Bill, that is definitely possible. Paul Ryan said so himself. But I would probably quit before taking a large pay cut.

Obama: No Health Care For Illegal Immigrants

Asked by CBS News' Katie Couric in an exclusive interview whether illegal immigrants should be covered under a new health care plan, President Obama responded simply, "no." But he said there may need to be an exception to that policy for children.

"First of all, I'd like to create a situation where we're dealing with illegal immigration, so that we don't have illegal immigrants," he said. "And we've got legal residents or citizens who are eligible for the plan. And I want a comprehensive immigration plan that creates a pathway to achieve that."

"The one exception that I think has to be discussed is how are we treating children," he continued. "Partly because if you've got children who may be here illegally but are still in playgrounds or at schools, and potentially are passing on illnesses and communicable diseases, that aren't getting vaccinated, that I think is a situation where you may have to make an exception."
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Spend my tax dollars on deportation instead Mr. President.

Health Care − Arizona
The Arizona Legislature passed a bill, signed by the governor on April 24, 2006, which requires an individual to be a United States citizen or a permanent legal resident in order to receive any state health care benefits or assistance. Individuals who do not fit either of those designations, such as undocumented aliens, can receive only emergency medical services under the law. Other states have proposed such laws, and some have even proposed providing absolutely no health care assistance for undocumented aliens, including emergency care.
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Maybe it's time more states follow suit!

"Those without health insurance rarely pay off their full bill." Really, Zoom? I would like to see that evidence since I know no such people, personally.

I do and always have paid my bills. As have all of my closest friends and colleagues, very few of whom have health insurance. Some have never had it. Naturally, we also pay our mortgages, rent, utility bills, grocery bills, etc. What makes health care so different? Is it because so many people are now so addicted to having someone ELSE pick up the tab that it has become an entitlement --one that now feels like some sort of inalienable human "RIGHT"?

Theguyonthecouch, pardon my skepticism but I'll believe it when I see it. If it does happen though, and the insurance company you work for has to lower its rates while paying for more health care services, are you thinking about what your next career may be or how you'll get by with a big pay cut?

"Homeowners pay property taxes, not renters."

Still way off topic. Landlords charge enough rent to pay expenses, including taxes, plus make a profit. What's the difference if a renter doesn't pay the taxes seperately? If their were no illegals, demand would be a lot lower, and those rental units wouldn't exist.

"Those without insurance receive no such discount and are, in fact, subsidizing those covered by private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. --not the other way around."

Those without health insurance rarely pay off their full bill. It really doesn't matter how much they are CHARGED, what matters is how much they actually PAY. One hospital stay can rack up thousands of dollars in medical bills. If you're too poor to pay for insurance, you won't be able to pay your medical bills. Just because your insurance provides a 'discount" doesn't mean the hospital isn't accounting for non-payers.

Darwin....don't be so clueless! Homeowners pay property taxes, not renters. As far as the illegals paying sales tax, I seriously doubt the 6% they are paying when they buy a t-shirt or a gallon of gas, comes even remotely close to covering the huge toll they take on the educational, health and social programs in this country. The article that officerfriendly posted is a perfect example of this. $1.5 million dollars in care spent on one illegal. The system cannot continue to support these freeloaders. You talk about equal protection under the law for everyone.....Guess what genius--The illegals are breaking the law by being here--so you're absolutely right--the law should be stressed here and we should send them packing!!!!!

Their health care and education aren't free. If they rent they pay property taxes or if they buy things they may pay county or state taxes that help fund county hospitals and local schools. Most state Constitutions require that children be educated irregardless of origin which is what America is about: Equal protection before the law for EVERYONE here!! You maybe an officer but you sure aren't friendly.

"Florida Hospital Defends Deporting Brain-Injured Illegal Immigrant After Spending $1.5 Million on Man's Care" http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,5345...

Yes Bill, we will have to lower our rates to compete with the government plan (I work for an insurance company). And improve the actuarial value of our plans. This means better plans for the consumer at cheaper rates.

RAF, the new rules are being written to protect the consumer. If your current plan doesn't meet them, it probably isn't one that you want to be buying.

darwin, You might be "breaking the law right now and not even know it" but I'm pretty sure illegal aliens KNOW they are breaking our immigration laws. Why do we provide free health care and free education to people who shouldn't even be here?

toasty2k: Your estimate of how many illegal immigrants are in this country is off by a few million. Just this week, an independent research group in Washington estimated "... immigrant population in the U.S. slipped to 11.5 million from 11.6 million between March 2008 and March 2009." Fool_on_hill: You are absolutely right that the non-insured are charged at a higher rate than those with medical coverage. As an RN, I see it happen daily. In fact, I faced the facts first-hand this week when I picked up a prescription. The pharmacist of the locally owned business gave me the "insurance break" on the cost ... the one medication for 30 days dropped in price from $254 to $119. I was shocked and grateful!

