[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 168 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H11520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MEDICARE: INDIGENT CARE

  (Mr. PEARCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to encourage my 
colleagues to support H.R. 1.
  One of the important provisions in this bill is reimbursement for 
States and counties that are required to treat illegal immigrants 
through the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. This unfunded 
mandate is breaking the hospitals in my district.
  As a border State, we constantly incur costs on our counties that are 
mandated by the Federal Government but never reimbursed. By Federal 
law, hospitals must treat any person, regardless of citizenship, in 
need of medical attention. If the person is a United States citizen, 
Medicare or Medicaid pays for the treatment, but there is no 
reimbursement for illegal immigrants. Border hospitals are caving under 
these costs of providing care daily for illegal immigrants who have no 
insurance and no ability to pay.
  For example, Luna County in my district is often expected to pay for 
Mexican citizens to be picked up at the border, taken to a hospital and 
treated, and then returned to the border. Taxpayers are footing the 
bill for indigent care. This provision ensures that counties and States 
will receive the money in return for the services the Federal 
Government requires them to provide.

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