Biden on health care for undocumented migrants: How do you say, 'I'm gonna let you die'

[DonViejo]

BY RACHEL FRAZIN - 07/05/19 09:27 AM EDT

Undocumented immigrants should have access to healthcare, former Vice President Joe Biden said in a CNN interview released Friday.

“I think undocumented people need to have a means by which they can be covered when they’re sick,” he said in a CNN interview, adding, “This is just common decency.”

“In an emergency they should have health care. Everybody should,” he added. "How do you say 'You're undocumented, I'm gonna let you die, man?'"

Link to tweet

Biden's comments follow previous statements during the first Democratic debate last week in which Biden was among several contenders who called for undocumented immigrants to have health care.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/451737-biden-on-health-care-for-undocumented-migrants-how-do-you-say-im-gonna-let

[ucrdem]

1. Good line and good policy.

Healthcare for immigrants is limited, doable and humane. It's a good issue.

[Cha]

2. Good Going,

VP Biden!

[Celerity]

3. Biden is 100% correct, the only question I have (and not at all just for him)

is whether he (and many of the others) are talking about emergency healthcare only (Biden said emergency, but did not say emergency only, so I am still not sure with him) which is a no-brainer IMHO, OR does he and the others mean total health coverage, the same as any citizen would get via Medicaid, Medicare and/or private insurance?

If he and any of the others mean complete, citizen-level potential coverage, that is going to use to smash us hard in the general, as there are 30 plus million citizens who lack that.

[marylandblue]

5. I think the idea is full universal coverage for both citizens and non-citizens.

Emergency room only coverage is expensive because people end up going to the emergency room for routine problems, or wait until they are much sicker to get treatment.

[Celerity]

14. no, he is not advocating full coverage on an ongoing basis (equal to private insurance or Medicaid)

that position is electoral suicide

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/05/biden-helped-himself-mostly/?utm_term=.a79722fbb20d

He went down the list, dinging the items his opponents eagerly embraced. Decriminalizing illegal entry into the United States? Nope. “I think people should have to get in line, but if people are coming because they’re actually seeking asylum, they should have a chance to make their case.” Giving illegal immigrants health insurance? Not happening. “I think undocumented people need to have a means by which they can be covered when they’re sick,” Biden said. “That’s what I think we should be doing, by building more clinics around the country, not just for undocumented but for other people. When they’re ill, when they’re sick, it’s just common decency.” These are perfectly mainstream, sensible positions — which his team should hope he sticks up for in the next debate.

[marylandblue]

16. The bolded words sound to me like a contradiction.

I see that it says he doesn't want to give them health insurance, but he also said we need a means to cover them when they are sick, then something about clinics for everyone. Clinics are really a separate issue, but if that's what he means by coverage, I don't see how that's any better than just giving them insurance.

I don't think anyone in the Democratic has a politically realistic position on immigration. We always talk about how welcoming we are to immigrants, but in reality, a lot of people don't want them here, and Trump has totally captured that market.

[Celerity]

17. He is saying they have to be treated in an emergency situation, but they will not get regular

ongoing, comprehensive coverage (at private insurance or Medicare or Medicaid levels)

Tens of millions of US citizens do not have any health insurance coverage. It is madness (due to the US electoral landscape) to give that to people who are here illegally. It would be a devastating stance for our nominee to take.

Once (if) we get all the citizens covered, then we can perhaps look at the undocumented, but that is far, far off.

If we decriminalised illegally entering the country and also give all undocumented full health care coverage equal to a citizen's, the magnet for illegal immigration will explode. It will become impossible to control.

[marylandblue]

18. Giving people emergency care only is what we do now and it is inhumane.

Is he saying that common decency requires we set an immigrant's broken bone, but if they show up with cancer, then they are SOL?

I don't disagree with you on the politics of immigration, in fact, if Biden really wants those working class white voters back, he'll support mandatory e-verify for businesses, visa tracking, and a fast-track asylum system.

All I see is he that he is just mealy mouthed on one particular side issue that won't leave anyone satisfied.

[Celerity]

19. it is a narrow needle hole he has to thread to get elected

The US healthcare system is broken, but atm it is pretty much impossible for a comprehensive fix. The votes are not there for a myriad number of reasons at a multitude of levels.

I am lucky, I have options in terms of what country I can live in when it come to healthcare. I also am only 23 and still covered in the US on my father's private insurance. When that ends, and if my wife or I became very sick, I am not going to use the US system unless it is drastically changed. Like hell if I am going to burn tens (hundreds?) of thousands of USD for care I can get basically for free back in the UK or the EU.

[thesquanderer]

20. I think, like Buttigieg, he means insurance coverage for all who pay for it,

including undocumented immigrants. What you offer to those who don't, whether it's anything beyond the ER service they get today, is a question that hasn't been so specifically addressed, and I suspect the answer may differ depending on which candidate you ask.

The debate question that prompted this was misleading. I discussed that at the post linked here.

[Freethinker65]

4. That, and the matter of public health

Treatment of a communicable disease/pathogen/parasite is preferable to exposing it to a population.

That is why affordable healthcare is important for everyone. That is why everyone, including food service workers, should have medical care and get sick days.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

6. Have to agree with Joe there... but then, no Democratic candidate would say otherwise.

Still, you have to give Joe cudos for sayin it.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[comradebillyboy]

7. Now that's a good answer Joe. Keep saying

things like this that emphasize our humanity.

[Turin_C3PO]

8. Good answer by Joe.

We’re the party of true family values.

[Drunken Irishman]

9. Wow. The way Biden framed that was strong.

If he frames it like that, it's really hard to oppose the idea.

[Cha]

13. Excellent heartfelt framing!

[Peacetrain]

10. A humane stance... you do not let people just die..

[MineralMan]

11. Simple, isn't it?

It should be simple. Get sick on your trip to Europe? You'll get treated. They'll worry about payment later, if at all. Get sick in the US as a foreign tourist? Be prepared to be asked how you plan to pay for treatment. If you're smart, you'll have bought a health insurance policy for your visit here that is comprehensive enough to cover what's wrong with you. We aren't friendly that way. Not one little bit.

Anyhow, for foreign visitors, there are several health insurance options you can buy. Here's one outfit:

https://www.visitorscoverage.com/visitor-insurance/

[Hekate]

12. How do you say "you're gonna die"? Same as in the bad old day of whites-only hospitals...

...when black patients were turned away no matter the emergency.

Ah, those fine old days in America.

One thing racist morons really fail to understand is the public health menace posed by communicable but preventable or treatable diseases, such as TB and influenza. All those nice ladies cleaning houses and motel rooms and all the busboys clearing tables and others doing food prep in the restaurant -- how many of them are undocumented? Want to bet a cough or sneeze on that?

But hey, a gigantic wall and predawn raids will take care of that, amirite?

[Scurrilous]

15. K&R