Friday, July 25, 2008 - 1:16 PM MST | Modified: Friday, July 25, 2008 - 1:16 PM
Obama says his health plan won't include undocumented immigrants
Phoenix Business Journal - by Mike Sunnucks



Some liberal and left-wing groups are pushing for possible universal health insurance plans to cover the more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S..

But Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign Friday said his universal health plans do not extend to undocumented immigrants.

The Progressive Democrats of America and some Democratic congressional members want to see universal insurance programs, if enacted, to include illegal immigrants.

They want that concept included in the Democratic Party platform for the 2008 elections, and also favor federal legislation for that goal. Obama spokeswoman Sharon Gilson said Friday Obama's health plans would not extend to undocumented migrants in the U.S..

There are an estimated 47 million persons on the U.S. without health insurance. Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children make up 8.3 million of that uninsured number, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

Thirteen percent of American citizens do not have health insurance compared to 69 percent of illegal immigrants in Arizona, 70 percent in Texas and 64 percent nationally, according to CIS.

Many of the undocumented immigrants in Arizona and other Southwestern states are from Mexico and come from extremely poor conditions and when they work in the U.S. they often labor in jobs that do not offer health benefits.

There are 579,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona.

Obama's health plans entails a mix of government and private sector programs aimed at covering the uninsured while Arizona Republican John McCain prefers more consumer-driven plans and tax credits to help with health insurance costs.


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