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Senate Dems a Bit Too Accommodating to the Xenophobe Health Scare Crowd
There's been a fair amount of interest over the last 36 hours over what kind of benefits health care reform might bring to immigrants. President Obama explained in his speech to Congress, "[T]he reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally." Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), as you may have heard, had a different view. This afternoon, Republican officials still maintain Wilson was right and Obama was wrong.
It's really not that complicated. Under reform, the uninsured would be eligible for subsidies to help them afford coverage. Would undocumented immigrants be able to receive these subsidies? No, the legislation prohibits it. Republicans, however, want explicit prohibitions preventing undocumented immigrants from purchasing coverage through a health care exchange with their own money.
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