Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri spoke about the health care debate, and mentioned the impact of illegal aliens.  The Governor had this to say:

"A large portion of the uninsured, it's true nationally, but probably even a greater proportion in our case, are illegal immigrants, they're immigrants, OK, many of whom are illegal," he said, noting that another major group is young adults who decide against coverage. "From an actuarial standpoint, that's not a high-risk group anyway."


     I can already hear supporters of illegal aliens refuting the Governor's words, but let's look at it carefully.  I think we can all agree that there are illegal aliens in every state, and that this number is some where between 10 and 20 million.  If these individuals are sick or have an accident, they can go to an emergency room and receive free care.  These costs are a burden on the community.  If you can believe the Democrats, which I don't, then illegal aliens will be excluded from receiving free health insurance.  As a result, they will be without health care whether health care reform passes or not, but the burden of their expenses will still be felt by their state of residence.

     How do we control this problem?  If you're a progressive, then you would probably suggest raising taxes substantially, granting amnesty to illegal aliens, then implementing a single payer system.  Many people wouldn't want to admit this, but part of our health care problem actually hinges on immigration reform.  I'm not saying it's the bulk of the problem or even the majority of the problem, but it's hard to deny that illegal aliens are a financial drain.  That's why measures like Governor Carcieri's executive order are important.  It's a way of dissuading illegal aliens from moving here and straining community resources.

     As the health care debate continues, you will hear about how many millions of people are uninsured.  Keep in mind that millions are illegal aliens, millions more are young adults who choose not to buy health insurance, and many more are those between jobs who are temporarily uninsured.  That still leaves some uninsured, but it's a much smaller number than you're probably used to hearing.