The debate about no health insurance for illegal aliens is too one dimensional. This issue has many implications that have not been discussed at all. Even a non-expert can ask some very important questions that are not easily answered.
1. An illegal alien has a communicable disease. One member of the family comes to a hospital looking for care. In the process of treatment a doctor concludes that the entire family is most likely infected. The family has already come in contact with many other people. Who will the government treat and who will pay for the treatment?
2. To ensure that no medical care is given to illegal aliens everyone will have to be issued an identity card. Won’t those who oppose national identity cards see the issuance of these medical ID cards as a step toward systems of identity that so many Americans oppose?
3. A female illegal alien is pregnant and has no money for health care. Will the government provide the care needed for the mother and later for the child or will they be put out onto the street?
4. If an illegal alien child comes to a hospital with a broken limb or other non- communicable ailment will he/she be turned away?
5. Will public clinics and hospitals that now do not ask about citizenship not provide services to illegal aliens?
6. If we provide a “path to citizenship” for illegal aliens, will those following regulations be included in a national health insurance plan? If they are low wage earners where will the money come from to pay for their care?
These are all difficult moral questions that will be debated long and hard. Local government agencies throughout the country are now providing these services. Where is this situation going? Who wants to say “no” to the least able among us?
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