Speech #1040204880

Dr. Brown states: In a study of tuberculosis patients in Los Angeles. more than 80 percent learned of their disease when they sought treatment for a symptom or other health condition. not because they sought a TB screening. Yet (S. 16641 would make it more difficult for immigrants to seek diagnosis and treatment because their access to health care would be sharply reduced. permitting this debilitating and often deadly disease to spread through. out the community. When an infected person becomes seriously Ill with tuberculosis. the costs of treating these true emergencies will be borne by everyone. especially taxpayers. Dr. Brown concludes: Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases do not respect distinctions between citizens and noncitizens. legal residents and people who are not here lawfully. The key to controlling an outbreak of tuberculosis. hepatitis. sexually transmitted diseases. or other communicable diseases is early identification of the source of the infection and immediate intervention to treat all infected persons. Because these bills will discourage immigrants from seeking treatment. they will endanger the health of everyone in the community. In the interest of our Nations public health. why. Mr. President. why would we wish to take such an unnecessary risk? In addition. the Medicaid deeming provisions. by creating a obstacle to preventive health services. will result in certain cases of immigrants resorting to emergency room care. Health care costs will thus be more expensive. This would further strain the already overburdened and underfunded emergency and trauma care facilities across the country. particularly in our Nations urban centers. Without reimbursements. such hospitals will be forced to consider shutting their emergency room doors for all residents of the county. affecting all residents. immigrants or otherwise. For example. Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami estimates that its uncompensated care costs for fiscal year 1995 for undocumented immigrants was S45.8 million. To repeat. for 1995. in that one public hospital. Jackson Memorial in Miami. the cost in uncompensated care for undocumented aliens was S45.8 million. An additional $60 million in uncompensated care costs was attributed by Jackson Memorial Hospital to legal aliens in the community. However. they currently do receive some reimbursement for care to legal aliens through private health care plans and Medicaid. Without the Medicaid payments. total uncompensated costs will grow and require the local community to either raise its taxes or consider reducing hospital services. In addition. by reducing access of pregnant immigrant women to prenatal care and nutrition support programs. the health of the U.S.-citizen infants will be threatened. The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine estimates that for every $1 spent on prenatal care. there is a $3 savings in future medical care for low birthweight babies. Denying prenatal and wellbaby care to an immigrant only threatens the life of her U.S.-citizen child. Mr. President. that makes absolutely no sense.