Does hr 3200 allow illegal immigrants to participate in the new health care program?”
Anyone who says it allows them to, in the words of Joe Wilson, lies. Here’s the truth, from CNN: “The statement: Complaints that those in the United States illegally would get benefits under the health-care bill now before the House of Representatives have been a staple of the raucous public meetings some members of Congress have been hosting during their August break. At least two people raised the issue at a forum held by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, on August 12, and Cardin’s insistence that “Illegal aliens will not be in this bill — period — the end” was met with a round of jeers. The facts: The bill, HR 3200, would set up a health insurance “exchange,” in which consumers could compare policies and choose a plan. It would create a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers in that exchange, and extend subsidies for coverage to people who aren’t already covered by employers or federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid. It specifically bars illegal immigrants from
According to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service, nothing would prevent illegal immigrants from purchasing insurance through the proposed government marketplace known as an exchange. This means that illegal immigrants, like any consumers looking to purchase insurance, would stand to benefit from any reductions in the cost of private insurance and from new government standards that set minimum requirements for benefits packages. Illegal immigrants would also potentially be able to purchase coverage through a government-run insurance plan, should Democrats decide to create one over the objections of Republicans. The Democrats say a public plan would have lower overhead but would not get any extra help from taxpayers, so that it would compete on a level playing field with private insurers.
