health care - it's a mandatory health insurance plan and the biggest beneficiaries will be the health insurance companies.

[EFerrari]

19. Cool! She's playing into the xenophobia.

'Way to go. :sarcasm:

[midlife_mo_Jo]

27. Xenophobia?

Or maybe she's trying to come up with a workable plan that this country can afford?

Since you seem to think that healthcare is a right for anyone who crosses the border, let me ask you this.

How long does one have to be here to get treated for cancer, for instance? One week? One month? One year? Two years?

And if you were a poor mother in Mexico whose child had cancer, wouldn't you cross the border to seek help? Wouldn't most parents do that because we love our children? Think about it. How far would you travel to save your child?

Now, imagine U.S. citizens paying for this influx of desparate people seeking healthcare.

Healthcare for Americans is attainable. A utopian plan that no other nation has is not.

[EFerrari]

38. We can afford health care and we pay for it, we just don't get it

as Dr. Dean pointed out years ago.

When that wall goes up, I hope I'm the right side of it.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

42. Name one country that pays for routine healthcare for anyone who crosses the border

I doubt that you can. However, if we open up healthcare to anyone who gets into the U.S. , we will become the world's healthcare provider. We can't afford that, and a bill like that will NEVER pass.

How about let's work on getting healthcare to Americans and legal immigrants - like Canada. Then we can worry about how we're going to afford paying for immigrants who come here illegally.

[EFerrari]

43. Most undocumented workers go 'way out of their way to avoid

officialdom in any form because it puts them at risk. So, the Republican talking point that those evil illegals will bankrupt our health system (that undocumented workers pay for via taxes that they pay to stay under the rader) is hot air meant to rally their racist base.

I agree with Freddie and rodeodance that HRC is trying to deprive the Thuggery of this talking point and I wish her good luck with that.

[Megahurtz]

41. Hell,

there's better Cancer Treatment in Mexico!

[Megahurtz]

40. Okay Sfex,

try sneaking over the Canadian border illegally and expect to be treated exactly like
a Citizen or Legal Resident by demanding that you be covered by their Government
Insurance Program and see where that gets ya.:eyes:

You'de be deported so quick that your head would spin!:crazy:

So does that make them "xenophobes"?:eyes:

Ever been to Canada? They don't put up with the illegal immigrant crap like the U.S. does.
That's why their Country is so clean and peaceful and rated one of the best
Countries to live in the World.

"Xenophobia"??? :eyes: Oh please! Give it up!

[EFerrari]

44. I'm not talking about Canada. I'm talking about a Republican

talking point for their racist base. That is the context.

[lamp_shade]

23. Imagine the uproar if she included them.

She'd be tarred and feathered, especially by the haters here at DU.

[Vinca]

24. Illegal immigrants are the least of my worries with Hillary's plan.

Sadly, our top 3 contenders have plans that revolve around insurance company coverage. The insurance companies have caused this mess, insurance companies will still find a way to make billions off the neediest among us, insurance companies need to go. Like a previous poster, my husband has a chronic condition and can't get coverage at any price. There is no way this greedy, money grubbing industry will suddenly transform into a humanitarian organization with policies meant only to help the masses. Hillary, Obama and Edwards need to take off their rose-colored glasses and jump up and down on them. If we get a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress and fail to institute universal, single payer healthcare, we are fools.

[stlsaxman]

25. So she's decided to abandon the latino vote for the "murkin" vote.

Her plan isn't even Universal Health Care- it's mandatory health insurance. Those "ill-eagles" can't afford health insurance anyway... so they'll be breaking the law.

Imagine- illegals avoiding going to emergency rooms like the plague because they're afraid of being deported, and hence spreading the plague to the rest of us.

[BearSquirrel2]

48. I suppose then ...

I suppose then that Democrats can count on that vote passing to the Republicans ? :shrug:

It would be nice if this was one happy world with fair labor and environmental practices everywhere. Unfortunately this is not the world we live in. We cannot afford to pay for the world if we cannot take care of ourselves.

The solution to the problem is to demand universal healthcare coverage in MEXICO!!! Why would anyone fight for their rights in Mexico when they can just jump ship to the US?

[RantinRavin]

28. Of course she is going to say it this way

It makes the citizens happy, and she knows full and well excluding illegals will be overturned with a simple Constitutional challenge based on the 14th amendment. Then she can blame the courts for allowing coverage for illegals.

[alcibiades_mystery]

31. Triangulation...move me brightly...

:eyes:

They had a GOPer Congress-douchebag on NPR this morning calling the SCHIP program "Socialized Clinton Hillary-care for Illegals and their Parents. Nobody bothered to mention that in this clever formulation, real actual children are transformed into "illegals." "Illegals and their Parents." This is children we're talking about. In this guy's world, it's OK to disregard a sick child if that child is sans papiers. The barbarism of the construction is right on the surface, and yet everybody is like ho-hum, guess your folks shouldn't have crossed the border like that, you little illegal.

What a fucking world.

[Evergreen Emerald]

32. Do the plans of the other candidates cover illegal aliens?

What caused you to post this only about Clinton? Are you concerned whether or not the other candidates offer health care to illegal aliens--other than emergency care?

[Freddie Stubbs]

34. Looks like she is trying to take away a GOP talking point

[dkofos]

50. For American insurance companies