thenewstribune.com
TACOMA, Washington -- Washington is paying for medical treatment and health coverage for large numbers of illegal immigrants at the expense of other poor families who are U.S. citizens, a state lawmaker said Thursday.
The cost of that coverage also is $15 million higher than what Democrats predicted earlier this year when they passed a law to expand subsidized health care programs for children.
“This is a program that mostly benefits kids of illegal immigrant families,” state Sen. Joe Zarelli said of the state Children’s Health Insurance Program. The $45 million the state will spend to expand that program over the next two years could instead be used to provide health coverage for other poor families who are citizens, he said.
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While the higher numbers came as a surprise, Gov. Chris Gregoire’s administration isn’t upset by them. The purpose of expanding the children’s health program is to provide coverage to as many poor children as possible, regardless of their citizenship, said Nick Lutes, the governor’s budget adviser on health-care issues.
“Kids are kids,” he said.
Moreover, the overall impact to state taxpayers will be $6 million, not $15 million, because the federal government is expected to provide more money for a variety of health programs, including emergency medical treatment for non-citizens, Lutes said.
Of course, Gov. Chris Gregoire is not upset about these numbers because she is going to suck it out of you via your federal tax payment on April 15 to re-distribute to illegal aliens in Washington state.