Zoom.......Illegals using social security numbers work around getting heavily taxed on payroll by claiming a massive amount of exemptions. At this point very little is with withdrawn from their check and they leave the government with little to no benefit financially. The system is flawed and illegals have found every way possible to take advantage of those flaws. The sad thing is that everyone knows this type of activity is commonplace, yet no one in a position to change it has...........

I sincerely doubt that insurance companies will have to lower their rates at all. In fact, they are lining up to "help" the government administer its about to be newly minted entitlement. Isn't that a hoot! The evil profit seeking health care insurance companies wanting to administer government run health care programs. As we saw in the Great Society program debacles of the '60s and 70's, the majority of the money spent was wasted on administrating the programs.

Yes, I know the intent of government run health care coverage is to cut costs, but this road to bankruptcy is paved with good intentions and little fiscal (or historical) research. Doesn't anyone remember the "war" on poverty? Well after a few trillion dollars poured down that rat hole, the net result was that poverty won! Those who are ignorant of history (willfully or not) are condemned to repeat it.

Just to clear up a commonly repeated misconception...

Those without health insurance pay more than those without it, not less. If you have insurance, you will note on your statements an item usually referred to as "commercial disallowance". That is a discount negotiated by your insurance carrier. Those without insurance receive no such discount and are, in fact, subsidizing those covered by private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. --not the other way around.

Billnewbie, are you suggesting that insurance companies can't lower their rates to compete with the government? I don't hear many stories about insurance companies having a hard time making a profit on insurance, even in this economy. Now, if we would only prevent them from investing in leveraged securities, we wouldn't have to bail them out.

You speak as if the President has promised free health care for everyone. That is not the case. Yes, people are not denied service at a hospital, but that doesn't mean it's free. People without insurance still get billed, and have their financial lives ruined in the process. In the mean time, everyone WITH insurance pays higher premiums to cover the costs of those without.

"The only way this could happen is with a fraudulent social security number..."

Exactly! That happens often, especially in this region, with recent raids of businesses that hire illegal workers. The business just wants any SS number, and they withold taxes as to not raise flags with the IRS. The witholding goes to the government, but is never returned in the form of Social Security benefits later on. I'm sure the southeast has more workers being paid under the table than around here, but it's not true that all illegals don't pay taxes.

No, billnewbie, it's designed to provide competition so that private insurance is more effective and costs less.

Isn't the purpose of this public health care insurance "option" to make it less expensive and better than private insurance? Yet the administration has been quick to point out that we won't loose our private insurance coverage, almost as if to say that the government insurance plan they are trying to pass will not be as good as what we may have now. That doesn't mesh very well with what most people seem to think the President has promised, free and better health care. Of course, most people realize that there is no such thing as a free lunch, but having someone else pay for it is just as good as free. And somehow, some people are of the opinion that Americans have a right to have there health care paid for them. They can't possibly mean that we just have a right to health care because we do right now. We have a right to just as much as we can afford just like food or anything else that we may care to buy.

Another poster commented that people are refused health care every day. That may be true since no one in this country is required to work for someone else without being paid for it. However, we all know that hospitals are required to offer health care regardless of a patient's ability to pay. But if you want a face lift or a sex change operation without the means to pay, you'll need to wait for Obamacare!

"it will not take away your health coverage"
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Please read HR3200; SEC.102 before you say it will not change. If your current policy in-any-way changes after that legislation is enacted your grandfathered policy is no longer allowed and must follow the new rules, if it doesn't you will have to get another policy/coverage.

"Illegal immigrants also pay payroll taxes."
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The only way this could happen is with a fraudulent social security number...so no, "they" are not, according to government records your dead relative (if that is the number being used) is paying it.

This idea that individual congressmen or the President have the time and/or expertise to read AND understand everything in a law is pretty daft. That's what they have staff for.
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It's also daft to talk about congress being subject to this health plan. This is not replacing YOUR health plan (although it may change some things, it will not take away your health coverage). The comparison is people who have NO health coverage, or whose health coverage is precarious, or are ineligible because of existing conditions, and so forth. Getting a mediocre health plan is an improvement over NO HEALTH PLAN.

Zoom - This isn't about your disgust with republicans. Most democrats don't even agree with this new health care concept. It is a nightmare waiting to happen. There's a lot of changes and unanswered questions with this idea. That is the whole point.

"There is an estimated 16 to 20 million illegals in this country, who do not pay income taxes that pay for these benefits."

Way off topic. I thought poor people didn't pay income taxes anyway, at least that's what Republicans keep telling us. Which is it?

Illegal immigrants also pay payroll taxes.

