Re: Fw: Parkland Hospital-Privileges Accorded Illegal Immigrants

Parkland Hospital - Privileges Accorded Illegal Immigrants

Where to begin?  -- 

I'm not an attorney, but but based on a lay person's study of our Constitution, I see some flaws in the laws and interpretation thereof which have justified this situation.
First, despite interpretations of the Constitution by the Supreme Court, there is nothing in our Constitution which, correctly construed guarantees health care services to anyone and nothing which guarantees any services to illegal immigrants. That this has become de facto law via Supreme Court decisions, is the result of a very liberal interpretation of several clauses of our Constitution never originally intended to be so interpreted. That means all this is not set in stone. The Supreme Court can overrule itself [Supreme Court-Separate but Equal-Reversed Itself ] by coming to a different conclusion in a subsequent case brought before it based on the same issue.  Note racial segregation was ruled Constitutional in Plessy v. Ferguson [163 U.S. 537  (1896) ]. " 'Separate but equal' remained standard doctrine in U.S. law until its repudiation in the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education." Thus the Supreme Court reversed itself and could do so regarding "rights" to free medical treatment accorded illegal immigrants were a case brought before them on this issue.

Second, this commentary states "By law,  pregnant women cannot be denied medical care based on  their immigration status or ability to pay." [Note -- see Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act - Emergency Medical Treatment . . . Act]  Under this federal legislation passed by Congress as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act in 1986, "hospitals and ambulance services [have] to provide care to anyone needing emergency healthcare treatment regardless of citizenship, legal status or ability to pay."   Further, "There are no reimbursement provisions" in the Act." It applies to "participating hospitals." The catch is that almost all hospitals are, in fact, virtually forsed to be participants since this definition means all "those [medical facilities] that accept payment from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Medicare program."  Thus EMTALA "applies to virtually all hospitals in the U.S., with the exception of the Shriners Hospitals for Children, Indian Health Service hospitals, and Veterans Affairs hospitals." Since The combined payments of Medicare and Medicaid, make up nearly half of all medical expenditures in the U.S., non-participation is not realistically feasible for hospitals.

Major flaws in this entire scenario created by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act:

     It's imposition by the government of an unfunded requirement for

     private and state institutions to provide services.

     It's creation of a protected class -- pregnant women -- not otherwise defined

     by the laws of the United States.

     Finally, a basic flaw in logic in the application of this law:

If undedr this law, all pregnant women are a protected class entitled to medical care regardless of ability to pay, how can different levels of care for immigrant and       citizen pregnant women be justified and how can a means test be applied to one group but not the other? A point, I think, that could and should be challenged at law.

Third, this Parkland Hospital example brings us back to the basic point: illegal means that the laws of the United States, in this case immigration laws, have been broken and the person breaking them is in fact a criminal who, rather than being granted the rights and privileges of citizens should be prosecuted. 

This is a perfect illustration of how far our entire judicial and legal system is out of control and acting to aid and abet an illegal activity.   --   S. Lane

Note: Snopes format doesn't allow me to copy and paste text, so in order to post from the text of this item, I resorted to screen shots which, though small, will hopefully be readable. CLICK ON THE LINK  (Parkland Hospital - Privileges Accorded Illegal Immigrants) to read this item at Snopes.  /sl