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Menendez: Illegal immigrants should be able to buy health insurance from exchanges

By Jordan Fabian - 11/19/09 12:36 PM ET

Undocumented immigrants should be able to purchase insurance from health insurance exchanges with their own money, not federal dollars, Sen. Robert Menendez (D.N.J.) said Thursday. 

Menendez said that allowing illegal immigrants to buy insurance from the exchanges would help reduce insurance premiums and other healthcare costs because they would no longer have to use emergency rooms to get care.

The Senate bill currently does not permit undocumented immigrants to purchase insurance from the exchange.

"If they use their own money to purchase insurance without any taxpayer subsidy, it would make a lot of sense to offer that possibility," he said on ABC's "Top Line" webcast.

Menendez stressed that undocumented immigrants should not have access to federal subsidies to purchase healthcare. Legal immigrants are allowed to purchase from the exchange and receive federal subsidies. 

Menendez aide Afshin Mohamadi told The Hill that he does not have any plans to introduce an amendment to include undocumented immigrants in the exchange. The senator has, however, been outspoken on the issue.

The insurance exchanges under the Senate bill would be established by individual states to facilitate the purchase of qualified health insurance plans.

Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/68619-menendez-illegal-immigrants-should-be-able-to-buy-health-insurance-from-exchanges
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Comments (29)

I have a better idea for this so called senator: Illegal alliens should be deported. Their jobs would be easily filled by an American unemployed. You, Senator, should be deported too. You are violating our Constitution by saying such a stupid thing.BY Carlos Bandeira on 11/19/2009 at 13:08
With all due respect, Senator Menendez: Illegal immigrants are here ILLEGALLY. No effort should be made to enable them to be more comfortable, nor to facilitate them, in the commission of their chosen crime. Period.BY Dusan on 11/19/2009 at 13:11
They are welcome to buy health insurance from any private insurance company and should be required to do so withn NO SUBSIDIES. Just a part of coming to America, pay your own way like the rest of us do.BY Julie B on 11/19/2009 at 13:16
In other words, Robert Menendez is demanding to give cheap health insurance to illegal aliens so that they can take more jobs from American citizens. I suggest instead that New Jersey voters stand up for more jobs for American citizens, admittedly a revolutionary concept for many Democrats, by giving Menendez a big boot out of office.BY Chris Baker on 11/19/2009 at 13:29
What Senator Menendez and others refuse to admit is the fact that illegal immigrants are criminals. They have committed a crime — that is why they are called "illegal immigrants". I am sick and tired of hearing about the rights of illegal immigrants and their attitudes of entitlement. They need to be deported — permanently. It is up to their country to take care of them — not the United States. The 12 million illegals — and I suspect there are more — are dragging America down. We are beginning to have the landscape of a third-world country because of the disease, crime and failure of our education system due to these immigrants. Lou Dobbs was the only person brave enough to stand up and tell the truth about these people.BY D Betette on 11/19/2009 at 13:42
The lobbyists for the open border, business consortium's are deviously careful not to mention E-Verify, that discrepancies can be resolved at the Social Security agencies? Nor do they inform of the success rate of E-Verify, the fed immigration tool identifying illegal labor. These entities were nearly successful through the intervening Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), with support from majority speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to crush the computer verification program. Unfortunately, E-Verify may become obsolete if they pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform, that will legitimize 20 to 30 million illegal immigrants? Plus it's being kept in the dark, that millions more will pour across our undermanned border, or from across the world, once they get the word that AMNESTY is about to commence?We will be donating taxpayers dollars to support the poorest of families, with little or no education. Taxpayer will be paying for the old and sick person, mentally handicapped and those who need surgery who reaches American soil. It will be the—SAME— nightmare as the1986 immigration bill (IRCA) all over again, when 3 million materialized into 5.3 million and those working in agriculture disappeared, to enter the mainstream of US working class. Unless we put a stop to another BLANKET AMNESTY now—the impoverished, the criminals will keep coming—forever. Grade your policy makers at NUMBERSUSA? Read about Capitol corruption at JUDICIAL WATCH, ALIPAC, CAPSWEB, AMERICAN PATROL THE DARK SIDE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. What can you do for AMERICA?BY Brittanicus on 11/19/2009 at 14:26
Are you kidding me, senator? Taxpayers would subsidize illegal aliens so they could "buy" government-controlled healthcare insurance. The scary thing is that many of the Democrats will probably agree.ObamaBY Gary Clouser on 11/19/2009 at 14:59
How about you become a citizen, then all worries are gone. Hmmm there's a novel idea!BY Ian on 11/19/2009 at 16:02
I agree. Let them buy insurance…and then use the contact information they provide to track the encroachers down and kick them out. Dear politicians of every stripe…"undocumented immigrants" is just a flowery phrase for "ILLEGAL". They should all be arrested, made to work off the cost of dealing with returning them, summarily booted out of the country and then prohibited from ever reentering the country legally.BY frankandbeans on 11/19/2009 at 16:37
That's right, they should…from their country of nationality, not the United States government. Europe has seen what happens when you give freebies to illegals…severe fiscal problems and the people you are giving freebies to turn on you.BY Andrew on 11/19/2009 at 17:41

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