The U.S. Senate gave the nation a Christmas gift yesterday with the passage of a substantial healthcare reform bill, which when reconciled with the House bill will help improve the lives of millions of people. The bill has flaws and shortcomings, as I’ve noted before. But it’s a significant step in the right direction on the road to universal coverage. And who knows, maybe all the debate over whether the bill will or won’t save money at the very least gets us thinking about one day actually affecting administrative simplification, evidence-based medicine and real cost savings (Hey, it’s Christmas, I can dream).
One more thing, you know, being the birthday of Jesus Christ and all: The Economist offers yet further proof of the need to include immigrants in the healthcare safety net. (Hat tip: Infectious Greed):
Immigration keeps America young, strong and growing. “The populations of Europe, Russia and Japan are declining, and those of China and India are levelling off. The United States alone among great powers will be increasing its share of world population over time,” predicts Michael Lind of the New America Foundation, a think-tank. By 2050, there could be 500m Americans; by 2100, a billion. That means America could remain the pre-eminent nation for longer than many people expect. “Relying on the import of money, workers, and brains,” writes Mr Lind, America is “a Ponzi scheme that works.”
This has special meaning for me as I sit down to Christmas dinner with my Japanese-born wife, my Italian-American mom, and my half-Japanese, half-Italian, All-American daughter.
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Did any of the people you sat down with for Christmas dinner sneak into the country illegally? Do they work in the country and not pay social security? Ho Ho Ho- Merry Christmas- here is a brain, just what you needed!
Interesting that you made the leap to illegal immigration when neither I nor The Economist say anything about illegals.
But as I’ve written before, “Since immigrants (illegal or otherwise) tend to be young and healthy, they would probably improve the insurance risk pool and their premium dollars would help subsidize reform. So at the very least they should be allowed to buy coverage through an insurance exchange.”
Here’s something else for you to consider: my wife, a Japanese citizen and legal immigrant, for years paid federal, state and local taxes in America — but can’t vote. Talk about taxation without representation.
And thanks, I will take that brain. Here is a heart, just what you need.