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Pros And Cons Of Undocumented Immigrants

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Thank you for your thoughtful post. In other words, you are asking how can the United States justify not providing affordable health insurance for people residing and working in country? Baiden (2010) offerings two important points, “Most, if not all of these undocumented immigrants work hard and contribute to the country's economic growth” furthermore, “The problem is that such individuals suffer high degree of exploitation at the hands of their employers” (p. 5). Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for government insurance programs, are unlikely to have employer provided insurance, and often do not have the resources to purchase private insurance. Furthermore, research has identified vulnerable populations such as low income, uninsured …show more content…

434. Paradoxically, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires Medicare funded hospitals provide appropriate medical treatment for individuals seeking emergency care independent of citizenship, legal status or ability to pay (Rhodes & Smith, 2016). Emergency care is costly and does not address the root cause of disease, furthermore, preventative screenings or health care is not covered under the law (Groppe, 2017). Hospitals must shift cost of providing care to the uninsured emergency care to insured individuals. Researchers in Michigan found with expanded health insurance decreased emergency room visits by 50%. Conversely, in Tennessee and Missouri had an increase in ER costs after cutting Medicaid services in 2015 (Groppe, 2017). The evidence presented suggests providing affordable health insurance for residents of the United States which is independent of citizenship could save money by reducing the need and utilization of emergency care. My follow up question is: Can law makers shift their thinking to provide residents of the country with health insurance in order to save

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