How much do illegal immigrants really cost the health care system?

[question everything]

We have seen stories how hospitals "dump" people on the street. They are not illegals; they are veterans or addict or alcoholic.

I have never worked with undocumented people but I think that most of them are young and healthy - to survive the ordeal of crossing the border - and work hard and often share dwellings with others.

I don't think that they are drunk and full of drugs and are homeless on the streets of LA.

But perhaps I am wrong.

Anyone knows? Jack Cafferty was foaming at the mouth about this issue.

[mikelgb]

1. brazillions

[Colobo]

2. Probably a lot of dough.

[Danieljay]

3. I read about $11 per taxpayer.. which i more than get back in cheap produce and hotel stays...

ohhh, and chicken from Arkansas... which i no longer eat.

[stray cat]

4. One guy alone was 1million in a NYC hospital and still counting

He was in the hospital for a year with cancer and they could not release him anywhere since he was here illegally so he needed permenant hospital residency until his death a year or two later.

[question everything]

11. I wonder how often this happens (nt)

[Cleita]

5. I worked for doctors in LA who would see undocumented aliens but they

always paid for their office visits. Sometimes if they needed Xrays or lab tests we sent them to the County Hospital, which I believe did it for free or very cheaply but I don't know for sure.

[zulchzulu]

6. A whole lotta enchiladas!

:sarcasm:

I'm surprised a Repig hasn't used that line yet...

[TxRider]

7. Well...

We deliver about 27 babies to illegals a day here in Dallas just at Parkland hospital alone.

And I would imagine manual laborers working construction and such get injured quite a bit.

[question everything]

13. That's a lot!

The question is: do they pay anything to the hospital?

[damntexdem]

8. How much do they subsidize the Federal Government without getting a return?

Income taxes, FICA, and so on -- even subsidizing state and local governments through sales taxes. How much do they get in return?

[question everything]

12. Do they pay Income tax and FICA?

Obviously, you need a SS# to contribute and I kinda remember some years back when it was decided that even if they are here illegally, they should contribute to SS so they will have some in later years.

Not sure about the details.

But you are correct about sales taxes and simply contribute to our "consumption" economy by.. consuming.

[Hello_Kitty]

9. The uninsured as a whole add 8% to health insurance costs.

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/03/cost_shift.html

It's not insignificant but hardly justification for the way the uninsured - be they citizens or not - are scapegoated.

[question everything]

14. That's what I think, that they are the scapegoat

When we talk about the 50 million who are without insurance, someone will always say that many of them are illegals, or are young and can afford but do not, and the rest - some other excuses.

[Hello_Kitty]

17. I've been saying it for a long time:

The uninsured have been Welfare Queen-ed. I was laid off and on UI for about 10 months. The $875 I brought home every month was "too much" to qualify for Medicaid. My COBRA would have cost me nearly $500 a month and a catastrophic individual policy would have run me $350 or so with a fat deductible. Of course, there's a good chance the insurance co. wouldn't accept me anyway, since I was unemployed. Yeah, I was one of those deadbeats.

[soccermomforobama]

10. for the county hospital that I work for,

we have $447 million in uncompensated care a year and only $7 million of that is spent on those who are in the country illegally. (This is a HUGE county hospital in the state of Texas)

[question everything]

15. Thank you for the cold, hard numbers

We will have to remember them when we try to blame the illegals for the broken system.

And, yes, all the letters to Cafferty blamed them.

[boppers]

16. Well, while jews aren't in the majority...

They do take up a lot of money to take care of them in hospitals, in schools, in prisons. That money could be spent on rightful citizens.

Oh, wait, this isn't 1936?

My bad.

[moondust]

18. ER cases.

Laborers naturally get injured sometimes and end up in the ER like anybody else. Parents bring their kids into the ER like anybody else. I don't have the financial data but I imagine they receive the same financial counseling and terms as anybody else.