According to analysis from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) the number of illegal immigrants covered under Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats’ health care bill (H.R. 3962) has increased by 2.5 million from their original bill, H.R. 3200:
- According to CBO, H.R. 3962 leaves “18 million nonelderly residents uninsured (about one-third of whom would be unauthorized immigrants).” That equates to roughly 6 million illegal immigrants uninsured. According to CBO, H.R. 3200 left “17 million nonelderly residents uninsured (nearly half of whom would be unauthorized immigrants).” That equates to roughly 8.5 million illegal immigrants uninsured. So Speaker Pelosi’s new bill expanded coverage for illegal immigrants by 2.5 million people. How many of them will receive free health insurance paid for by American taxpayers?
8.5 million uninsured illegal immigrants under HR 3200
– 6 million uninsured illegal immigrants under HR 3962
= 2.5 million MORE INSURED illegal immigrants under HR 3962
- Democrats previously rejected Republican amendments to improve verification of citizenship status for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance that would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer subsidies.
- Democrats instead chose to include watered-down verification language in H.R. 3962 for citizenship verification.
- The Democrats’ language is based on earlier legislation that was widely criticized for allowing states to simply check Social Security number and place of birth to verify citizenship status. But according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), more than 46 million SSNs have been issued to non-citizens. Some of these individuals may now be U.S. citizens, but others may continue to reside in the United States illegally.
- Thus, the mere possession of a valid SSN does not establish U.S. citizenship or legal presence in the United States. In fact, over 7 million employees worked under false SSNs in 2008 (from SSA, most recent year with data available).
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