email from one of my state Senators;
Dear Mr. Cogburn,
Thank you for taking the time to email me a quote from Ben Stein. I appreciate hearing from you and I apologize for my delayed response.
You shared with me the following: “Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured…but not everyone must prove they are a citizen…Many of those who refuse, or are unable, to prove they are citizens will receive free insurance paid for by those who are forced to buy insurance because they are citizens.”
I certainly understand your frustration regarding mandates on individuals to purchase health insurance and I share your opposition, as insurance mandates drive up the cost of health care for everyone, making it harder for most Americans to access health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated for every 1 percent rise in the cost of health insurance, 200,000 to 300,000 more Americans go uninsured.
Some of the inequities in the federal health care law mean that Americans face more burdensome requirements under the law than do legal or illegal immigrants, according to a recent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS). Starting in 2014, Americans will be subject to an individual mandate penalty of $695 annually if they do not purchase federally-dictated health insurance. However, under the new federal law, illegal immigrants will not be forced to purchase health insurance, though, as the quote you shared with me noted, they will still be able to receive health care—regardless of their ability to pay—in a hospital’s emergency department.
According to CRS, “Unauthorized (illegal) immigrants are expressly exempted from the mandate to have health insurance and, as a result, cannot be penalized for noncompliance.” So illegal immigrants get health care without paying for it, but citizens face the choice of either buying expensive health insurance or paying a new tax. As a result, the cost of illegal immigrants’ health care in the emergency department of hospitals will be shifted to Americans with insurance and taxpayers.
This is unjust, and is a perfect example of how backwards our government can be. The health care debate ultimately comes down to one thing: freedom. This includes patients’ freedom to make their own health care choices in consultation with their doctors. At the center of the health care debate lies the question of what role Americans want the government to play in our lives. I believe, as our founders did, that limiting the federal government will protect individual liberties. This belief is the core of our Constitution, and throughout history, we have enjoyed our greatest economic success and personal freedom, when the role of government is limited. I am convinced positive change can be accomplished only when the federal government gets out of the way and allows individual Americans the freedom to make those changes.
I discuss this issue and other issues in three oversight reports that I have authored, along with my colleague and fellow physician in the Senate, Dr. Barrasso from Wyoming. The newest report, Warning: Side Effects, A Check-Up on the Federal Health Law, presents the American people with a two-year update on the economic and financial impacts of the law. The report also includes information about several critically harmful provisions of the law, including new Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) insurance rules which increase costs and destabilize insurance markets, research that could be used to deny payment for patients’ care, and hundreds of billions of dollars in tax hikes.
While I do believe we should continue to strive to ensure that everyone in America has access to medically necessary care, I agree it is unfair to shift the costs of illegal immigrants’ care to the American taxpayers.
Thank you again for writing to me. I wish you the best.
Sincerely,
November 1, 2012
Tom A. Coburn, M.D.
United States Senator
TC: ler
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