Washington State and Florida don’t have a lot in common: aside from being at opposite corners of the country, both their political climates and their actual climates are poles apart. But one thing they do suddenly have in common are bills in their state legislatures to provide taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal aliens. In common between them, too, is that neither state has infinite resources, a fact that evidently must come as a great surprise to the supporters of these fiscally reckless bills.
Washington Senate Bill 5957 and Florida’s two bills, House Bill 1385 and Senate Bill 1872, aren’t just similar: they’re virtually identical. You might suspect the same people probably drafted them. That’s because they both copy nearly word-for-word a single-payer healthcare bill introduced last year in California, Senate Bill 562, the so-called “Healthy California Act.” As with seemingly everything to come out of California lately, one of its main goals appears to have been giving as many handouts as possible to illegal aliens at the expense of American taxpayers.
In one section after another, the California bill makes clear repeatedly that illegal aliens should get all the same benefits as U.S. citizens and legal residents, and that not giving them these benefits would be “discrimination.” On top of that, the single-payer healthcare system that it creates might as well be called “sanctuary healthcare” because the bill prohibits both disclosure of immigration status information and any kind of cooperation or assistance with federal immigration authorities. And all these provisions are copied virtually unchanged straight into Washington’s and Florida’s bills.
SB 562 proved too extreme and expensive even for California: the state’s own fiscal analysis said it would cost $400 billion, half of which would require new revenue. That would have been more than twice the state’s total 2017-18 budget, “which includes $183.3 billion in spending.” But of course it was the overall price tag that was the “gigantic brick wall” that made it a “nonstarter,” not the fact that it heaped yet more public benefits on illegal aliens.
Washington State faced a budget shortfall last year, and just barely averted a state shutdown by raising taxes at the last minute. It’s already expected to face a similar crunch this year, and that’s without creating a massive new welfare program for illegal aliens.
Florida’s fiscal situation was a little bit better than Washington’s—that is, until Hurricane Irma hit the Sunshine State in September. Inflation-adjusted recovery costs are likely to match those from Wilma in 2005 and Andrew in 1992, while revenue can be expected to drop. In the wake of the storm, the legislature’s chief economist has projected that the state’s small anticipated surplus is gone, replaced by $500-million deficits for at least the next three years without major changes.
If there’s anything that’s almost certain, it’s that government programs never come in under budget. If there’s anything else that might be even more certain, it’s that creating expensive new benefit programs for illegal aliens just attracts even more illegal aliens, which makes those programs still more expensive. Neither Washington nor Florida could afford these costly bills even in the best of times, let alone now, and they should reject them.
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JOHN C I AM A DISABLE VET FROM VIETNUM I HAVE A BAD ISCHEMIC HEART DUE TO AGENT ORANGE I GET 20 % FROM THE VA I SURE BEEN GETTING 100 % THE VA TURN ME DOWN 3 TIMES IN 9 YRS I BEEN FRIGHTING WITH THE VA GOOD TO SERVE BUT NO MONEY. THE LLEGAL IMMIGRATION GET EVERTHING GAVE TO THEM THEY PAY 18.5 BILLON IN TAXES AND GET A FREE LUNCH AND COST THE AMERICAN TAX PAYER 135 BILLON . THIS IS TERRIBLE GET ME THE KEY TO THE BUS AND I START TAKING THE LOOSER BACK WHY THEY COME FROM. LET ALL STAND TOGETHER AND MAKE US GREAT AGIN.
We need this plan:
US AMERICA FIRST CARE: An Opt-in National Health Plan
Part of President Trump’s agenda it to put Americans first and to ensure employment of U.S. citizens first. It is a national priority to provide for U.S. citizens and give them every advantage for gaining employment. Pension plans are also overburdened by health care coverage costs for retirees. U.S. citizens in the workforce, U.S. born children, and U.S. citizen retirees must come first.
US AMERICA FIRST is a national plan that would be automatically available to all U.S. citizens and legal residents. It can be installed initially by executive order or by act of Congress. A national I.D. will serve as the health insurance card.
According to the rules of the national plan, all adults of working age (defined as 27-60 years) will be provided with a basic plan that includes catastrophic coverage. Firstly, however, a $3,000 deductible (for services above the scheduled allowable payments) will be set for each working-age adult. Many routine services (annual check-ups, urgent care visits) will be provided for no additional cost above the standard co-pay. Co-pays will be set initially at $25 cash payment due at service and $250 cash due at admittance for each hospital stay. Children, young adults under 27 years, and older Americans over 60 years are fully covered with no co-pays or deductibles.
The Federal government will re-direct $1.2 trillion from Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIPs to the national plan. This divided by the population of 320,000 million amounts to $3,750 per person, enough to cover every U.S. citizen and legal resident with catastrophic and basic routine care. Costs will be kept within this budget by incentives to provide excellent-services-for-less through increased utilization of telemedicine, online health education, and mobile phone apps. Administrators of the national plan will be non-profit and will work with providers to direct patients to the closest providers and to locations that provide services at allowable costs. This and other incentives will help providers compete successfully with similar local services.
US AMERICA FIRST CARE will provide generic drugs at a low co-pay cost of $15 provided the patient seeks the advice and undergoes an initial screening appointment with a licensed pharmacist at a pharmacy. Non-generic drugs may be purchased in cash by the patient or by pharmacy insurance. M.D.’s will no longer write prescriptions but may recommend drugs. M.D.s have abused the public trust by forcing drugs on patients based on their economic advantages, or by adopting standard practices determined in large part by pharmaceutical company lobbyists. The FDA will be undergoing major reform, such that people will have greater autonomy to choose drugs that actually improve a condition or produce an otherwise favorable outcome, without having their health decided by bureaucrats. Online education and opening to the public online access to all articles published and archived at the U.S. National Library of Medicine will enhance patients’ choice and further serve to protect them from harmful prescription drugs.
