Let Guatamala Take Care Of Its Own Citizens
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Let Guatemala Take Care Of Its Own Citizens: Here’s another reason why health care is so expensive …
“Martin Memorial Medical Center attorneys asked a judge Thursday to order a penniless Guatemalan man out of the fourth-floor hospital room where he has racked up more than $1 million in bills since a February 2000 head-on crash.
Luis Alberto Jimenez, 31, an illegal immigrant who nearly died and suffered severe brain damage in the crash, should be returned to his native land for further treatment, they argued.
..The case is at the heart of a national debate over who is responsible for caring for poor illegal immigrants requiring extensive health care after they reach this country. Because of his illegal status, the federal health-care programs don’t cover his long-term care. The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. today at the Martin County Courthouse.
Dr. Walter Gil, who has treated Jimenez for the past 2 1/2 years, said his patient has dramatically improved in the past year. The once-comatose man now has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old and would benefit greatly from contact with his family in Guatemala.”
Whether they’re here legally or not, human decency demands that we provide emergency medical care for illegal aliens injured in the US. However, we should not be providing long term care for illegal aliens, especially not at a cost of a million dollars that is going to be tacked on in some form or another to everyone else’s bill. It’s simply not our responsibility to spend years rehabilitating people who come here illegally.
In this case, after Jimenez was stabilized he should have been sent back to Guatemala. If for some reason that wasn’t acceptable to the Guatemalan government, then they should have been asked to pay the man’s bill.
I know some of you probably think that sounds harsh, but you have to understand, we’re not talking about one guy. We’re talking massive numbers of illegal aliens siphoning resources off of our public health care system. Health care is expensive enough as it is without giving free long-term health care to anyone who can manage to sneak over the border without getting caught.
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