Recent "reporting" about the President's Proclamation on Health Care is another warning that if you don't question the "news" you're hearing, likely you're not hearing news.
The public did it with Obamacare to our detriment. We endlessly relied on someone else's spin and misinformation about what the law said and the law got through, launching an epic media shift and boldness into editorializing as "news" reporting, leaving us uninformed and vulnerable to policies like Obamacare that truly financially injured and worsened access to medical services for millions of Americans. Now, take a minute and consider the President's Proclamation on Health Care.
Headline after headline is designed to prove how "bad" President Trump is with little variation ranging from headlines like "Trump Denies Entry to Immigrants Without Health Care," NPR, as10/4/2019, and "Trump Issues Proclamation to Deny Visas to Immigrants Who Can't Pay for Health Care," CNN, 10/5/2019, among many others.
The Proclamation: Logically, shouldn't we first go to the October 4, 2019 Proclamation in its entirety? https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-proclamation-suspension-entry-immigrants-will-financially-burden-united-states-healthcare-system/, "Presidential Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System."
What does the Proclamation require? "The entry into the United States as immigrants of aliens who will financially burden the United States healthcare system is hereby suspended and limited subject to section 2 of this proclamation." NOTE: The term "alien" is usual and customary and found in presidential proclamations up to and including Obama proclamations.
The Proclamation continues, "An alien will financially burden the United States healthcare system unless the alien will be covered by approved health insurance, as defined in subsection (b) of this section, within 30 days of the alien’s entry into the United States, or unless the alien possesses the financial resources to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs."
So FAR: We've got a requirement that an immigrant prove that they can get health insurance within 30 days of entry or are able to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs. BUT remember that Sec 2? NOT ALL IMMIGRANTS.
WHO is affected? Immediately we find in Sec. 2. That "…this proclamation shall apply only to aliens seeking to enter the United States pursuant to an immigrant visa." Note, there are at least SIX ways to enter US [https://abc7news.com/society/six-ways-to-legally-enter-the-us/3658889/] and the proclamation addresses one, IMMIGRANT VISA, the SPONSORSHIP visa.
An IMMIGRANT VISA is a SPONSORSHIP VISA for the most part that is petitioned for by the SPONSOR, usually a family member or employer. Once we know this, we should be curious to know what this type of visa ALREADY requires. After all, if you're a SPONSOR, surely something is expected of you to begin with.
NOT RETROACTIVE: By the way, we also find that the Proclamation is NOT nor does it attempt to be retroactive, it clearly states that the new requirements "…shall not apply to: (i) any alien holding a valid immigrant visa issued before the effective date of this proclamation," in addition to seven other situations that the new rule doesn't apply to.
So, before being played by hate-mongers based on some ignorant assumption that PRIOR TO THIS IMMIGRANT VISAS WERE MERELY HANDED OUT BY WELCOMING FEDERAL STAFF, let's see what was already required.
CURRENT REQUIREMENTS: That's right, BEFORE THIS PROCLAMATION the immigrant visa process ALREADY required petition by the sponsor, application, including application with financial documents, supporting documents submitted to the national visa center, and an interview according tohttps://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process.html.
In these requirements is Step 4, "Collect Financial Documents": "Immigrant Visa Process Petitioners and any joint or co-sponsors are required to submit an Affidavit of Support form (Form I-864) and evidence of their income. Form I-864 is legally required and legally enforceable for most family-based and some employment-based immigrants. The form shows that as an intending immigrant, you have adequate means of financial support and are not likely to become a public charge."
That's right, "Adequate means of financial support and are not likely to become a public charge." Uh-oh, hard to blame President Trump for immigration law on the books. If that wasn't enough, in MAY, President Trump issued a "Memorandum on Enforcing the Legal Responsibilities of Sponsors of Aliens," https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/memorandum-enforcing-legal-responsibilities-sponsors-aliens/, specifically referring to those laws on the books.
The May Memorandum noted that "Since December 19, 1997, the Congress has required an alien’s sponsor to sign an affidavit of support under section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) pledging financial support for the sponsored alien in the event the sponsored alien applies for or receives means-tested public benefits."