Renters pay property taxes as part of their rent, unless you think property owners don't charge enough rent to cover the taxes.

"Obama hasn't even read the bill."

Obama is part of the EXECUTIVE branch, not the LEGISLATIVE branch. I'm sure he'll read it before he signs or vetoes it when it comes to his desk. Seems to be more than what Ryan is saying about his fellow colleauges, who should be reading ALL the health care legislation on the table, since writing legislation is their responsibility.

There are several issues I have with Obama's plan. First off, he states there will be competition, yet the government version is subsidized by tax payers. That certainly won't bode well for current insurance providers who have to cover expenses with their own profits. They'll likely go out of business. Secondly, the government is going to dictate which prescriptions and treatments doctors can provide. In addition, they'll likely dictate how much they can charge for it. That isn't going to help spur treatment innovations. Obama claims everyone will get coverage, which is also a fallacy. We already have, in most states, a shortage of medical staff. The backlog of patients will result in some people dieing before they get treatment, because the pipeline will be clogged with some cases which may not be as urgent. In Canada they wait for months to get treatment. If your older, don't expect to have access to the same treatments you have now. You can expect to get the "end of life" lesson in the Obama plan. Although I agree we need to do something, I don't believe a complete overhaul is necessary. We don't have the budget nor the resources for a government run plan.

Toasty don't confuse them with facts like that, not very nice.

SarahB1, you missed the point. When we go to foreign countries, we have visas. We are there legally. You know, not breaking their law. We are not their illegally. Most everyone here would have no problem providing coverage for those who are here legally. When I got ill in Austria, I had to show my passport with visa stamp. Wow, for my free treatment I had to show that I was there legally. Also, the democrats rejected a provision that would have required proof of citizenship for government health care. That's how tough they are. There is an estimated 16 to 20 million illegals in this country, who do not pay income taxes that pay for these benefits. The only tax they pay is when they go to the store to buy something. Otherwise, they are taking their money and sending it out of the country to their families back in Mexico. Also, Darwin illegals don't pay taxes on rent, their landlords do. Landlords pay property taxes whether they have renters or not. I doubt Europe has millions of illegals in each country and I doubt those countries would allow and tolerate it.

I agree with darwin1. President Obama's plan does NOT provide coverage for illegal immigrants except for preventative care for children. Most of you don't seem to realize that if Americans are visiting many of the world's other nations and need emergency care, that it is provided free of charge. My mother had a friend who had great medical coverage here in the U.S. but fractured both legs while visiting England. Guess what? She was treated for free. Also, most immigrants (whether here legally or illegally) are not receiving "welfare" and do pay taxes. In addition, the number of people crossing the border illegally from Mexico into the United States has dropped to its lowest level in the last decade. One last note, the Obama administration has pledged to take up immigration law this year. A key Democrat in the effort, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he hopes to have a bill ready by Labor Day and that the way to get it passed is to be tough on future waves of illegal immigration.

darwin1,
English isn't derived from Spanish. I'll give you half a point for German. English is actually derived from Anglo-Saxson which was derived from Germanic (German is also derived from Germanic). A lot English is certainly borrowed from Latin, I'll give you a full point for that. But Spanish itself is derived from Latin.
I disagree with you that there shouldn't be an official language. I'm not saying people should completely discard their native language, but there obviously needs to be a common language, especially in the business world, to facilitate communication.

Why isn't Russ Fiengold quoted in this article??? And people ARE denied health care everyday.

ohhh illegal aliens like the illegal speeders. Please spare me the illegal speech. There are over 10,000 federal laws. I could be breaking the law right now and not even know it. When immigrants came to Ellis Island many were without papers, meaning illegal, its just that back then our country wasn't filled with a bunch of xenophobes and were trying to help them. You are afraid of immigrants because they work harder than you. I have worked with Mexican immigrants and lazy white people: please let in more immigrants.

It doesn't surprise me that another blog moves into not discussing the topic and into some kind of hatred for another human being.

darwin1, When you say immigrants do you mean ILLEGAL ALIENS?!!

First off, immigrants pay sales taxes and property taxes if they rent. So, quit your whining. I am not sure how many times someone can say this before it sinks into the Dark Agers thick skulls, you have double-digit inflation in the health care industry which kills jobs and lowers wages. We provide ER to everyone which is the most expensive kind of care. Now we have a bunch of scared little babies crying about some scenario that does not exist. We currently have rationed care, its called the rich get whatever they want and the poor get screwed: nice class warfare.

English isn't a pure language it is a combination of Latin, German, Spanish. And this is America. If you want to dictate what people speak find another country Comrade.

Ditto what kiowamohican wrote.

