Immigration reform could add millions of people under Obama health law – The Hill’s Healthwatch
Comprehensive immigration reform could make millions of people suddenly eligible for assistance under President Obama’s healthcare law, assuming a final deal paves the way for undocumented immigrants to receive papers.
Illegal aliens are now prohibited from purchasing coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges, which will launch next year.
They are also ineligible for Medicaid under most circumstances, making the law’s expansion of the program fruitless for people without documents.
The landscape could change completely if Hispanic lawmakers get their wish — an overhaul of U. S. immigration policy that includes a path to legalization.
Helping people get and stay healthy, illegal immigrants or not, has to be cheaper in the long run. Sort of like Stephen Covey’s “sharpening the saw” — it takes time and resources to sharpen the saw, but once done, the work goes easier.
See on thehill.com