How many immigrants, legal and Undocumented, get how much health coverage from where and what does it cost?

In response to that. This should be no surprise since 45 million AMERICANS are currently uninsured which restricts their access to fundamental preventative health care services. This has lead to the inefficient and expensive use of other services (i.e. ED) and has negatively impacted public health (regardless of immigration status). This is one of their assumptions that Many Undocumented immigrants are overwhelming the healthcare system and driving up the cost. is not true. "Vulnerable populations" such as "infants, youth, women, indigenous people, the very poor, the elderly and disabled do not have health care as well and are a part of the equation. In a recent poll that expressed that the majority thought that Undocumented immigrants were 50 percent responsible or more for the uninsured treated in hospitals leaves one with the question of its validity and wonder which portion of the population did this statistic come from.

The fact of the matter is that the most predictive factors in defining access to quality health care are income, zip code and race. White America for the most part have been the main part of the population who have lived in the better areas where health care has thrived at its peak. Depending on where you live will have a strong influence of the type of health services you will receive, anyway. When looking at the history of the United State concerning the availability of health care, it needs to be pointed out that undocumented immigrants have truly not been the first in line for anything. Income is a factor as well on the determination of who will receive health care, the statistics reveal blacks have the lowest median household income at 31.905, compared to the median for Latinos at 33,820, Asians at 47,631 and whites at 53,975. Although these household figures are not impressive the availability leans toward white America in being able to receive and have access to heath and all of its added benefits. The country with the most developed knowledge base is the US, and with all the advanced technology racial hidden biases exist influencing the choices made by scientist and industry as well. This has a trickle down affect to the front line of provided health care, lets look at some examples of this fact. On the front lines Whites are three times as likely to undergo bypass surgery that non-whites. Non-White patients seeking admission to nursing homes experience greater delays before placement that White patients. Doctors are less likely to do breast cancer screening for Hispanic women that for White women. Non-White pneumonia patients are seen less in hospitals that Whites, and finally, poor urban blacks and Hispanic neighborhoods have about 24 physicians per 100.000 compared to 69 physicians per 100.000 for poor white communities (Vernellia R.Randall, pg 1-8). It would appear that the cost of health care insurance is being driven up by the ones who are in line first and can afford it. The portion of the population that don't have access to adequate health care that provides the use of the most advanced technology in the world can't possibly be the cost drivers.

let's focus on the true problem at hand. Sadly the state of our failing healthcare system will place the blame on a minority with little to no political voice, despite their immense contributions to our economy. More concerning is the accusation that Undocumented immigrants are placing an undue burden on the U.S. health care system as a whole. An accusation that is largely unconfirmed, according to Mohanty, Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCLA. Cody so far has been the only one to solely address the issue of our failing health care system for what it is FAILING. Why is this? Employers, consumers and governments at every level are straining under the burden of a health care bill that is growing at a pace five or six times the rate of inflation. As the price tag for insurance increases employers pass the additional cost burden on to their employees; forcing workers to dig deeper into their pockets. The outcome is deleterious. Millions who can't continue to dig forgo coverage altogether and chance that their families will stay healthy.

the US spends nearly $5,000 per person on health care -- more than twice the amount of some other industrialized countries. But our life expectancies are horrible. Canada, for example, spends about 60 percent less per person than the United States but has longer life expectancies. Where is the return on investment? Why is the system failing us and our health? New medical technologies may be responsible for as much as 50 percent of U.S. medical cost growth. In addition, prescription drugs represent the fastest growing part of the health care bill, with Americans paying the world's highest prices for medication. While the industry says it needs to charge high prices to finance research and development, the largest pharmaceutical companies in 2002 spent 14 percent of their revenues on research and development while devoting 31 percent to marketing and administration.

The contributions of undocumented immigrants and the benefits they provide to the U.S. economy more than balance the health care resources they consume. In fact, the Social Security Administration has reported $56 billion in annual earnings from this population that help to generate almost $7 billion annually in Social Security tax revenue and an additional $1.5 billion annually in Medicare taxes. Also, undocumented immigrants contribute at least $300 billion to the U.S. gross national product annually.