Obama's Right: No Benefits for Illegal Immigrants in H.R. 3200

I guess this is why our Congresspeople need to read the bills they are voting on....

Faithful reader Tim Higgins leaps to the defense of the grossly indecorous Rep. Joe Wilson and calls President Obama a liar:

His address also contained and he was accurately describes as such, liar.

He contradicted several things that are in the House Bill. Please Obama read the bill. Of particular interest, "We will not provide health care coverage to illegal immigrants".

After reading this statement from his teleprompter, Mr. Wilson accurately describe him as a liar. Section 152 page 50-51 HC will be provided to ALL NON-US citizens.

Wrong again, Tim. Here's the text of HR 3200, Section 152:

(a) In General- Except as otherwise explicitly permitted by this Act and by subsequent regulations consistent with this Act, all health care and related services (including insurance coverage and public health activities) covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services.

(b) Implementation- To implement the requirement set forth in subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, promulgate such regulations as are necessary or appropriate to insure that all health care and related services (including insurance coverage and public health activities) covered by this Act are provided (whether directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements) without regard to personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services.

Did you catch that first line: "Except as otherwise explicitly permitted by this Act..."? Read that again, then turn to Section 246:

Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

So illegal immigrants are not covered under this legislation.

Tim and Rep. Wilson are wrong. But consider: don't illegal immigrants currently get health care in the U.S.? Do emergency room staff require ID and turn you away if your green card isn't legit? Aren't we already shouldering those bills in our insurance premiums and other payouts the hospitals use to cover the difference?

And heck, let's jump into the bizzaro alternative universe in which Joe Wilson lives. Would Joe and Tim and Rush and Glenn seriously reject a plan that could save 22,000 American citizens' lives each year just because Paco and María would keep getting free stitches after injuring themselves working double shifts at the meatpacking plant that cranks out America's cheap weiners?

President Obama is right... and the Right has nothing but fumes.

p.s.: A corollary to the health care debate: when someone cites page numbers in H.R. 3200, call their bluff. Demand a hyperlink. Make them read you the actual text, word for word. Nine times out of ten, they'll prove themselves wrong, just by reading the very bill they think they are citing.