If things aren’t going bad enough for Obamacare recently, try out this congressman’s idea:
According to one Colorado legislator, Rep. Jared Polis, the way to “fix” the ailing Obamacare experiment is simple: Legalize immigrants so they can participate in the program’s exchanges.
Rep. Polis, told Congress with a straight face on Friday that granting illegal immigrants legal citizenship “would allow them access to the federally mandate health coverage,” the Washington Times reported.
Presently, immigrants do not participate in the Obamacare individual mandate. They also do not receive subsidies or the ability to participate in Medicaid programs even if they choose to enroll.
The congressman thinks by allowing them to participate fully, that will “absorb some of the costs of paying customers.” Rep. Polis is a Democrat representing Colorado’s 2nd District.
As Rep. Polis told The Washington Times, “American citizens are essentially being forced to pay for the health care costs of people who are here illegally every day, until we pass comprehensive immigration reform. We’re wondering why rates are going up. It’s no surprise. When somebody doesn’t have insurance, their costs are shifted onto other people that do.”
He urged his fellow congressmen to pass his House Resolution 15, a Democrat-sponsored bill opening a pathway to citizenship for most illegals. House Speaker John Boehner said that such a vote would not happen this year. “We have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill,” he told NBC News on Wednesday.
Curiously, The Washington Times followed up the Polis story with some facts from the a Congressional Budget Office. It shows that the Senate immigration bill, offering legalization for current illegals and expanding legal immigration, could cost $82.3 billion in the next ten years.
That would happen if Obamacare increased subsidies for new legal immigrants.
Most experts agree that Rep. Polis’s resolution will never see the light of day.
