Betsy McCaughey of RealClear Politics writes (abridged):
It’s official. Democratic Party Chair Tom Perez confirms the party fully endorses free healthcare for illegal immigrants. That puts illegals ahead of veterans struggling to qualify for civilian care, middle class working stiffs priced out of Obamacare, and baby boomers facing the likelihood of Medicare cuts.
At last Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate, all ten candidates on the stage flung up their hands when asked whether they’d cover illegal aliens.
Not one of the debate moderators went on to ask the obvious — how much will it cost, and who will pay for it? Why spoil a Kumbaya moment?
The costs would be huge. According to Pew Foundation researchers, there are 10.5 million illegals in the nation now. Yale University and MIT demographers estimate double that.
If the entire illegal population were enrolled in Medicaid, the tab would range from a whopping $84 billion a year (10.5 million times $8,015 Medicaid cost per person) to more than double that: $176 billion. […]
None of the candidates gushing about healthcare for illegals as a human right showed the same ardor for veterans’ health care. […]
The real health insurance crisis in this country isn’t about illegals. It’s about the middle class. The Affordable Care Act added millions of mostly poor people to the insurance rolls. But the same law is driving premiums so high that middle-class people are priced out.
Dems eyeing the White House never mention the plight of uninsured middle-class families. The message is clear: Illegal lives matter, but vets’ lives and middle-class lives, not so much.
Read the full article here.
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