The result will be a tremendously costly and bureaucratic unfunded mandate on State Medicaid programs. This bill also threatens our Nations public health. Residents of communities where legal aliens live would face an increased health risk from communicable diseases under this provision of the bill because immigrants would be ineligible for Medicaid and other public health programs designated to provide early treatment to prevent communicable disease outbreaks. Such policies have historically and consistently had horrendous results. For example. in 1977. Orange County. TX. instituted a policy that required people to prove legal status or be reported to the Immigration and Naturalization Service when requesting service at any county health facility. As noted by El Paso County Judge Pat ORourke. in a letter dated September 24. 1986: ... within eighteen months. the county experienced a 57 percent increase in extrapulmonary tuberculosis. a 47 percent increase in salmonella. a 14 percent increase in Infectious hepatitis. a 53 percent increase inrubella *and a 153 percent increase in syphilis. The Judge cites a 1978 report by the Task Force on Public General Hospitals of the American Public Health Association in saying: Hence. what was a simple condition requiring a relatively small expense became a large matter adversely affecting all taxpayers.
Keywords matched
Naturalization immigrants Immigration