U.S. debates on whether to cover illegal immigrants in health care reform

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- As U.S. President Barack Obama pushes hard for the most comprehensive health care reform in the country, the issue on whether to provide government-sponsored health plan to the country's illegal immigrants becomes a hot topic of debate.

There have been different versions of health care bill in the U. S. Congress. Both of the current House and Senate versions of health care reform legislation restrict the availability of federal health insurance subsidies to U.S. citizens and legal residents.

The Senate Finance Committee bill will cover around 95 percent of Americans, but illegal immigrants would not receive government benefits.

The House Republicans said they would make insurance affordable and accessible to all Americans, but did not say whether illegal immigrants would be covered. It seems that they try to remain ambiguous on the issue.

President Obama said he wants to cover all Americans but illegal immigrants will not be covered under his plan.

"I want to be clear: If someone is here illegally, they won't be covered under this plan. That's a commitment I've made, " Obama said in a speech before the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in September.

The president added he strongly supports health insurance coverage for legal immigrants, who currently have to wait five years for coverage under federal health insurance such as Medicaid.

However, Obama also suggested providing a way for illegal immigrants to gain legal status.

"If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all," said the U.S. president.

U.S. federal law currently requires U.S. hospitals to provide emergency care for all people, regardless of their immigration status.

But opponents said illegal immigrants use emergency rooms for "anything from a hangnail to a heart attack" and providing care to the uninsured hurts the finances of hospitals and can push the burden of payment onto taxpayers through higher prices for their insurance.

Even the number of illegal immigrants in the United States who lack health insurance is a source of controversy in the debate over President Obama's plan to overhaul the 2.5-trillion-dollar healthcare system.

Critics accused the U.S. government and media of undercounting illegal immigrants in the country to inflate the percentage of uninsured Americans within those who report being uninsured and make the need for reform more urgent.