September 11, 2009
Tax Foundation Senior Economist Gerald Prante Discusses Health Care Reform Implications for Illegal Immigrants in Washington Post Article
"Shout Draws Focus to Illegal-Immigrant Issue"
By Alec MacGillis
Republican Rep. Joe Wilson's shout of "You lie!" during President Obama's speech Wednesday night brought renewed attention to swirling questions about whether Democratic health-care legislation would extend coverage to illegal immigrants. Although the answer is more complicated than reform proponents acknowledge, it also does not square with the dark warnings of opponents who say the proposals would bring waves of undocumented immigrants into taxpayer-funded plans. ...
But many tax and social policy experts say the concerns over undocumented immigrants taking advantage of health-care reform are overstated, if not unfounded. The thorniest immigration issue, they say, may be sorting out how subsidies or Medicaid eligibility would work in families with both legal and illegal residents.
"Will some illegal immigrant get [help]? Probably. Will it be this big problem? Probably not," said Gerald Prante, an economist with the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.