All U.S. citizens and legal residents are free to use US AMERICA FIRST CARE, but none are required to use the plan, nor is any provider required to use the plan.
I have to agree with your every word also, Marilyn. You speak of the poor. I am – as one example – an 83 year old widower living by myself on a Social Security retirement pittance. I canceled my Part B Medicare a number of years ago because I had to pay off excess medical and nursing home bills left behind by my late wife. She has been gone now for nearly 7 years. I had a choice of paying MY bills, declaring bankruptcy, becoming a hermit out of civilized society or going hungry.
I try to not complain about my plight; I just “suck it up” and move on. But, I cannot and will not disregard the “Alinskyites” e.g., Saul Alinsky Socialists and those Communists who have infiltrated the Democratic Party leadership beginning back in the 1880’s. Those individuals have NEVER looked out for the LEGAL American poor; only their own money-grubbing careers as permanent, chair-warming fixtures in Washington, D. C.; the District of Corruption. I am pointing my finger DIRECTLY at Florida Senator Bill Nelson(D-FL) as one outstanding example. Nelson votes for everything the ILLEGAL ALIENS desire; marched in lockstep with Marxist Obama and has voted AGAINST President Trump’s tax bill and is strongly suggestive to me that Nelson votes his corrupting, anti-American “Party over We the People”. In November, Nelson can rest assured I will be voting AGAINST him and everyone else with a (D) behind their name – – even if it were a blood relative of mine! I’m frankly sick of this whole political sham and the planned agenda of the demise of OUR Republic. I am, however, delighted to read here that I do not stand alone! Thanks to all for supporting the LEGAL citizens of the United States.
ILLEGAL UNDER CURRENT IMMIGRATION LAW – PUT ALL THESE DIRTY TRAITORS IN JAIL
The thing is, a lot of these illegal aliens are getting paid in cash under the table, going to our ER rooms and getting free medical care ON OUR backs while they send their money back to Mexico…
I’ m so sick of these politicians taking care of illegal aliens while they kick the citizens in the teeth…
it is appalling!!!!
time for WE the People to fight back and demand this catering to illegal aliens stops !!!
Amen
This is absolutely Wrong!!!!!! I’m 61, retired with no personal income and forced to pay $840.00 per month for my health insurance and I’m relatively healthy!!! This is an insult to me as an American (some of my ancestors arrived in America in the late 1600’s) who worked most of my adult life! Unbelievable!!!??
So true. Amen. It is time to educate and eliminate politicians that vote on pro illegal alien legislation. We must fire these politicians and traitors for having the taxpayers money and wealth pay for illegal aliens. It is time to reverse any and all pro illegal alien freebies.
This is not right , we have to pay for our own medical and everything else
Why should us tax payers ,pay there way
No more free rides,they need to take care of there own stuff ,
Like we have to do
Take of our own first and our country
The thing is, a lot of these illegal aliens are getting paid in cash under the table, going to our ER rooms and getting free medical care ON OUR backs while they send their money back to Mexico…
I’ m so sick of these politicians taking care of illegal aliens while they kick the citizens in the teeth…
it is appalling!!!!
Totally unbelievable!! I cannot believe our elected politicians STILL do not comprehend the definition of “ILLEGAL ALIEN”. What is probably clear is they do understand murder, rape, robbery and even jay walking is ILLEGAL; but not those ALIEN individuals who – from another Country – come crawling across the border of a known sovereign Nation – the United States.
The Border Patrol Agent Staff should be – at a minimum – tripled in size to stop this INVADING FORCE. Also, the President’s Wall should be built and guarded against those who would come in without being LEGALLY documented and welcomed.
Amen.
James, they do, indeed, understand exactly the meaning of illegal alien, they just don’t care about ANYTHING but protecting them, giving them rights/benefits of citizens and giving them everything possible for free. It all amazes me. I sometimes feel like I am living in a parallel universe where everything has been turned upside down. We have millions of American citizens, men/women/children living in poverty/on the streets and in horribly unsafe situations. Yet, we do nothing about their plight except give some access to welfare. But, we allow millions of foreign illegals, every year, to enter and stay in our country where the just the costs of them using our public education and medical systems runs in the billions of dollars annually. My question is exactly how many of the world’s poorest can we continue to take in?? Exactly how much longer before we just simply have no more money to take care of anyone?? The costs of welfare, Medicaid, public education with expensive tutors, free care at our hospitals/emergency rooms/clinics, free legal & court costs, costs of imprisonment, etc, are breaking this country. We cannot keep borrowing money to spend this way. It just is not a long-term sustainable situation; no part of the foreign illegal issue is. We keep adding millions more people to our nation EVERY YEAR, but our available resources remain the same. These are all the kind of conditions describing third world cesspit nations and our government is knowingly, deliberately, taking our country there. WHY, WHY??? Are the rewards being accrued today by some Americans worth this deliberate destruction of a great nation??
I totally agree with you Marilyn.. . this is outrageous… I’m so sick of politicians catering to these people who have NO right to be here… using OUR hard earned tax dollars at OVER $100 Billion EVERY year… it is appalling