by Adam DiOrio
Editor’s Note: opinion and political articles reflect the opinion of the authors and don’t represent the opinions of NewBedfordGuide.com. NewBedfordGuide.com will not back a candidate or political measure.
With the mid-term elections coming up next Tuesday, things are really heating up in the world of politics. Most of what we see now is, especially in political commercials, is one politician launching personal attacks against another. It is the issues, however, that truly matter. While most people view border states like Texas and Arizona as the only states with an illegal immigration problem, a recent story in the Boston Herald reveals that for citizens of Massachusetts, its an issue that needs to be addressed.
This week Gov. Deval Patrick’s office released figures involving illegal immigrants and state-run medical programs. It is worth noting that after a month of trying to conceal this report, Patrick’s administration was ordered by the Secretary of State to release this information to the public. After finally getting to view the contents of the report, one can see why Patrick so ardently tried to keep it under wraps.
According to the figures released by Patrick’s office, Massachusetts taxpayers paid $35.7 million in free emergency health care for illegal residents of the United States. Free for them, but not for you or I. Of this total, Massachusetts residents paid $13.7 to care for residents of other countries, while $22 million was paid by the federal government through Medicaid. Last year almost 53,000 illegal immigrants received benefits from MassHealth Limited, most of which came from emergency room visits.
As it turns out, MassHealth Limited is actually designed specifically to provide medical coverage for, as they put it, “non-citizens.” A non-citizen must apply for this medical plan but “…do not have to give or apply for a Social Security number to qualify, and…immigration status will NOT be reported to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). Undocumented non-citizens can apply without fear of deportation.” Those eligible include pregnant women, children under the age of 19, parents or caretakers living with children under 19, disabled individuals, and individuals over age 65.
To be clear, I don’t think that people, illegal or otherwise, should be denied life-saving medical attention. I don’t think women should be giving birth in an alley somewhere, or that seniors should be left to wander the streets until they die of old age. But it’s hard to justify the amount of money spent by this state taking care of people from other countries, especially when it is so difficult for citizens of the United States to attain health care.
I’m personally without medical insurance. On the day my unemployment claim ran out I received a letter in the mail telling me that my insurance coverage had expired as well. I was born in this country 29 years ago, and I have never lived in any other state, never mind another country. Yet citizens of other countries who move here to find work and follow their own “American Dream” are provided for before people like me: Americans who don’t have time to dream because their next paycheck is unaccounted for.
The leadership of Massachusetts and the United States is more concerned with being politically correct than correcting their political mistakes. We have a governor in office now that would rather hide the facts from the people that vote for him than let them know the truth. This is even more outrageous considering the state of our economy, and how hard it has become for us all to make ends meet.
“Give us your poor your tired, your huddled masses longing to breathe free…” These words, taken from a poem by Emma Lazarus and located on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty, have greeted immigrants to America for over 100 years. They were written at a time when this country offered hope and opportunity. Now our own country is filled with poor, tired, huddled masses of American citizens, longing to breathe free. America can no longer carry the burden of so many others at the expense of its own citizens.
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You’re kidding right? You know you just offended every single zero liability voter here in MA with your story. I mean, lets be honest; they’re just underprivileged. Give them a break! If I were you I’d stop eating double downs for lunch every day. Its a one way ticket to the ER… which they’ll make you pay for because you speak english.
Very classy response. Hiding behind keyboards and ranting personal attacks is pathetic to say the least. At least the author has the class to show his face and beliefs vice trolling the internet like an anonymous 10-year old.
Just to point something out here. Being off unemployment and with no medical insurance you yourself are now eligible for MassHealth.