Joe Wilson Voted to Provide Taxpayer Money for Illegal Immigrants' Healthcare

[mystieus]

Source: www.opencongress.org

On Wednesday night, Rep. Joe Wilson , shouted “You lie!” at President Obama when he said that the healthcare bill would not cover illegal immigrants. “The supporters of the government takeover of healthcare and liberals who want to give healthcare to illegals are using my opposition as an excuse to distract from the critical questions being raised about this poorly conceived plan,” Wilson said the next day in a campaign fundraising video.

However, in 2003, Wilson voted to provide federal funds for illegal immigrants’ healthcare. The vote came on the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which contained Sec. 1011 authorizing $250,000 annually between 2003 and 2008 for government reimbursements to hospitals who provide treatment for uninsured illegal immigrants. The program has been extended through 2009 and there is currently a bipartisan bill in Congress to make it permanent.

Read more: http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/1219-Joe-Wilson-Voted-to-Provide-Taxpayer-Money-for-Illegal-Immigrants-Healthcare

[virgogal]

1. Good catch !!!!!!

[liberalmuse]

2. Wow, the guy is human. A raging hypocrite, but human all the same.

I have no problem with providing any human being with healthcare, whether they be "illegal" or not. I think we can all agree that it is the hypocrisy and the subsequent projection that we're tired of.

[Walk away]

5. I'm sure he did it because some Hospital corporation contributed to...

his campaign. Legally the hospitals have to stabilize any ill person who comes to their ER. They would prefer to be reimbursed by tax dollars. Joe Wilson is a racist, do you really think he cares about immigrants (illegal or legal)?

[dgibby]

13. As a matter of fact, you're absolutely right.

"Over his entire congressional career, health professionals represent Wilson’s top industry contributors, donating a total of $244,196 to his campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics OpenSecrets.org database. He received another $86,150 from pharmaceutical companies, $73,050 from insurance companies and $68,000 from hospitals and nursing homes."

http://www.politicususa.com/en/node/7156

[MH1]

8. I sincerely doubt that he cast that vote out of "humanity"

or any caring for illegal immigrants.

He wanted to keep his job and polling told him he needed to vote for that bill.

[unlegendary]

11. indeed

The hypocrisy is just overwhelming. I don't much care if every illegal is covered because they too are human beings. It's not as if any illegal alien is from mars or something and to assume billions will pour over the borders for health care when health care is already readily available in their own home nations is ludicrous at the very least.

[riograndevalleygirl]

19. still keeping it real

Actually, I was born and raised in the Valley, a mere 5 miles from the border. Fifth generation in fact. Because of the old 1980s law that doesn't allow hospitals to turn away anyone with an acute condition, border hospitals are treating thousands in their ERs for conditions requiring dialysis....for free. It costs 4 times clinic cost to give a patient dialysis in an ER setting. Mexican nationals absolutely do flood over the border for health care...even to enroll their kids in American public schools. Why would someone in Matamoros pay for health care when they can cross and get treatment in a Brownsville hospital for free? Sorry...but it's a fact of life along the border.

[jeffbr]

3. Spread this far and wide

[mystieus]

4. I voted for it before I was against it.

[BlooInBloo]

6. Heh. Wonder what was in the bill that he liked.

[depakid]

20. No federal price negotiation for pharmaceuticals under Medicare Part D

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DUlover2909]

9. $250,000 per year? That's not very much.

The government should be required to reimburse hospitals 100% for stabilizing patients because the law requires them to do so.

[Lasher]

21. It's $250 million per year, not $250 thousand.

The Open Congress article is wrong on this point.

http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14201

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7795429/

[customerserviceguy]

10. This is somewhat misleading

I was able to find a copy of the bill at

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MMAUpdate/downloads/PL108-173summary.pdf

For starters, it's a monster piece of legislation (the PDF has 148 pages, most of which are written in governmentese) and Section 1011 deals with the simple fact that there simply are some hospitals that serve a much higher proportion of Medicaid and uninsured patients.

The legislation actually appropriates $250 million per year (see page 128), which is more than the amount stated above (what a difference placement of a comma makes!) but is really a relief measure for hospitals in urban areas that obviously secured some Democratic votes for the legislation, which was important for Bush to say that it had bipartisan support.

To single it out as an act of hypocracy in a bill that involved spending multi-billions of dollars is not exactly fair. It might be embarassing, but it also points out that just about every law passed has provisions that are the opposite of a legislator's stated positions.

[FarCenter]

14. Most of the $250 million / year goes to California, Texas, etc. near the border

It is distributed to the states based on their proportion of the population of illegal aliens (how they measure that? don't ask!).

Most likely, it was a barganing chip to get some Republicans in Texas, Southern California, Arizona, Florida, to vote for the bill that established Medicare part D for prescription medicines. Looks like payola.

[customerserviceguy]

15. And in the scheme of bills of this size

it was chump change. Bush was never against illegal immigration (benefitted his rancher buddies too much) so the Rethugs didn't make bashing them into a priority until late in his last term.

[unkachuck]

12. hey joey....

....your faux political outrage is showing....you da 'liar'....

[pauldg0]

16. How can we go after him now....

....the media must push this....I think it is very important.

[jasi2006]

17. Shouldn't this be mentioned on the Sunday TV talk shows? nt

[riograndevalleygirl]

18. Keeping it real

In the 1980s, Congress passed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act which guarantees treatment for ANY person appearing in any ER with an acute condition. The intent of the law, which was passed before our current immigration woes, was not to provide ER care to noncitizens, rather to provide emergency care for Americans without insurance. But I think we all agree it is humane and necessary to treat anyone in a life or death crisis situation. If a person is dying of a heart attack, doctors shouldn't have to ask for insurance cards or immigration papers before attempting to save that life.

The Medical Modernization Act provides for a very small reimbursement from the Federal Government to hospitals in states with high undocumented populations who are unfairly penalized by the 1986 law. I live in one of those states. Joe Wilson simply voted for a law that helps defray the financial penalties caused by the older law. I think it's intellectually dishonest to try to malign the man over this.

[and-justice-for-all]

22. The hypocrisy is unfuckingbelievable!!! nt

[Supersedeas]

23. A liar and a hypocrit