The not-so-universal heath care initiative

Senate Democrats are campaigning for a bill that has been touted to provide “universal health coverage” to everyone in the U.S. The reality, however, is that the plan would not be “universal” and would exclude one group who is particularly vulnerable to the lack of health care:

Illegal immigrants won't be entitled to medical insurance under the health legislation Congress is working on, a leading lawmaker said Thursday.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said the health overhaul would cover nearly everyone — 94 percent to 96 percent of the population — but not undocumented workers. Baucus is chairman of the Finance Committee, which has taken the lead in drafting the sweeping legislation.

"We aren't going to cover undocumented workers because that's too politically explosive," Baucus said during a session with reporters, in which he previewed legislation he expects to introduce by mid-June. - [ed. emphasis added]

In other words, Baucus wants to exclude illegal immigrants from the plan in order to kowtow to a party that has gone out of their way to demonize immigrants even if it costs the GOP Latino support. (Case in point: several Republican senators nearly defeated plans to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program since it would cover legal immigrants).

The upshot could be a “very high” chance that a bipartisan compromise will help pass the proposal. Yet it’s an unfair burden for illegal immigrants to pay when they are consumers and pay taxes for the benefit of this country.

Image- Washington Times
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, washingtonpost.com, AP, Bloomberg