Citizenship often determines who gets free medical care

[OvrAndOvrAgn]

[Los Angeles Times] ORANGE, CA - Citizenship often determines who gets medical care

"Roughly 2,000 times over the last 17 years, Marguerita Toribio, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, has climbed into a cushioned recliner for the three-hour dialysis treatment that keeps her alive.

She has never seen a bill.

U.S. taxpayers have covered the entire cost of her treatment in California: more than $500,000 and rising, not including a kidney transplant in 1993."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dialysis29-2008oct29,0,2166155.story

[LisaM22]

it is sad that illegals get free health care and Americans don't under Bushes health care plan - jmho

[OvrAndOvrAgn]

What really gets to me is that there are so many American citizens who also need dialysis but if they have no health insurance and can not afford to pay for it out of their own pockets then they have to go without but yet their tax dollars go towards paying illegal immigrants to get it. That just is not right.

[Details]

no wonder CA is in such financial distress. Why did the previous State give an illegal a ticket to CA?. Why not to Mexico? I just don't get it.Likely because she'd go willingly to California, and not to Mexico - and they weren't willing to force her to go. So the state dumps her expense on us.

[Details]

How hard is it to "force" an illigal alien to go. Seems to me INS does it often enough when they feel like it for some reason. And not in others.

The woman is illegal and about to cost the US taxpayers millions: why is "bye-bye difficult. I remember stories about small children - with family ready to take responsibility for them - being shipped off. What would be so hard about this case. Anyone know? There seems to be some important information missing here, doesn't there?It depends. If they've been deported before, it's pretty easy. If they haven't, they can demand all kinds of hearings, refuse to say what country they are a citizen of, or give the name of a country that won't take people back so easily, claim asylum, generally kick up a fuss.

I don't know what happened here - but it sounds to me like the other state took an unethical shortcut to get a tax drain out of their state.

[LauraRose]

no wonder CA is in such financial distress. Why did the previous State give an illegal a ticket to CA?. Why not to Mexico? I just don't get it.

Agreed!, I live in CA and let me tell you, they expect financial gifts from the US. And they are beligerent group of people to boot. Especially in California.

LauraR