Been to an emergency room lately? That is where we are treating the other 10 million and illegal immigrants.
In 1986, Congress passed a law commonly referred to as EMTALA (Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, also known as the Patient Anti-Dumping Law) to address a growing concern that EDs were refusing to treat patients based on their inability to pay. This law requires every ED to provide a minimal level of care to all comers regardless of their ability to pay.
This law and the way hospitals are compensated for this treatment are at the crux of the ‘problem’, IMO. Here is where congress needs to direct its attention.