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The Spanish language TV stations, according to posts here back before the illegal marches, were telling the Mexicans that this was about to be enacted. This is part of the reason they were marching for immediate citizenship. As I understand it, the state Medicaid programs are somewhat privatized, run by the states, but financed in large part by the feds.

I know some American families who spent time on BadgerCare, the Wisconsin state Medicaid. I have seen some of the letters they received and some of the bills. Over the past year, Medicaid has cracked down hard even on citizens on disability who worked part time under the allowed number of hours/income line. These are people who must see an MD once a month or so, due to chronic, severe conditions that are held in check by constant treatment with prescription drugs and medical appliances. When their kids reached 17--19, depending on whether they were in college or not, the parents began receiving bills if they exceeded the income allowed. Sometimes, the amounts demanded were almost equal to the amounts received under disability.

This is a very liberal Democrat-run state. If it is happening here, it is going to happen elsewhere. I am sure that various groups will sue the states to allow free Medicaid to illegals, but I am not as certain they will succeed. If the hospitals are overrun or shut down or in triage mode, how can anyone get blood from a stone?

I see some value in allowing the use of the ER in case someone has a communicable disease.

I had to go to the ER last year. My condition was minor, but it was a Sunday and even the walk-in clinic was closed. The place was empty, even though we have a large population of Medicaid clients, most of them Americans, and a small population of illegals about 20 miles from here.I do not have comprehensive insurance. No one asked for a credit card or any money. I just stated that I was a self pay. I received a bill for $279 for having been seen, getting a dx and a script that I had to fill at a pharmacy.

I have med staff friends and they have told me that the frequent flyers have diminished in the past year or so. The ER is set up so that the waiting area is separated from the treatment area by a locked door. You have to be buzzed in. There are perhaps 6 chairs in the tiny waiting area, which is under observation by the staff in the ER. Our local hospital is gradually being taken over by the mega hospital corporation that controls this part of state. They are not nearly as accommodating as when our hospital was small and privately owned.

Of course, I can't speak for other areas and I read all the time that urban hospitals are overrun and border hospitals are shutting down. People are also leaving medicine and not encouraging their kids to enter the field. If I was an illegal and had to utilize the ER as a clinic, I can see where I would if something serious happened. I see a public health benefit to Well Baby clinics as well as some sort of mechanism to keep contagious disease contained. However, it just doesn't seem that welcoming for minor complaints. I have had MDs and RNs tell me horror stories about urban ERs, drug addicts, gang shoot outs, etc. I wouldn't work in those conditions and neither do most of the med staff who have a choice. The ones who do are burned out quickly.

Look, I am just trying to interject a bit of reality here. I do not see the situation escalating to the point where every hospital is overrun by indigents of whatever citizenship. There are not infinite human or monetary resources. This is why the tax cuts and incremental privatizations were so important. Combined with medical procedures like triage, they are at least containing a portion of the problem.

Just like the school situation, there comes a point where there is no money, no infrastructure and no staff.

As I understand it, the state Medicaid programs are somewhat privatized, run by the states, but financed in large part by the feds.

Here is how Medicaid is financed and works

The Medicaid program (Title XIX of the Social Security Act) is a state-administered health insurance program for low-income individuals that is jointly funded by the federal and state governments. The states operate indi-vidual Medicaid programs within broad guidelines established by the federalCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Created in 1965 along with the Medicare program, Medicaid has grown from asmall entitlement program—serving only 4 million beneficiaries in 1966, at acost of $400 million—into a significant state and federal budget item. In 2002,Medicaid served 51 million individuals at a cost of $216 billion in combined state and federal spending, making the program larger than Medicare.

Accounting for over 40 percent of all federal funds flowing to the states, the program has become the largest single federal financing source for states. Medicaid expenditures consume an average of 16 percent of state budgets,second only to the proportion spent on elementary and secondary education.

The Medicaid program is funded by a combination of federal and state dollarsallocated through a statutorily required matching structure. Because Medicaidis an entitlement program, the federal government matches state spending onan open-ended basis, using a calculation called the federal medical assistancepercentage (FMAP). The FMAP is determined annually for each state, using a formula that compares the states’ average per capita income levels with thenational average income level. FMAPs range from 50 percent in the wealthierstates to 77 percent in the poorest state. (On average, the federal governmentcovers 57 percent of total Medicaid costs.)

This is a very liberal Democrat-run state. If it is happening here, it is going to happen elsewhere. I am sure that various groups will sue the states to allow free Medicaid to illegals, but I am not as certain they will succeed. If the hospitals are overrun or shut down or in triage mode, how can anyone get blood from a stone?

The Wisconsin state Senate is controlled by the Reps. Read the link I provided. There is a certain incentive for the states to continue assisting those who need the safety net. The federal government essentially pays matching funds. There is a reason why Medicaid is bigger than Medicare and has grown from 4 million to 51 million beneficiaries.

Look, I am just trying to interject a bit of reality here. I do not see the situation escalating to the point where every hospital is overrun by indigents of whatever citizenship. There are not infinite human or monetary resources. This is why the tax cuts and incremental privatizations were so important. Combined with medical procedures like triage, they are at least containing a portion of the problem.

The numbers are spreading. I have seen the change here in Northern VA. According to official census figures, the number of states that had Mexican-born residents as the largest group of foreign born residents in 1990 was 18. In 2000 it is 30 states. In VA our largest group is from El Salvador, but the number of Mexican born has increased dramatically. The problem is going to get worse before it gets better. The ACLU, La Raza, nd the Dems will continue to block any attempt to curtail medical services for illegals.