The White House clarified President Obama’s statement from hishealth care reform speech on Wednesday night when he stated thatillegal aliens would not be covered under his plan. The White Housesaid it supports verification of citizenship before individuals cantake advantage of provisions in the health care reform bill.
The White House issued the following bullet points:
- Undocumented immigrants would not be able to buy private insuranceon the exchange. Those who are lawfully present in this country wouldbe able to participate.
- Undocumented immigrants would be able to buy insurance in thenon-exchange private market, just as they do today. That market willshrink as the exchange takes hold, but it will still exist and will besubject to reforms such as the bans on pre-existing conditions and caps
- Verification will be required when purchasing health insuranceon the exchange. One option is the SAVE program (Systematic AlienVerification for Entitlements) which states currently use to make surethat undocumented immigrants don’t participate in safety-net programsfor which they are ineligible.
- There would be no change in the law that requires emergency roomsto treat people who need emergency care, including undocumentedimmigrants. There is already a federal grant program that compensatesstates for emergency room costs associated with treatment ofundocumented immigrants, a provision sponsored by a Republican lawmaker.
The White House acknowledged that illegal aliens would be able toreceive emergency care, and that hospitals would be reimbursed throughtaxpayer funds.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) also expressedsupport for a verification mechanism following the President’s speechon Wednesday. Sen. Baucus, and his bi-partisan committee, are currentlydrafting the health care reform legislation in the Senate.
In the House, two amendments offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.)and Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) that would require the use of verificationbefore individuals could benefit from health care reform provisionswere defeated during committee markups. Whether those amendments arereconsidered in the House is still unclear, but White House PressSecretary Robert Gibbs said that verification requirements are”something we’d work out with Congress.”