Are illegal immigrants a burden to the Health Care System?

Question

Why do we always here this? is this just another issue to blame on the illegals?

Illegal Immigrants Not Health Care Burden: Study

Illegal Latino immigrants do not cause a drag on the U.S. health care system as some critics have contended and in fact get less care than Latinos in the country legally, researchers said on Monday.

The researchers said illegal Mexican immigrants had 1.6 fewer visits to doctors over the course of a year than people born in the country to Mexican immigrants. Other undocumented Latinos had 2.1 fewer physician visits than their U.S.-born counterparts, they said.

Answer 1

my aunts and mother are all nurses and time and time again all the issues and problems are with the illegals. They have to get interpreters which cost us about 100 an hour! Then they have no money so they get free care, and once again, we foot the bill. My favorite part of the story is when one illegal gave my aunt her gold jewelry to lock into the locker why she had her procedure done.

If you want to waste trillions of dollars on illegals, then you can foot the bill. I am not, and will always push politicians to do all they can to get illegals out of the country! My family came here legally, worked hard, and got ahead.  What makes illegals so special? Oh yea, they don't play by the rules. Send them back!

Answer 2

No.

Answer 3

You probably hear that becasue in Los Angeles, the news and stats showed illegals were a major cause in hospitals closing.

You can't argue with facts, but you cane make up lies like so many pro's do and as you cans see by the answers, we ain't buying the lies just to defend criminals.

I pay taxes so Anchor babies can be born, sad but true.

Answer 4

There are studies, such as the ones you posted that seem to conclude that you are correct.

However the issue is much more complicated.  VERY FEW, IF ANY hospitals ask if someone is in the country illegally.

Most hospitals simply write off the costs, add them to their growing absconder lists or demand that the government re-imburse them for the costs they incur treating them.

Nobody has any accurate and timely data to show exactly how much they cost us because nobody collects this information in a reliable, accurate and consistent manner.

We therefore must rely on other statistics and draw conclusions regarding the costs.  Millions of illegals choose to give birth here.  How much does that cost and how many pay their bills?

Their medical costs are not free.  Someone has to pay and that usually is the taxpayers.

We need to require hospitals to treat those who are truly in need but only enough to transport them back to THEIR country.  We shouldn't expect other countries to give us free health care and others shouldn't expect us to either!!!

Answer 5

As you can see by the answer above, typical pro thinks all illgeals are Mexican. Pro's turn a question about illegals into a black vs. white vs. brown thing. Very lame.

Yes, they are burden to hospitals and taxpayers and insurace companies who pay for their care.

Answer 6

its spelt "hear" not "here". Here is used in regards to location.

Answer 7

All one has to do is walk into ANY Emergency Room in the SW United States to see how flawed your "study" is.

Answer 8

The study means nothing. What's the point?

Okay, so illegals "only" cost the US taxpayers $50,000,000 or $60,000,000 a year what's the big deal?

Who cares how many visits they have? The question is why are they going and what is the cost of the treatment?

It's blabbering nonsense to try and reduce the very real problem that will only get worse no matter what number you put on it now.

Answer 9

My sister is an RN, illegals are a huge burden to the hospital she works at to the point of almost closing 3 times already.

I don't know about all hospitals, but this one it's a fact they are a burden.

Answer 10

Yes, just look up the number of closed hospitals in border states.

Let me know how you feel about them when you get DRTB...

Answer 11

Yeah, they are. If you don't believe that, go to an emergency room in any area saturated with Mexican illegal aliens. You'll see it filled with them. It's because by law, they can't deny services to you if you claim it's an emergency. The costs for that care increases insurance rates and prices.

Answer 12

is just the same with any other race there is black,white, some of them don't pay the hospital come on haven't y'all people seen all the homeless people in DA street most of them are white and black and i know they don't pay for the hospital bill cause i mean the ire is no address so that the hospital can send them the bill to!! so don't just blame it on the illegals please=D

Answer 13

From my personal experience knowing people in that status. No, they are not a burden, i have friends who don't go to the doctor 'cause they can't afford it.  And about the ER, I know you have to pay for those services too.  I'm not illegal, but rite now I don't have health insurance and I pay out of my pocket whenever I go to the doc for a consultation.  Even to the dentist, i had to lend money to friends, so that they can pay the expensive fees.

Usually the illegal immigrants go to the holistic doctors to get treated, and that usually makes matters worse.

In any given case, I pay my taxes and I've seen other ethnicities( african americans, armenians, asians and hispanics too) using food stamps  and getting welfare for their unplanned kids.  So Heck yeah that upsets me, cause I shouldn't pay for someone else's mistakes.

Answer 14

When was the last time you were in the ER?  They go in there with the flu for gods sake, bottling up uneccessary beds.

Answer 15

Do you think illegal immigrants have health insurance or that they pay their hospital bils out of pocket?

No.  So we pay for them.

Answer 16

No, illegal aliens are. Use the proper term.

Answer 17

Illegal immigrants are just a burden.  PERIOD.   I bought you some shampoo, Greasy Tony.

Answer 18

The burden assessment is based on visits for illegal or undocumented persons versus those who are document or born citizens.  

In this respect, illegals go to the doctor less than say a US citizen.  However, the study did not correlate other important information.  For example, the study failed to identify the repayment rate for the groups assessed in the study.  In the study there was no mention if the illegals who had fewer visits paid for their care or had higher non-payment or govt sudsidy rates.  Further, the study didn't assess the health of the illegals, rather only their rate of visits in comparison.  

For example, an illegal may visit the doctor 2.1 fewer times a year than an American born counterpart, but may be sicker, may go only when an illness is beyond prevention, and may have a liklier chance of admission, or more extensive care requirements.  Illegals may also create a public health burden on society by living in larger groups, and failing to attain adequate medical care and therefore pass on disease to society.  Say an illegal doesn't go to the doctor and develops a nasty respiratory infection which then goes to the illegals children, and to the children's classmates at the American school.  Thereby one illegal illness may create 10 or 20 times as many related visits from contagious exposure due to lack of attention.  Since immigration does not arrest illegals at the hospital, and there is no reporting there, the decision to abstain from medical treatment is a personal choic which has societal ramifications.  

Examples, I belive the California Dept of Health tracks TB cases, as well as the CDC, and there is a higher rate of TB in high immigrant cities, meaning illegals are passing TB on to US Born counterparts thereby straining the US healthcare system.  Already illegals ignore their hospital bills, as we see in cities with high immigrant populations hospitals with high rates of non payments.

Finally, the study did not assess whether illegals were more likely to be hospitalized or gain access through the ER setting.  While there are  fewer visits, this may be fewer office visits and but actually more ER visits per thousand.

Answer 19

Yes,they are. Several hospitals have went bankrupt and had to close down due to the strain illegals put on them.

Answer 20

Well there's a long lists of good answers, take your pick because they are all right as of now.

Great answers folks and I agree.