+2 Slamdunk.....good post! There will come a time when all the freeloaders(illegals, welfare cases)bleed the system dry, to a point where there is nothing left for those that worked hard to support it. Obama's latest policies only hasten this process....I honestly don't get how people could be so blind.......

Amen, slamdunk! Thank you for your great post!

Not ONLY have none of these lawmakers read this bill, they will NEVER agree to be subject to the same health care plan they think WE should have. Because it is inferior.

In addition, why do you think the former King of Jordan flew here, to the Mayo Clinic for treatment of his cancer, in addition to many other foreign leaders, and even regular citizens from Canada?

Because our health-care is currently the BEST in the WORLD.
Government-run health care is a DISASTER. It affords you no other choice, and you will wait in line much like you do at the DMV, waiting in endless lines to renew your drivers license! Except your LIFE will be on the line.

NOW, we have CHOICES. And EXCELLENCE thru free enterprise. If Obama dictates what should happen to our health, it will be the beginning of the end of this country as we know it.

Don't forget about the elephant in the room - the millions of illegals who ALREADY get free health care WE'RE paying for - depleting the Social Security money we paid in by working, which we expected to sustain us in our old age.

We also pay to educate their kids in Spanish and all products sold now have instructions in Spanish. Why is that? Why are we accommodating THEM? That's NEVER happened before!

Hasn't every immigrant, from every country, in the history of this nation learned English? (Why isn't that our 'official language'?)

These people come here (most illegally)and want to fly Mexican flags! Then why come here if they cannot respect their new country? Aren't we the wussies for ALLOWING them to disrespect our flag?

They are criminals, they broke our laws by crossing illegally, and I for one am pissed that the government is allowing them to stay here, take my money, their kids go to college for free, eat for free, and they get better health care than MY kids - for FREE!

If Obama gives the illegals amnesty - the USA is doomed.

HR3200; SEC.102 describes protecting the choice to keep existing coverage. Your current policy and your coverage is fine as long as NOTHING CHANGES from the first day of the year HR3200 is enacted into law.

Meaning, if your rates/coverage/fees change (terms or conditions to include benefits and cost sharing) changes the policy is no longer grandfathered; your plan has to follow the new rules. If your existing policy does not meet the new established rules, the grandfather clause expires and you are FORCED to change policies…now again what did Baldwin say?

If your existing policy wanted to increase your benefits it would also have to change all language and restrictions passed under the new bill; if not the policy could not be used and you would be FORCED to change…again what have the elected leaders said about keeping your existing coverage?

To those that blindly follow along with change, it would do you well to actually read what legislation is currently proposed that you are supporting.

Zoom, as you have already said in previous postings there is more than one proposal and nothing is final...yet you critique a member of congress for fear monkering over legistlation not completed; already published legislation (HR3200) is filed with data that supports Ryan's claim's, and refutes Baldwin's.

Does ANYONE here know ANYONE who has ever been denied health care?
If getting Health coverage is so important, why didn't ANY of the stimulus money go towards health care?
The 12,000,000 people who don't have insurance could easily have it with just a tiny fraction of the stimulus money.
Under Obamacare, would Ted Kennedy be alive today?
Kevorkian can't help the sick die. But the Government will soon have this power, even if the sick don't want to die. We need to get off our as5es and do something! People need to act. America will never be Switzerland.

Well, TARP was over 1,000 pages, and 98% of congress never read that either. Look how much good it has done. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo; ALL of who took TARP $$$ with no stings attached (they NEVER needed ANY $$$ to remain solvent) ALL AMAZINGLY turned record profits the last two quarters! AMAZING how that works isn't it? Even more amazing how Goldman Sachs was intertwined into BOTH the Bush and Obama administration. From Paulson to Geithner right on down the line.
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Lets just face reality for once. the game is rigged. If people can not see that by now, they are simply blinded by their partisanship. When this health care bill passes, it will be no different. It will be MASSIVE corporate welfare to the huge insurance companies who are intertwined in the governmnet (all of who gave huge campaign donations). Call this the new era of Oligarchy. Where the governmnet is merging with your corporate giants to create one massive ruling party, and crush those in it's way.

I'll take a government bureaucrat over an insurance underwriter any day. The business model of health insurance companies is to collect premiums and then deny services to any of their customers that develop a serious illness. And if you do work for a small business that provides health insurance, and one of your coworkers becomes seriously ill, you can kiss your families health insurance good-bye when they cancel the whole group.

I agree congress is lazy but follow this link and you will find out why the bill had not been read.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMdud5TDV...

"Ninety-eight percent of Congress haven't read this bill."

Why not? That is their job, isn't it? So, Congress' laziness is the excuse to hold up health care legislation? It's already looking like it won't be finished until after August, so you can stop with the fear mongering, Mr. Ryan, and keep working.