DISQUS

new_mexican · 3 months ago

“UNM Hospitals forget that it is a public hospital, that its mission is to serve the residents of this county regardless of their ability to pay, regardless of their citizenship status.”

I DO NOT THINK THIS IS TRUE. New Mexicans should not pay costs for illegal immigrants.

sarikrosinsky · 3 months ago

I agree that lack of universal health care is a problem, but it seems unfair to suppose that the executives at UNM Hospitals want to turn anyone away. UNMH can't supply universal access to health care until it has the resources to meet the demand.

Owinurame · 3 months ago

UNM has come a long way in improving care and in establishing dialogue with advocates for patients in the community. Sadly there is still much to do.
The issue is a case study of why we need health care and health insurance reform. The health sciences center facilities must navigate the assorted bureacracies of over a hundred insurance plans. The money save by simplifying that alone would pay for the modest number of unqualified immigrants. It would also make us ALL healthier.

mmeaders · 3 months ago

Sounds like the hospital don't mind ditching people who can't vote, and can't pressure their employers for health care coverage. Otherwise, undocumented families pay the same taxes as anyone else, and need health care, too. Even if you don't care about them, the rest of us need to be protected against communicable dieases like TB and Hepatitis and flu.

I call these children "the new bastards". We used to discriminate against people whose parents didn't have marriage paperwork. Now it's immigration paperwork. Did you know that poor people not born here aren't entitled to Medicaid until they have been here legally for 5 years? What are they supposed to do in the meantime?

To me, this is parallel to making sure everyone's kids are in school so they are becoming literate, productive members of society and not getting into trouble or becoming child labor.

southvalley · 3 months ago

The low cost clinics are overwhelmed. First Choice has been centralized and the doctors and dentists are so busy you can hardly get in there and they are so busy that the quality of care is dropping like a rock. The social services are totally overwhelmed too. I guess everyone would like to pay more property taxes to cover everyone in the state? Somebody's got to pay for it.

This is what we get for being turned into a "sanctuary state" without it being a ballot initiative. So that contractors can have cheap labor.

greenchili · 3 months ago

Southvalley hit the nail on the head. Why should my tax dollars pay for health care of illegal aliens?????? They don't belong here. They should go home.

No wonder this state is in the red.

Solution......keep the illegal aliens here and pay their health care expenses and then lay off "state workers" aka legal residents in order to balance the budget. Will that make "people who don't make sense" aka democrats, happy?????

I'd hate to see State Rep. Eleanor Chavez's household budget.....apparently, she don't give a hoot about the state's red ink.

tarascan · 3 months ago

The leadership of UNM Hospital and Health Sciences Center have developed a segregated system of health care (UNM Care) which punishes unauthorized immigrants (who also pay taxes by the way) and charges them a higher co-pay for most services that fall outside emergency medical treatment. It may be easier to NOT CARE or be disconnected from the hardship of real people if you are making over $300-400 K per year.

Like many of these comments posted, the public is mis-informed about the details of the current eligibility policies which have devastating consequences to immigrant families and their legally born children and to the public at large. If folks aren't getting basic preventative care like immunizations or cheaper treatments for diabetes, then the social costs to everyone are higher. We can't have it both ways folks: a demand for a labor industry composed of Mexican immigrants that supports the backbone of New Mexico's economy and a backlash against the same folks who cook, clean, farm and develop all the hot realestate in Bernalillo County. Happy labor day by the way!

tarascan · 3 months ago

The leadership of UNM Hospital and Health Sciences Center have developed a segregated system of health care (UNM Care) which punishes unauthorized immigrants (who also pay taxes by the way) and charges them a higher co-pay for most services that fall outside emergency medical treatment. It may be easier to NOT CARE or be disconnected from the hardship of real people if you are making over $300-400 K per year.

Like many of these comments posted, the public is mis-informed about the details of the current eligibility policies which have devastating consequences to immigrant families and their legally born children and to the public at large. If folks aren't getting basic preventative care like immunizations or cheaper treatments for diabetes, then the social costs to everyone are higher. We can't have it both ways folks: a demand for a labor industry composed of Mexican immigrants that supports the backbone of New Mexico's economy and a backlash against the same folks who cook, clean, farm and develop all the hot realestate in Bernalillo County. Happy labor day by the way!

Aroop · 2 weeks ago

Wow, this seems to create quite the stir. I cannot immagine what it would be like if you lived in a state like Texas or California where the population of undocumented is nearly double that of New Mexico. Do I believe that UNM Care is wrong? No, that is what was written into the law that gave it funding from the state. Do I think that this is right? No. Immigrants need care too, and currently they do not have an option to HELP PAY for their coverage. Instead they just visit us (me in fact) in the Emergency Department. This winds up costing us way more than it ought to. Giving someone the option to help pay for their care will help the system. Offering insurance to undocumented is key to preserving the stability of health care in this country.