Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2223665)

The plan was to hire a total of 87,000 employees over the course of a 10-year period. That number would include all the tens of thousands of employees who are replacing those who retire, quit, are fired, or die while employed during that 10-year period. It also includes couriers, secretaries, office associates, building maintenance employees (janitors) to fill out existing vacancies and make the entire system work more efficiently.

Right now there are millions of dollars not collected, that should be collected, but there just aren't enough people working in the system to get the job done efficiently. That's OUR money - the money our government uses to run the country - that isn't getting collected.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2223662)

Any American citizen who doesn't want to pay a bill can walk into any public hospital and get care too. All the criminals who got hurt in the process of robbing a store, carjacking a car, kidnapping a child, torturing a dog, raping their daughter, beating up an old lady - if the criminal got hurt - they will get free medical care courtesy of the taxpayer. Whether they walk into the ER on their own steam, or the police send them to ER after they're caught, they won't have to pay the bill.

And that's just the American citizens I'm talking about. I don't see anyone whining about Americans who commit violent crimes and get hurt in the process getting free medical care in the ER courtesy of the taxpayer. Well actually I do. When the criminal is brown or black, they are criticized. When the criminal is white "boys will be boys" or some such, most of the time.

Funny how prejudice works. Everything is working as intended, until "other" does it. Then the system is bad.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2223662)

Any American citizen who doesn't want to pay a bill can walk into any public hospital and get care too. All the criminals who got hurt in the process of robbing a store, carjacking a car, kidnapping a child, torturing a dog, raping their daughter, beating up an old lady - if the criminal got hurt - they will get free medical care courtesy of the taxpayer. Whether they walk into the ER on their own steam, or the police send them to ER after they're caught, they won't have to pay the bill.

And that's just the American citizens I'm talking about. I don't see anyone whining about Americans who commit violent crimes and get hurt in the process getting free medical care in the ER courtesy of the taxpayer. Well actually I do. When the criminal is brown or black, they are criticized. When the criminal is white "boys will be boys" or some such, most of the time.

Funny how prejudice works. Everything is working as intended, until "other" does it. Then the system is bad.

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2223729)

I was addressing your Post No. 66 that said about "undocumented immigrants", "They can't get Medicaid". That is totally false. They can and do get Medicaid.

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2223729)

I was addressing your Post No. 66 that said about "undocumented immigrants", "They can't get Medicaid". That is totally false. They can and do get Medicaid.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2223760)

I see a difference between being given a medicaid "card" to use for health insurance and medicaid funds being given to hospitals that provide emergency services to the uninsured. Still, there are some States that provide a limited amount of direct medicaid coverage to undocumented individuals.

In the case of treating the uninsured, what would you have the emergency rooms do? Should they leave someone untreated if they don't have insurance? Should they ascertain someone's citizenship or immigration status and only leave the undocumented untreated? I don't like the immigration situation any more than anyone else but I can't see leaving people to die in the waiting room or allowing hospitals to go broke and close because those they save cannot pay.

Originally Posted by Bill14564 (Post 2223760)

I see a difference between being given a medicaid "card" to use for health insurance and medicaid funds being given to hospitals that provide emergency services to the uninsured. Still, there are some States that provide a limited amount of direct medicaid coverage to undocumented individuals.

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2223769)

I agree that emergency treatment should be provided for "real" emergencies. But I don't think hospital emergency rooms should provide non-emergency care for anyone, insured or not, because it causes long wait times for people who really need the care. There is a common misconception about the Federal law regarding what emergency rooms are required to do. They only need to stabilize a patient so that he/she can be transferred somewhere else. Hospitals receive large amounts of money from local, state, and the Federal Government to treat indigent patients. Some uninsured people use the emergency room as their primary care facility, which hospitals should not allow.