One reason healthcare costs so much...

Don’t stand too close to me. My blood is boiling after watching a video on You Tube just now, and the heat is liable to burn you. The video is of a representative from Martin Memorial Medical Center in Martin County, FL, testifying before the members of the Florida legislature in April of 2009. The representative, Carol Plato, is sharing her frustration over the costs of healthcare for illegal immigrants – costs that her hospital has been forced to absorb over the years.

For example, one patient, an illegal from Guatemala, was in the hospital from 2001 until 2003, racking up medical bills of over 1.5 million dollars. The hospital eventually spent $30,000 to return the patient, against his will, to his home country. Then the patient’s family sued Martin Memorial, claiming that forcibly returning the patient was “inappropriate.” The hospital spent over a quarter million dollars in legal fees over the next several years before a jury finally ruled in its favor.

The hospital had also been treating another patient from Mexico for over two years. His bills topped 1.5 million as well. Administrators had contacted the Mexican Consulate and US immigration officials repeatedly but had received no help. Federal authorities told them they can do nothing unless a crime has been committed. Apparently, the crime of coming into the country illegally doesn’t count.

The law forces hospitals to treat anyone who comes to their emergency rooms. At the time of Plato’s testimony, Martin Memorial was treating six illegal immigrants who came to the hospital every three days for renal dialysis. It was unlikely the hospital would receive any compensation for its costs in doing so.

These are the stories of just one hospital. I’m sure such stories are being repeated all over the country, particularly in states where illegal immigrants are more numerous. For example, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas reported that 70% of the women who gave birth in the first three months of 2006 were illegal. Not only do these women seldom pay for their medical bills, but the children born to them are automatically made US citizens as a result of being born on United States soil. As a nation, we are legally obligated to provide education and other services for them for the rest of their lives.

Hospitals and other facilities are sometimes forced to shut down because they cannot continue absorbing the costs of treating people with no insurance and no means of paying for their care. And, of course, much of the cost is passed on to patients who do have insurance, forcing the cost of insurance and health care to go ever higher for the rest of us.

I would not advocate turning away people who are in need of medical care. The answer is to secure our borders. I know that is a huge challenge, but if we don’t do something, we are going to see health care and education costs continue to rise, and we just cannot afford it with our current deficits.