I was just going to say, don't we already pay for it. Many uninsured people end up at the ER becauase they can't afford to see a doctor and the ER's have to treat them. We pay in taxes and higher hospital costs which are translated to higher insurance premiums for the insured.

Exactly. And since most illegal aliens pay taxes, they should by rights have access to whatever public option is available.

One glaring lack-of-explicit-mention in most "illegal aliens stealing our taxes" conversations: there's a big difference between illegal-aliens-being-paid-under-the-table (illegal on the part of the employer, as well, and obviously no taxes being withheld), and illegal-aliens-faking-documentation-but-being-paid-legally...which involves federal and state taxes being withheld, albeit under fraudulent circumstances.

Lots of "illegal aliens" in Washington and Oregon are improperly-documented, but legally-paid, non-citizens. All the right taxes ARE being withheld, so they're stealing nothing (except headcount - theoretically, one of the hundreds of thousands of unemployed folk in WA or OR could hold the job being filled by an illegal).

I think it's just good public health policy, not even getting into anything else.

Today is kind of nuts.

I think it's just good public health policy, not even getting into anything else.

(whispers in a very snarky voice, "Except lots of right-leaning members of my extended family argue that the BEST public-health-policy in these circumstances is toss them all back over the Rio, don't make them WELL.")

Okay, that's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.

My response:

please clarify: How is this different from the status quo? Is your complaint the lack of enforcement clause for "affordability credit" eligibility?

And since tax dollars pay for ER visits already, couldn't it actually lower costs if *somehow* (if illegal aliens cheat the system) tax dollars went to their preventative care instead?

SH, thanks for that very salient point. I shall hold it in reserve.

Once more into the breach, dear friends!

(If this gets annoying/too blood pressure raising, lemme know and I'll stop)

(whispers in a very snarky voice, "Except lots of right-leaning members of my extended family argue that the BEST public-health-policy in these circumstances is toss them all back over the Rio, don't make them WELL.")

Apparently those family members don't need to eat.

I have to say, the one good thing about Facebook's newsfeed going kablooey over the past week is it's saved me from getting too involved in any political discussions.

I've been using the FB Hide functionality when I feel my blood pressure rising. Sweet relief.

Disease isn't so good about respecting borders.

I think it's just good public health policy, not even getting into anything else.

Fuck yeah. Like vaccinations. (And ugh, I have a good friend who I think is extremely smart -- is in nursing school, as a matter of fact -- whose oldest just started kindergarten, and my friend isn't vaccinating his kids. He says he's researched the hell out of it, and he's intelligent and this isn't a decision he made without a lot of study. And I believe him, but it still pisses me off BIG TIME.)