Tax Payer Money for Illegal Alien Healthcare?

One provision of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) says this:

Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) permits a state to apply for a State Innovation Waiver to pursue innovative strategies for providing their residents with access to high quality, affordable health insurance while retaining the basic protections of the ACA.

State Innovation Waivers are available beginning January 1, 2017.  State Innovation Waivers are approved for five-year periods, and can be renewed.  Waivers must not increase the Federal deficit.

Well, it now appears that California is poised to take advantage of this provision by submitting a waiver request that would allow illegal aliens to buy insurance in California's ObamaCare exchange.  California expects that this waiver would benefit 50,000 of the state's 2.6 million illegals.  The state is emphasizing that subsidies are not being requested  along with this waiver. The hope is that this will be reviewed and approved after January 1, 2017 and before Obama leaves office on January 20, 2017.

In my opinion, this is less about helping illegals get access to health insurance and more about helping the state's Democrat in an election year.

First of all, the number being helped by such a waiver is quite small, at less than 2% of the Illegal population of California.   I also think that the estimate of 50,000 is still too high because the cost of healthcare premiums -- without subsidies -- will make this insurance unaffordable for most illegals.  But never mind that. Some believe that this waiver request is a migration strategy that will lead to illegals getting federal subsidies in just a few years. Also, illegals may not want to buy insurance in the exchanges for fear of exposure.

Right now, California's 2.6 million illegals are getting their healthcare -- for free -- by simply going to any hospital that accepts Medicaid patients by taking advantage of the federal law known as the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).  That law allows any foreign national to receive healthcare regardless of their ability to pay.  So, why would they give up free for paid healthcare in the exchanges?

If illegals do get federally subsidized insurance, it will be another broken promise by President Obama who, in 2009, said this:

“There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false. The reforms that I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”

Again, this is all about politics and about Democrat's hopes that Hispanics remain a solid voting block for them; both in this year and in the future.  Their biggest hope is that, someday, 10 million illegal Hispanics will become citizens and, as such, instant Democrats.

References:

California Could Become the First State to Expand Coverage to Illegal Immigrants Under Obamacare: http://dailysignal.com/2016/06/06/california-could-become-the-first-state-to-expand-coverage-to-illegal-immigrants-under-obamacare/

SECTION 1332: STATE INNOVATION WAIVERS: https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/State-Innovation-Waivers/Section_1332_state_Innovation_Waivers-.html

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Medical_Treatment_and_Active_Labor_Act