On Apr 18, 2006, at 3:37 PM, ravi wrote:
>
> Once again what does this have to do with immigrants? I need some
> dental
> work done right now too. My doctor is willing to see me in July. My
> insurance company says I am close to exhausting my limits for this
> year,
> so I may have to wait till next year to get some of the work done.
As Los Angeles Times columnist Ronald Brownstein wrote in his December 30, 2003 column “Health-Care Storm Brewing in California Threatens to Swamp U.S.”, “the impending Medicaid disaster is not a problem the states can handle alone; their budget shortfalls are too big.”
The dialogue has been ongoing in CA where there is, indeed, a problem.
>
> And while you deserve respect for the work you do for disabled rights,
> why assume the rest are inactive whiners? Doug and Jordan run this
> list
> and nurture a community. Chuck (who is no friend of mine) seems to
> be a
> dedicated anarchist activist. Nathan Newman works on labour issues.
> Michael Perelman teaches and writes excellent books that hopefully
> educate and convert the uninformed. From what I can tell, apart
> from the
> couple of days she seems to have spent getting married, Yoshie seems
> involved in some form of organizing or activism...
Yes, but why is it that the LEFT has not joined in the disability rights struggle? It has been going on at least since the 1970s and actually has a history back before WWI. You will not find coverage of disability rights by leftist publications all through out the times of our struggle, yet you are all willing to jump up and shout for the rights of illegal immigrants. I don't get it.
>
>
> I think many of the "illegals" (as you call them) probably DO DO that:
> live on less than $800 a month. And since I have done that in the
> past,
> I could if I needed to. But this is a horrible diversion / way to pose
> this...
>
Where do you live? $800 a month stretches further in some areas of
the country.
>
> At around 18/4/06 12:31 pm, Marta Russell wrote:
>
>>
>> How would you like to retire on the Mexican retirement plan -- get
>> ziltch? The problem with this list is that you are able bodied people
>> who can work and haven't had the experience of being pushed out of
>> the labor force permanently. You don't seem to think of anyone who
>> doesn't have that ability to have an employer hire you. You are not
>> looking down the road at old age or possible disablement. I
>> certainly would not want to rely upon Mexican disability or
>> retirement benefits. So this nation, as crappy as it is, is
>> something.
>>
>>
>
> Say a disabled person gets an opportunity to emigrate to Sweden, which
> (at least for this discussion let us assume) has much more
> comprehensive
> health and retirement benefits. A Swedish citizen protests that
> this is
> an unfair use of "his" system. You would stick to your principle
> (above)
> and respond that the disabled person should return?
I stated no such "principle". I have never stated that an immigrant should return. These threads get so distorted.
>
> Marta, the suffering you see around you and the uphill battle you wage
> lends righteousness to your rhetoric. But at some point you will
> have to
> eschew the rage and attempt a reasoned response that addresses the
> arguments (to wit: (a) immigrants do not drain the system, but in many
> ways support it, (b) looking at this as an immigrants vs disabled
> issue
> clouds the real causes). It would be edifying for all concerned.
I will address the issue of illegals.
You cannot track the exact costs of illegals because they do not inform nor are they required to inform re their status when they go into an emergency room for services. See:
“When patients come in the emergency department we do not know or ask if they are documented, we are obligated to deliver care regardless of their status. And as you know, some people do not admit to being illegally in the U.S.”
[Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Indigent Care Escalating; “Hospitals don't track illegal immigrant factor,” by Rick Badie, January 16, 2003]
As Los Angeles Times columnist Ronald Brownstein wrote in his December 30, 2003 column “Health-Care Storm Brewing in California Threatens to Swamp U.S.”, “the impending Medicaid disaster is not a problem the states can handle alone; their budget shortfalls are too big.”
A mother who is applying for Medicaid for her children only, cannot be required to provide her SSN. Estimates are that there are currently between 287,000 and 363,000 children born to illegal aliens each year. In 1994, California paid for 74,987 deliveries to illegal alien mothers, at a total cost of $215.2 million (an average of $2,842 per delivery). Illegal alien mothers accounted for 36 percent of all Medi-Cal funded births in California that year.
Veterans aren't too happy that illegals are put at the top of the heap either: On January 17th, 2003 Secretary of Veteran Affairs Anthony J. Principi stated that VA health care enrollment for Category 8 veterans would be suspended for one year. (A Category 8 veteran is one who does not have a service-connected disability and has an income in excess of $13,000.)
World War II veteran Bob Simmons predicts that “one year” means forever.
In justifying his decision, Principi noted that more than 200,000 veterans have to wait six months for an initial appointment and that in today’s economy many veterans “may have a false expectation of care.”
There’s a slice of American life circa 2003: veterans wait while illegal aliens go to the head of the line and Bush has cut Veterans benefits again, I believe since then.
I found this on a blog: U.S. Marine Corps Captain David Brockett who served in Vietnam more than once between 1968 and 1974 made this observation:
“The G.W. Bush decision to cut VA health care costs while funneling millions of dollars into health care for illegals is a kick in the gut. This decision is indicative of the ‘I appreciate your past service but what have you done for me today’ attitude that veteran's organizations fight each and every year.
“All veterans and their families are painfully aware of the uphill struggle to obtain medical services at Veteran's Affairs hospitals and clinics. We have to provide a ream of personal, financial, and military documentation just to get "in" the system. Once the information is validated then we are informed what our "share" of the medical expenses will be. If we submit the information in March, and we lose our job in April, we have to wait a full year for the VA to reassess our co-payment. With past funding cuts it is not unusual for a veteran to have to travel across several counties to reach a VA medical center.
“Meanwhile, the illegal simply presents himself to the nearest hospital for a complete smorgasbord of free medical services. This "squatter" enjoys all of the freedoms that the veteran has fought for with none of the pain, suffering, or expenses associated with them…
“Several generations of this type of neglect has produced children of veterans who are cautioned against serving in the military. Simple solution to this problem is for our government representatives to receive the same health care services that veterans do. Let’s see how long they will be willing to rob Peter to pay Raoul.”
So the veterans also are "xenophobes" some of you would probably say.
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