Obama Kept His Promise At the Expense of Immigrants
San Jose, CA- Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network strives to empower low-income immigrants and advocate for the protection of their rights. As part of our platform, SIREN proactively advocates for fair policies that allow immigrants full integration and participation in the community. We believe that everyone has the right to achieve his or her full potential and is entitled to essential services, human dignity, basic rights and protections, including access to health care.
The historic vote in the U.S. House of Representatives is a step to achieving comprehensive health care reform. We commend the Congress and Administration for continuing the fight to reform health care. On Sunday, March 21st, Congress put an end to the long journey to pass health care reform. Health care reform will cover over 32 million uninsured people living in the United States, saving over 30,000 lives per year. Insurance companies will no longer deny care for pre-existing conditions, charge you more if you're sick or cap your benefits.
However, for the immigrant community and reproductive rights advocates this health care reform bill will do little to ensuring access to comprehensive health care. The 5-year bar still exists in the legislation, excluding lawful immigrants from being covered under the newly signed law. Undocumented immigrants are completely excluded by not being allowed to purchase insurance at low cost or even full cost. These restrictions are unfair and fall short of true health care reform.
Immigrants and women of color will be disproportionately impacted by the anti-choice provision, which requires women, receiving federal subsidies for health insurance, pay their insurer for policies purchased through the insurance exchange for any portion of their policy that covers abortion. It is less likely for immigrants and women of color to fully fund their reproductive health care since they are disproportionately poor and unable to pay for reproductive health care out-of-pocket. This pushes them into unsafe and riskier abortion alternatives. Immigrants and women of color are being excluded from accessing comprehensive health care.
We acknowledge the significant impact of the legislation signed into law by President Obama and are aware of the important changes that will take place in the health care system. However, we must understand that is a first step and was achieved at the expense of immigrants and women's right to choose.