Illegal Immigrants Enrolled In Obamacare By The Thousands, Senator Claims
Illegal immigrants by the thousands have reportedly been able to enroll in Obamacare. The individuals who entered the United States illegally have also been able to enjoy taxpayer-funded subsidies to help cover the cost of their health insurance premium, according to Louisiana Senator David Vitter and a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
A recent CMS report revealed that 115,000 individuals enrolled in Obamacare had not provided proof of citizenship by the September deadline, and will therefore be dropped from the program by September 30. But, those individuals with “immigration data-matching issues” will be allowed to keep their Obamacare coverage for six months.
“The Obama administration is bending over backwards to give Obamacare to illegal immigrants but won’t protect hardworking American citizens who are losing their healthcare coverage,” Senator David Vitter told The Washington Times.
“The Obama administration has been granting deadline extensions, making excuses, and turning a blind eye to falsified documents by illegal immigrants. Enough is enough, and they need to provide answers to why they think illegal immigrants should be eligible for Obamacare,” the Louisiana Senator added.
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) stated that Obamacare eligibility rules “sacrifice document standards, authentication assurance, and identification integrity” for the sole purpose of maximizing enrollment in the federal healthcare program as quickly as possible.
“Rapidly expanding health coverage to some 40 million people, coupled with relaxed ID and verification standards, only increases the likelihood of fraud and improper enrollment of ineligible people, including aliens. Furthermore, the combination of relaxed verification and documentation standards could enable certain identity fraud schemes to be developed,” a statement from the Center for Immigration Studies reads.
CMS Deputy Administrator Andy Slavitt had this to say in regards to the latest controversy whirling around the Obamacare program, “If people are willing to pay their premiums, and they are eligible for coverage, they will continue to get coverage.”
The federal government extended the mandatory deadline for enrollment for those members who did not comply with the residency documentation policy, but not for natural-born citizens struggling to pay their monthly premium or medical bills not covered until an extremely high-deductable kicks in. Approximately five million Americans lost their insurance coverage due to the Obamacare mandate.
Prior to Obamacare, independent contractors and small business owners could shop around for the best coverage and the best deal online. Although such searching is still permitted, it is nearly impossible to find a policy with less than a $1,000-per-month price tag. Many Obamacare family policies are also $1,000-per-month or higher, but taxpayer-funded subsidies decrease the out-of-pocket expense for some policyholders to around $300 or less each month.
Before Obamacare, my family had portable and affordable Anthem insurance. The monthly premium was $358-per-month with a $2,500 deductable. The policy evaporated, and a vaguely similar replacement was extremely expensive. Forced to enroll in Obamacare or risk a fine, we chose a “Bronze” family plan with a $1,0115-per-month premium and a $12,500 annual deductable. Has your health insurance and related medical expenses improved or declined since Obamacare became law?
[Image via: Shutterstock.com]
