Obamacare: “migrant farm workers” to be covered under healthcare reform

  We all remember the speech Barack Obama gave back in 2009 in front of a joint session of Congress during the Obamacare debate; this is the speech where Barack Obama tried to assure the American people that Obamacare would only cover people who were in this country legally.

The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally

This is the same speech in which Joe Wilson yelled “you lie” at the president after Barack Obama made this claim. The outrage from the left was swift and all encompassing; one Democrat went so far as to claim that Joe Wilson’s comment would lead to a resurgence of the KKK, and eventually Joe Wilson was rebuked for his actions by the Congress even though he had called the president shortly after the speech and apologized.

But while all of the attention during this episode was focused on whether or not this was the proper place for Joe Wilson to make his statement, nobody seemed to remember  to ask the question “is Joe Wilson right?” And that is a shame because it now appears as if Joe Wilson was right, even if he went about it the wrong way.

  According to this article the Department of Health and Human Services has allotted nearly $30 million to special community health centers, and of that $30 million, $8.5 million will be used to target “migrant farm workers.”  We all know that the term “migrant farm workers” is a politically correct codename for illegal aliens hired by farm owners to pick vegetables in the field because this is one of those jobs that George W Bush quipped was one that Americans wouldn’t do. 

  And the HRSA is admitting that the immigration status of those seeking services will not be checked:

Health centers do not, as a matter of routine practice, ask about or collect data on citizenship or other matters not related to the treatment needs of the patients seeking health services at the center

The Program’s authorizing statute does not affirmatively address immigration status,” said Andrews. “Rather, it simply states that health centers are required to provide primary health care to all residents of the health center’s service area without regard for ability to pay

  So immigration status will not be checked, and all residents of the area–legal and illegal–will gain access to the services provided, and because there are a large amount of illegal aliens doing these jobs it stands to reason that they will receive healthcare under this initiative in the Obamacare legislation.

  Joe Wilson may have gone about it the wrong way, but in the end he was right. There are no protections–at least in this portion of the bill–which would ensure that illegal aliens aren’t qualified to receive free benefits under the Obamacare legislation.

  While $8.5 million may not seem like a large amount when we are talking about a debacle which will cost trillions of dollars these programs add up and this is only the first one we are learning about, how many other provisions in this law will ensure the coverage of illegal aliens?

  Was Barack Obama lying or was he just ignorant because, much like the Congress, the bill had to be passed before he could learn what was in it?