Why are folks opposed to heath care for illegal immigrants?

[XemaSab]

So say there's this dude named Hector. He's been picking lettuce, and he comes down with a horrible stomachache. He's got cramping, diarrhea... the works. Instead of going to the doctor, he just goes to work even though he feels horrible.

Hector has a wife named Maria. She's pregnant. She has no money for prenatal care, so she hasn't gone to a doctor even though she's been feeling swollen and has been having headaches.

Hector and Maria have a son named Manuel. He's 8, and in the last few days he's been complaining of an ear infection. Again, the family has no money to take anyone to the doctor.

The right-wing would say that these three people would be burdens on society if we were to pay for them to go to the doctor. However, it seems to me that all three of these people could create much larger, much more expensive problems for society if their health problems are not treated.

Hector could spread e-coli to dozens or hundreds of people, and shut down the lettuce industry for an entire part of the country, costing growers potentially tens of millions of dollars.

Maria could deliver a premature baby with multiple birth defects, and cost a hospital tens of thousands of dollars, none of which would likely be paid. If she developed eclampsia and went into a coma, the hospital could be out hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Finally, if Manuel's ear infection got worse, it could spread to the brain and cause meningitis, which could cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

It seems to me that in any of these cases, catching the problem early would save hospitals and society loads of money.

Why would anyone argue that allowing these people to go untreated is financially somehow better for society? I don't get it.

[Oregone]

1. Their cost of labor is what makes immigrants valuable

If you have to invest in them, it lowers potential profits. They aren't being considered people here, but rather sources of labor with pricetags, and America does what it can to keep that price tag down. The common perception may be that if one gets sick, you can ship it back and replace it with fresh labor

[BlooInBloo]

2. Nativists on DU and elsewhere just plain hate people not like them....

Doesn't matter that it would make things CHEAPER to cover them. Hatred > self-interest for many Americans.

[Posteritatis]

3. But don't you see? They aren't real people! (nt)

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

4. Or...

Hector and Maria could have emigrated here legally rather than breaking the law taking jobs from American citizens.

[bbinacan]

7. Good point. n/t

[fujiyama]

10. Yes, but once they're here

if they're feeling ill and have diseases that can potentially spread, well...their immigration status won't mean a thing. Even if we were to deport them, we'd still be obligated to treat them (at least for some illnesses).

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

12. Correct, and I agree.

I think the real answer to the immigration lies in punishing employers illegal immigrants.
You'll never physically stop people from doing something... so take away the motive.
Take away the jobs and there's no reason to break laws to get here.

I think basic emergency care should be given to everyone in america without insurance.
Isn't the current policy to treat illegal immigrants in the ER is emergency care is required?

[alstephenson]

20. But who will pick the lettuce???

Has anyone else seen "A Day Without Mexicans"???

[XemaSab]

21. Totally

n/t

[Demobrat]

13. No immigrant, legal or illegal, has ever TAKEN a job

from a white American citizen. Employers seek out and GIVE the jobs to the immigrants because they have no rights and can be abused with impunity. Given a choice between a white man and brown man with equal rights, which do you think a white employer would choose? The one who looks like him, the white man, of course. But the white man has rights, and the brown man doesn't. So he prefers the brown man. If we want the jobs to go to white people, the best way is to legalize the brown people so they cost as much as whites. No brown person would ever be hired again.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. Yeah, that's the ticket. Let's make sure it applies doubly to their little illegal children.

:sarcasm:

The shortsightedness of such thinking is laid out in the OP. Hector and Maria ARE here. That's the point of reference. Given that premise, it's not in the interest of public health to deny care to someone with an infectious disease, or to a pregnant woman carrying what will be at birth an American citizen.

[alstephenson]

19. Yeah, right.

All those white folks waiting for that job in the lettuce field...

[csziggy]

5. Xenophobic, pseudoChristians don't care about other people

They've theirs, fuck everybody else.

It makes no sense to exclude anybody from health care as you clearly say - it is a danger to all. When the uncovered people whoever they are, get desperate for help, they will still go to the emergency for problems that might have been handled much easier and cheaper by a regular doctor's appointment. Since emergency rooms are not allowed to turn away life threatening problems, they will treat them at much greater expense, continuing the problem with have now. But then it will be for a narrowly selected portion of the people who live in the country.

I would bet money that even if efforts are made to exclude undocumented aliens from treatment even at emergency rooms, those of Northern European descent will have no problem getting treatment, and will be less likely to be reported to ICE.

[peacebird]

6. I tihnk health care should be available to everyone, regardless of citizenship status

I seem to recall something in the bible (paraphrasing here - been out of xtianity for many decades) something to the effect of how you treat the very lowliest folks, so shall you treat god?

Or basically - do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Treating sick people is the right thing to do. Kind of like feeding hungry folks, just the right thing to do.

[fujiyama]

8. For most it's $$$. It costs money to treat them (basically very short term thinking)

For many it's that and/or racism.

I think those that oppose it completely aren't thinking in a very broad sense. It's better to have a healthy population. Influenzas, communicable diseases, and various pandemics don't care if a person is a citizen or an illegal immigrant.

It's ultimately cheaper to treat people, especially for diseases that can be spread easily. I'd rather the migrant worker that's feeling symptoms of H1N1 get treated than work and get someone else sick.

This is why single payer is of course the smarter and ultimately less complex and less expensive system. But in the US, profits rule everything, especially profits of the very very rich.

[NYC_SKP]

9. It is more profitable for them to go to ERs for services than to provide HC directly.

Of course they suffer far more, and Americans cover the cost of this ass-backwards way of taking care of problems when it's too late.

But as Oregone indicates above, their employers get to make more profit.

Now why do Teabaggers hate the idea of providing care?

Because their bigotry is 10X their capacity to reason.

They vote against their economic interests All The Time!

:patriot:

[baldguy]

11. Because the don't view illegal immigrants as being human.

[asdjrocky]

14. You're talking common sense and compassion.

Both are in slim supply in this country and in it's politicians.

I swear, I think we're all fucking insane.

[area51]

16. There you go.

Stop making sense, willya?

Nazis can't think logically, their brains are "abbynormal".

[redqueen]

17. Greed.

Pure and simple, it's about $$$.

[Major Hogwash]

18. Why do illegal immigrants get sick?

Haven't they heard about the GOP healthcare plan, as revealed by Representative Grayson?