Hospitals losing funds to treat undocumented residents

A federal program that reimburses hospitals for care given to undocumented immigrants will expire Oct.

[cmrite]

Maybe they should go back to there homes for there medical help....

[Indyeast]

It should expire and the foriegn governments of these peoples should pay our government back.

Enforce immigration laws and this won't be happening.

[Biker Mom]

The problem is, whe you are first triaged (and I spent this weekend at the ER with my daughter) you are already using funds and resources before you are even asked for any information.

Therefore, my worry is how many people here legally are going to suffer? Whe my husband had his accident last year, he used thousands of dollars in services before he was even asked for any form of information.

Hospital admission is one thing but the ERs determine who is admitted or not - going to the ER is not hospital admission.

We need a combination of solid immigration law enforcement. A way for hospitals to fast check status after triage is done (trust me, if I ever found out that a family member of mine was in an accident and denied eemrgency treatment because they did not have ID at the time due to budget cuts... There would be hell to pay.)

It is easy to say what needs to be done but the implementing of it could be two different things when you step back, take a breath and look at the whole picture.

Had my husband lost consciousness, he would not have had his ID with him at the ER. Since he did not, he had the wherewithall to tell my son to get his wallet and cell phone. But my husband is dark haired and in the summer, has an olive complexion and could be mistaken for an immigrant though he has no Hispanic blood at all.

I agree something needs to be done but it is what and how that is the sticky point. I would not want anyone denied emergency treatment because they could not immediately prove they are legal or not. One citizen dying due to this would be a travesty.