General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI need some help finding the facts about the report that illegal immigrants are getting medicare
through the prescription drug program and Medicare Advantage plans. As you have to be 65 to enroll for medicare, how are illegal immigrants getting befits? Why would they even know about these programs? Something does not smell right about this. Are they being pointed to these programs by shady health care providers?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/7/illegal-aliens-may-lose-of-some-medicare-benefits/?page=1
underpants
(182,064 posts)There is a NY Times article but your suspicion seems to be well founded
Zipgun
(176 posts)Bloomberg had a better breakdown of the audit, and it is a minuscule percentage that is getting these benefits, with very small pay outs, but no one has reported as to why they would be getting enrolled in the first place.
underpants
(182,064 posts)RobinA
(9,862 posts)were legal and had paid Medicare tax, maybe. There'd have to be a Medicare tax payer in the mix. Plenty of illegals PAY Medicare tax if they are legitimately employed, but I don't think they can actually get the Medicare they paid for. This is one of those problems that's greatly exaggerrated.
There's always out and out fraud, too.
Zipgun
(176 posts)It just does not seem that elderly illegal immigrants would be in a position to even know about the program, much less sign up. There is more to the story, and our corporate media is doing its normal horrible job of actually reporting the story. I do understand that it is a minuscule portion of the pay outs.
10 years ago or so there was a running story in RW world about the undocumented and Social Security and tax refunds. Same basic storyline as this. The Urban Institute and even CATO debunked it saying that they do pay taxes and, like this, basically keep the system running by paying but not collecting.
Why? The general consensus was and is that the fewer eyes that see whatever ID or documentation they are working under the better. Aliens who have been here for decades and you would consider likely to not be documented still don't file tax refunds or even Social Security. One set of eyes catching a peculiarity can crash their whole life.