How would (any) National Healthcare system handle

[Left Below]

undocumented immigrants?

I was stumped on this question the other day. My moderate and insured family recoiled at the thought of standing in line with "illegals". Before they are insulted, half of them voted for Clinton and none now openly support the Bush idiot.

Please keep this constructive. I am looking for support in promoting a single-payer system.


What has been proposed? How do Canadians work this out?

Are all services rendered equally?

Is this a political obstacle?

[JuniperLea]

1. Visitors to socialist medicine countries

are treated just like everyone else... who knows how that would work here... if we ever got that far...

[liberal N proud]

2. I would think that hospitals and clinics would be open to all

and payment would not be an issue if the system is set up appropriately
I am sure there would still be a network of doctors for the uber-rich who were too good to be seen at a standard government funded facility.

[Taverner]

3. Mexico has "socialized medicine"

so........

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. In Japan, non-residents have to pay full freight

I know that from experience. :-(

However, a friend of mine was treated for injuries from a car accident in Costa Rica and had to pay only 15 dollars.

[leftstreet]

5. How would your family members know they were "illegals?"

Not a flame question.

Unless illegals wore a sign, no one would know their status. Which is why we have to tackle both the illegal immigration / shit-wage jobs issue AND health care reform.

If we can figure out how to insure close to 300 million legal citizens, it wouldn't be a big step to insuring a few million illegals. It's the explosive "illegal" issue that would need to be addressed.

[pretzel4gore]

6. everybody has a health card....

worries such as yours has caused the introduction of picture id in recent years.... One thing that hasn't been given much attention is the fact that canada's system has coexisted for a couple generations right next to the US private multipayer system which exploited the canadian system in 2 ways at same time: countless usians/foreigners 'borrowed' health cards from canadians to get services they not entitled to and wealthy canadians lived abroad in taxfree luxury until they got sick when they ran back to canada to get medical care from a system they had meanwhile relentlessly mocked ...these same assholes who petulantly paid a little tax also quickly tossed small fortunes southward, to reward greed and meanness when they wanted certain elective proceedures and refused to wait! Despite all this, the canadian system has done ok all these years, all told, and that gives some idea how far a tax dollar goes when applied to medicine and not paper tracking! Since mulroney came along in 1983, the med system has been defunded and screwed over and so on, yet even after all that sabatoge, the canadian system still deliver 1st class medical care to anyone who enters the door! years of pigmedia lies ('code blue' a book by an 'expert' pubbed 10 years ago said the can. medical system was doomed, a fact conveeniently forgotten today) have undermined faith in the system, but even a hard rightwing poll like steve harper sings praises of the system, or he'd be sukking gopig toes in palm springs or something....
you mention undocumented aliens as if they somehow end up in some lineup for services! even in canada, an undocumented immigrant would probably rather die from the sickness then get caught by customs/immigration at a hospital/clinic

[Solon]

7. Yeah, just like Canada's system, including free emergency care...

due to accident or sickness. I wouldn't begrudge either a legal or illegal immigrant if they need a lifesaving procedure NOW, and for "free" besides, that is understandable. But a medical card is reasonable for all other situations.