Napolitano Promotes Cross-Border Partnerships to Create Jobs
July 13th, 2007 @ 7:39am
by Doug Ramsey/KTAR

While in Mexico this week, Governor Janet Napolitano promoted cross-border business partnerships, which she hopes will stifle the flow of illegal immigrants.

The idea centered on a border health care region, where government-insured Arizonans could take advantage of lower cost medical care in Mexico. This in turn would create more jobs south of the border.

Governor Napolitano heard the proposal at an economic conference this week in Sonora.

"If you increase job opportunities in Mexico, theoretically, you should decrease the illegal immigration pressure on our border," Napolitano said.

But Napolitano doubts providers like Medicare and Access would pay for medical care outside of the U.S.

"I think for a number of reasons, that won't fly," she said. But Napolitano did say she could "see doing something jointly on training health care workers that could be cross certified on both sides of the border."

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