Thread: Illegal Immigrants Threaten Hospital Care

This is kinda long but is interesting if you are a healthcare worker in NC (applies to other states too I'm sure).

Over The River
Treating the flood of uninsured illegal immigrants threatens to erode the quality of care hospitals can afford to provide.
by Edward Martin

In good days, her dark eyes sparkled, but those days grew rare. The walls of her heart were becoming rigid from restrictive cardiomyopathy, and Jesica Santillan seemed to become even tinier inside her print hospital gown. Spirits leaped when a donor was found and a Duke University Hospital surgeon opened her chest and replaced her heart and lungs. Joy turned to despair when the accidentally mismatched organs failed, and despite a second transplant a week later, she died. Santillan, who turned 17 while awaiting her first transplant, ignited a firestorm over hospital safety and costs. Her bill: nearly $900,000.

Duke University Hospital wrote it off, settled a lawsuit by the family and began rebuilding its reputation. But other circumstances surrounding the girl’s death, less noted at the time, are becoming one of the most volatile issues in health care.

Her mother and stepfather had paid a smuggler $5,000 to bring them and their three children from Mexico to the U.S. They settled in Franklin County, near Raleigh, where jobs were plentiful and employers wouldn’t delve too deeply into immigration status. Her mother became a housekeeper at Louisburg College, and her stepfather was a construction worker.

As many as 600,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina, by some estimates a third more than when Jesica died in 2003. Thousands pour into Tar Heel hospitals each year, straining budgets stretched by skimpy Medicare and Medicaid payments and managed-care discounts. No hospitals are immune, not even the best in the state, as ranked for Business North Carolina by Lakewood, Colo.-based Health Grades Inc.

Solutions are scarce, emotions high.

“In most circles, it’s politically difficult to say, ‘Let’s provide health care for illegal or undocumented immigrants,’â€

We need more of these stories publicized to places that have not yet (but soon will if we don't stop it) been slammed by illegal immigration.

Don't even talk to me about reforming healthcare until this montrous problem gets under control ...if it ever will!!! This issue alone NEVER gets mentioned in any of the issue discussions it seems.

Interestingly enough, it was Ronald Reagan to signed EMTLA into law in 1986. Just in time for the amnesty law that took effect at that time also.

And when did healthcare reform begin to surface as an issue? Early 90's or so?

I'm so sick and tired of providing charity to illegal aliens. These people subsist on freeloading.

I believe in a very SMALL amount of charity, in the most extreme circumstances. I do NOT believe that ANYBODY, regardless of immigration status, race, ethnicity, economic circumstances, etc., has a "right" to charity. People have to take care of themselves. And if they can't? TOUGH. It's survival of the fittest, baby!

Excellent report, dgough...thank you!

I truly hope that one day soon, before our government, cities and states crumble from the strain, the rest of America will wake up to the realization that the opposition to illegal immigration in this country has absolutely nothing to do with racism.....it's all about the numbers!!!

Great article. There are stilll many Americans who unaware of the problems that illegals cause on health care systems. Living in New Mexico a few of my relatives and friends who work in hospitals, clinics and other health care areas have seen the quality of care decline due to illegals flooding hospitals and clinics for various purposes. My sister worked at a large hospital in Albuquerque where she has said that more Mexican babies were being delieverd at that hospital than babies from Americans. My aunt retired 5 years ago from respitory therapy and she often worked with the children of illegals. Both my sister and aunt were extremely fed up of dealing with people who refuse to speak English while other American people were dealing with their own health hardships. My aunt said often that nurses and doctors would spend more time non-English speaking patients and often English speaking patients and families were short changed. As I stated before there many Americans oblivious the long stem problems that are occuring in health care and education.

Moving from Gen Disc to News.