Members of Congress are moving to quell a furor over healthcare reform. At issue is whether proposals being worked out in Congress would make healthcare benefits available directly or indirectly to immigrants who are in the United States illegally.
According to a recent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), the proposed House healthcare reform legislation (H.R. 3200) excludes illegal immigrants from a requirement that most uninsured people either purchase insurance or pay a tax. The House bill also prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving federal subsides to obtain health insurance, but the CBO said that the bill does not include a mechanism to verify citizenship.
