(CNSNews.com) – Both the House and Senate versions of President Obama’s health care reform plans contain passages explicitly excluding illegal immigrants from receiving federal money to purchase health insurance from either a private or government-run health plan.
Coming on the eve of a White House summit on immigration, the provisions would mean that some of the 46 million uninsured people living in the U.S. would be legally barred from benefiting from Obama’s government-led restructuring of the American healthcare system.
Obama, who pledged on Friday to tackle immigration reform, will host senators and congressmen at the White House Thursday to discuss possibilities for a reform bill.
The House bill, introduced simultaneously Friday in the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means committees, specifically prohibits illegal aliens from receiving government subsidies to purchase health insurance through a national insurance exchange.
“Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States,” the draft bill reads.
This means that insurance may not ask the government for subsidies if they choose to offer coverage to an illegal alien.
Under the system proposed by the House, private insurers offering plans in the exchange would receive federal subsidies if they allow people to buy insurance they cannot afford, so long as those customers fall below a certain income level, no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
The House plan, unlike the one unveiled last week in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, includes a skeletal outline of a public plan. That skeleton, however, does not define who would be eligible to participate in a government-run insurance plan.
However, like the private plans, illegal aliens would be barred from receiving subsidies to purchase government health insurance, since the government plan would receive the same treatment as private plans in the exchange.
The bill says nothing about providing coverage to illegal immigrants who don’t need subsidies, either through private plans or the government-run plan. Citizenship is not mentioned in the section which defines who is eligible to purchase insurance through the exchange.
“(1) Exchange-Eligible Individual. – The term “Exchange-eligible individual” means an individual who is eligible under this section to be enrolled through the Health Insurance Exchange in an Exchange-participating health benefits plan and, with respect to family coverage, includes dependents of such individuals.”
The draft bill describes such an individual as someone who does not have any other type of government coverage – such as Medicare, Medicaid or VA coverage – or someone who isn’t covered by an employer-sponsored or individually purchased plan.
In fact, legal status is only mentioned for those receiving insurance subsidies, referring to a legal resident as someone “lawfully residing in the United States,” rather than the term “legal resident” typically used in federal legislation.
The Senate version is even more explicit, saying that in no way can illegal immigrants receive federal help to buy insurance. The House bill’s prohibition applies only to the section on affordability credits.
“NO FEDERAL FUNDING.—Nothing in this Act shall allow Federal payments for individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”
In fact, the Senate version of the bill defines an “eligible individual” as “a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence or an alien lawfully present in the United States,” meaning that illegal immigrants are barred from eligibility in any of the programs established by the Senate bill.
The Senate bill does not even provide a skeleton outline of a public plan, saying only that the proposal is “under discussion.”
Unlike the House, the Senate’s version of health reform establishes not one exchange but 50 separate insurance exchanges intended to be defined and administered by the individual states. However, it would be illegal for any of these state-run exchanges to take federal money to insure illegal aliens.
Coming on the eve of a White House summit on immigration, the provisions would mean that some of the 46 million uninsured people living in the U.S. would be legally barred from benefiting from Obama’s government-led restructuring of the American healthcare system.
Obama, who pledged on Friday to tackle immigration reform, will host senators and congressmen at the White House Thursday to discuss possibilities for a reform bill.
The House bill, introduced simultaneously Friday in the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means committees, specifically prohibits illegal aliens from receiving government subsidies to purchase health insurance through a national insurance exchange.
“Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States,” the draft bill reads.
This means that insurance may not ask the government for subsidies if they choose to offer coverage to an illegal alien.
Under the system proposed by the House, private insurers offering plans in the exchange would receive federal subsidies if they allow people to buy insurance they cannot afford, so long as those customers fall below a certain income level, no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
The House plan, unlike the one unveiled last week in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, includes a skeletal outline of a public plan. That skeleton, however, does not define who would be eligible to participate in a government-run insurance plan.
However, like the private plans, illegal aliens would be barred from receiving subsidies to purchase government health insurance, since the government plan would receive the same treatment as private plans in the exchange.
The bill says nothing about providing coverage to illegal immigrants who don’t need subsidies, either through private plans or the government-run plan. Citizenship is not mentioned in the section which defines who is eligible to purchase insurance through the exchange.
“(1) Exchange-Eligible Individual. – The term “Exchange-eligible individual” means an individual who is eligible under this section to be enrolled through the Health Insurance Exchange in an Exchange-participating health benefits plan and, with respect to family coverage, includes dependents of such individuals.”
The draft bill describes such an individual as someone who does not have any other type of government coverage – such as Medicare, Medicaid or VA coverage – or someone who isn’t covered by an employer-sponsored or individually purchased plan.
In fact, legal status is only mentioned for those receiving insurance subsidies, referring to a legal resident as someone “lawfully residing in the United States,” rather than the term “legal resident” typically used in federal legislation.
The Senate version is even more explicit, saying that in no way can illegal immigrants receive federal help to buy insurance. The House bill’s prohibition applies only to the section on affordability credits.
“NO FEDERAL FUNDING.—Nothing in this Act shall allow Federal payments for individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”
In fact, the Senate version of the bill defines an “eligible individual” as “a citizen or national of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence or an alien lawfully present in the United States,” meaning that illegal immigrants are barred from eligibility in any of the programs established by the Senate bill.
The Senate bill does not even provide a skeleton outline of a public plan, saying only that the proposal is “under discussion.”
Unlike the House, the Senate’s version of health reform establishes not one exchange but 50 separate insurance exchanges intended to be defined and administered by the individual states. However, it would be illegal for any of these state-run exchanges to take federal money to insure illegal aliens.