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Immigrants put hospitals in costly care dilemma
The Sun-News ^ | September 12, 2010 | By Franco Ordonez

Posted on 09/12/2010 8:41:52 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- More than two dozen medical staples hold together the left side of Orlen Rosales' head after he was struck by a train on July 4, his family says.

Few thought the 26-year-old Honduran would survive, but doctors and nurses at Carolinas Medical Center have worked nonstop to save him.

Rosales doesn't have insurance. In fact, he's not even in the country legally. He was deported in 2008 after a drunken-driving arrest. And he's not eligible for Medicaid beyond emergency care.

"Yes, he doesn't have papers, but he's a human being," says Oneyda Lopez, Rosales' cousin.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that 59 percent of illegal immigrants are uninsured. That's about 15 percent of the nation's 47 million uninsured people.

Illegal immigrants are not eligible for Medicare, the federal insurance program for people 65 and older. They can get emergency care through Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and disabled. Anything beyond emergency care isn't covered. The new health care law specifically excludes illegal immigrants.

Some argue that hospitals are in this position now because the government has failed to properly enforce immigration laws.

Ron Woodard of N.C. Listen, an advocacy group, says he is sensitive to Rosales' injuries, but notes that taxpayers will ultimately pay.

"If we were just so flush with money, I guess we could just take care of the rest of the world's health care," he says. "But we're not."

(Excerpt) Read more at thesunnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aliens; amnesty; failure; handouts; healthcare; illegalimmigration; medical; socialism
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1 posted on 09/12/2010 8:41:54 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Surprising coming from libtard haven Charlotte, N.C. ....


2 posted on 09/12/2010 8:43:42 AM PDT by cranked
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
"Yes, he doesn't have papers, but he's a human being,"

yes,we have no bananas

3 posted on 09/12/2010 8:45:06 AM PDT by Doogle ((USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I have read that at least one dialysis center has closed due to illegals


4 posted on 09/12/2010 8:47:19 AM PDT by GeronL (http://libertyfic.proboards.com <--- My Fiction/ Science Fiction Board)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

The obvious becomes reality;
“If we were just so flush with money, I guess we could just take care of the rest of the world’s health care,” he says. “But we’re not.”


5 posted on 09/12/2010 8:50:19 AM PDT by B4Ranch (Conflict is inevitable; Combat is an option. Train for the fight.)
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To: Doogle
OK, lady, the guy's your cousin. Get all your relatives together and pass the hat. Pay his bill instead of sending the usual dough back to Honduras.
6 posted on 09/12/2010 8:51:02 AM PDT by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
The new health care law specifically excludes illegal immigrants.

Only problem with this is that you can't ask their citizenship status, so they end up with free healthcare anyway. NO....... the new healthcare plan DOES not exclude illegals as advertised.

7 posted on 09/12/2010 8:52:36 AM PDT by umgud (Obama is a failed experiment.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Build a wall - high and mighty. Punish employers and individuals for hiring illegals. No school. No medical, except life saving treatment (then deport). Imprison criminals. No money to be wired out of the country unless the person proves legal immigration status.


8 posted on 09/12/2010 8:53:43 AM PDT by BAW ( I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

I might try that at lunch! “I don’t have any money but I’m a human being.”


9 posted on 09/12/2010 8:56:04 AM PDT by tumblindice (He's a mutt)
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To: BAW

How about billing the country of their orgin?


10 posted on 09/12/2010 8:59:02 AM PDT by monocle
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Let me present some money quotes from the article:

"...he was struck by a train on July 4..."

"...He was deported in 2008 after a drunken-driving arrest. On the night of the accident, family and police suspect he had been drinking."

"The engineer told police he didn't notice a man lying on the tracks until he was about 50 feet away. By then, it was too late. It was 3 a.m. Rosales never moved. He lost his right hand and suffered head injuries."

So, this drunken loser enters the country illegally, gets drunk, LIES DOWN ON THE RAILROAD TRACKS, and the hospital is responsible for his care? I think we have reached the limits of a lack of individual responsibility.

11 posted on 09/12/2010 8:59:40 AM PDT by Former Proud Canadian (How do I change my screen name now that we have the most conservative government in the world?)
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To: BAW

No anchor babies.


12 posted on 09/12/2010 9:00:03 AM PDT by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Almost every country that these ILLEGALS come from gets some type of AID from the US Government. It is time to REDIRECT the AID MONEY by the amount of money that each and every ILLEGALS is unable to pay for medical services and direct those funds to the hospitals providing the services.


13 posted on 09/12/2010 9:01:30 AM PDT by WellyP
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To: RobbyS
No anchor babies.

I didn't click through and read the whole article, but no one has mentioned any injuries that will prevent him from procreating.

14 posted on 09/12/2010 9:05:05 AM PDT by SC Swamp Fox (Aim small, miss small.)
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To: RobbyS

Ditto! BTT


15 posted on 09/12/2010 9:05:18 AM PDT by ASOC (What will you do when Mexico becomes OUR Chechnya?)
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To: GeronL

“I have read that at least one dialysis center has closed due to illegals”

...I think that was Henry Grady Hospital in Atlanta...the dialysis unit was losing $4 million a year.


16 posted on 09/12/2010 9:07:04 AM PDT by STONEWALLS
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To: Oldeconomybuyer

Endless FREEBIES for illegals. Sickening.


17 posted on 09/12/2010 9:07:08 AM PDT by Frantzie (Imam Ob*m* & Democrats support the VICTORY MOSQUE & TV supports Imam)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
“But advocates for injured immigrants say some U.S. hospitals are dumping patients in places where they're likely to receive little care.”

Seems to me the obvious solution here is for the “advocates” to legally adopt three or four illegals apiece and provide a nurturing, safe environment for the poor dears as well as paying for clothing, food, education and lifelong medical care. Oh wait, they won't even do that for their own children.

18 posted on 09/12/2010 9:09:57 AM PDT by Free in Texas (When they come for your guns, give 'em your bullets first.)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Immigrants Illegals put hospitals in costly care dilemma.
19 posted on 09/12/2010 9:12:50 AM PDT by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: Frantzie

The sad fact is that health care to citizens and legal residents who pay for insurance with their work will be cut in order to care for these illegals. He’s not the victim..Granny is. Soon they will ration care to the old and infirm in favor of illegal immigrants that should be stopped at the border or stopped at the work place. Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. Employing illegals is not a victimless crime.


20 posted on 09/12/2010 9:13:20 AM PDT by Oldexpat
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