And continues with "Section 213A of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1183a) also requires that upon notification that a sponsored alien has received any means tested public benefit, the appropriate government or non government entity that provided such benefit shall request reimbursement from the sponsor in an amount equal to the unreimbursed cost of such benefit."
Got it? Under existing law, and since 1997, sponsors must sign an affidavit of support and if an immigrant visa entrant receives any means tested public benefit, yep, including Medicaid, the sponsor can be gone after to REIMBURSE the entity providing the aid.
Whish, that's the sound of the wind coming out of the hate-mongers' sails.
President Trump's Proclamation is perfectly in keeping with existing policies that recognize, just as President Trump states that "Immigrants who enter this country should not further saddle our health care system, and subsequently American taxpayers, with higher costs."
Dishonesty of the Obamacare, now Medicare for All gang: Remember the current hate mongering spinners had no problem with a government-insurance company partnership under Obamacare that forced the American taxpayer to pay the IRS a penalty if they didn't lock-step and comply with the forced purchase of the consumer financial product of health insurance. That was the individual mandate, [which this year is finally gone].
Yet, somehow these same illogical haters are outraged by the requirement that holders of an immigrant visa be expected to prove they have or can purchase health insurance within 30 days of entry or prove they have the money to pay for foreseeable medical expenses.
The IMMIGRANT VISA folk get a better deal than already present populations under the Proclamation, an option of not getting health insurance if the immigrant "possesses the financial resources to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs." No such courtesy granted to taxpayers.
The TYPE of insurance the immigrant visa holder can purchase includes options previously all but eliminated by Obamacare in its 2015 power play to try to compel young-healthies to purchase expensive plans with shortening the time period available for use of short term limited duration insurance plans.
President Trump has restored the short term limited duration insurance plan availability for up to a year and under the Proclamation, such plans can satisfy requirements of the Proclamation. No such courtesy was granted to taxpayers under Obamacare.
The scam and phony noblesse oblige of Obamacare "allowing" parents to pay for their children's health insurance up until the age of 26 (because after all youth unemployment soared under Obama), was a cost-free manipulation designed to reduce the number of the uninsured without costing the government a dime.
Under the nationalizing of the up to age 26 provision (already in existence in many states prior to Obamacare),Obamacare's solution was to just have parents pay for the swath of young adults under the age of 26 who were uninsured.
Obama could grin and act as if he was "bestowing" something on families ignoring the fact that long before him other states had recognized the power of "letting" parents pay for their grown children's health insurance and satisfying insurance companies, because parent insurance policies were usually more comprehensive and therefore pricier than other plans.
So, what's the problem with the expectation that immigrant visas, dependent on sponsors, "bestow" the same right on employers and family members that Obamacare did? Substitute "parent" for "immigrant" or "older Americans" for "immigrant" and the Obamacare now Medicare for All gang gobbles it up.
In keeping with its ageism bias, Obamacare also provides that "People receiving long-term care in an institution at government expense may face barriers getting a green card," https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/, an additional financial barrier for obtaining a green card.
In search of Accuracy: So, NPR shrieks, "Trump Bars Immigrants Who Cannot Pay For Health Care." Well, not really. The President is clarifying financial requirements and responsibilities already in place under the law for those fast-tracking into the US with an immigrant visa, requiring that they have the ability to purchase health insurance or that they can pay for foreseeable medical expenses within 30 days of arrival.
CBS News condemns, "Trump administration to deny visas to immigrants who can't prove they can pay for health care." Not really, the Proclamation requires that the sponsored visa, the immigrant visa, requires evidence that the individual immigrant or his sponsor can purchase health insurance or pay for foreseeable medical expenses within 30 days of arrival.
The "Washington Post" concludes "Trump's Order will deny visas to immigrants who lack health-care coverage." First of all, no. The Proclamation states purchase health insurance or have the means to pay for foreseeable medical expenses within 30 days of arrival and only applies to IMMIGRANT VISAS not all visas to immigrants.
The abject dishonesty of linking trigger words of "immigrant" and "pay" have the more ignorant up in arms, simply because they're addicted to hating Trump. Hopefully by actually reading the Proclamation and examining what already exists, this latest editorializing with the only purpose to villainize the President rather than inform will be debunked.
