It will take the state seven months to qualify thousands of Kansas children for health care coverage, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. The problem is the misguided law that Congress passed last year requiring proof of citizenship in order to qualify for Medicaid benefits. It was aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from receiving benefits, but it mostly punished legal Americans who didn’t have a copy of their birth certificates or other documentation. In Kansas, the backlog of cases is 18,000 to 20,000. Way to go, Congress.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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52 Comments
Who doesn’t have a copy of their own, or child’s, birth certificate, social security card, passport, and other papers in a lock box somewhere in the home? How do these people get a job, apply for benefits, qualify for any state license (including driver’s)? I just read the Lawrence story; read the comments that follow. You can get a birth certificate for $12 by mail, in minutes by walk-in. This is all they need for medical assistance.This is another story about the system being stacked against the stupid people. I would not support any entitlements for people without proper documentation, except of course for emergency medical care. (Real, life-or-death stuff.) If you’re too stupid to get the proper ID, get help. Don’t whine about it to the bleeding-heart media.
I agree…not to have a copy of one’s birth certificate or the ability to get one is not an excuse that should be acknowledge.
Pick up aluminum and sell it if you need a copy of the birth certificate.
Oh, and stop whining about getting something that is required for benefits. If it’s important to you, do something about it.
But for Pete’s sake, stop whining about it.
I would not be so hard on making some bad comments about those people on this.Many of these people that are on the Medicaid program go thru a lot of hell trying to organizes their lives only to be constantly set back by one thing after another thing.Constantly dictated after dictations by those who think they know better.Prime example will be the criticism that WeBlog will present as the above comments show.The Medicaid program is mostly setup for disable children of parent/s that are too poor and have no other resources but state aid.Because of illegal immigration, the poor and helpless are victimized by their own nation imposing competition and now by foreign invaders.
Poor people have poor ways because poor thinking is all that is given to them.
Birth certificates get lost, most poor people move a lot, they don’t have nice big file cabinets in a library in their basements.
Many don’t have access to the internet where they can just download a request. Plus it does cost money.
It should be easier to apply for your birth certificate. You can do your IRS forms online, you should be able to request your birth certificate online too.
There is no reason why it should cost as much as it does to get your own darn copies of the certificates in the first place.Paying for one alone probably pays the salary for the entire hour of that person’s job.
My mother had no birth certificate; the courthouse where the records were kept burned to the ground in 1921. You wouldn’t believe the hassles it took for her to get a driver’s license, bank account and passport, and that was before all the current trouble. Today she wouldn’t get a passport, and probably wouldn’t be allowed to fly.
It’s reasonable to have citizenship requirements to get benefits. If you simply open the door to everyone who wants service you end up bankrupt. Which helps nobody.
I doubt that your mom would have any trouble getting affidavits for proof of her birth.
Is she was born in 1921, she would be eligible for Medicare not Medicaid (since about 1986 on -65 years of age.)
Sorry, but America is not here to become the free health care provider for every illegal immigrant that sneaks across the border.
” It was aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from receiving benefits, but it mostly punished legal Americans who didn’t have a copy of their birth certificates or other documentation.”
Well this is the stupidest thing written. HOW DO they KNOW the 18 – 20,000 are legal Americans without the ID and the birth certificate and the “other documentation”. LAtino/Hispanic are NOT the only “illegal Immigrants” there are, and for this column and reporting on the subject expects the news reader and voters to swallow this bilge water assumes that reater and voter is VERY DUMB and UNINFORMED!
We know this process. THe main problem is NOT the people without the document, it is THE AGENCY that is not very productive. They know how many people thy have to process and what those requirements are, so do it, and staff up, once done, you are done.
The real issue is this should have been done all along.
On of the criticisms of this is that “no illegla aliens are getting benefits”. Well how do you know? Obviously in the past a person could come up to the State Agency with a lotta kids and no money and they did not ask for those documents. So how does anyone know what illegala were and were not getting.
Just go down to the Garden City Office or the Overland Park office and see how much of these services are being translated into spanish.
Health Care for illegalas, and Mexico coaches their people in this area to get benefits from the United States and how to get them.
THis makes me spitting mad! We have citizens having all these problems with providing health care and here is MEXICO being allowed to get into bed with California in our own country and discriminate against US CITIZENS!!!!http://www.ucop.edu/cmhi/healthstations.shtmlTHis is The Mexican Website form the Mexican Government tleeing it’s Citizens inside the US Illegally to get U.S. Taxpayer funded medical treatment, and HOW TO and WHERE TO!!I think all these hospitals and clinics need to loose their Federal Funding and be audited under the Medicaid Reform act!I am going to refer this to the Medicaid Fraud Website, and I want many more people to do so as well and send it to your Senators and Congressmen. This is how Mexico is ripping off the United States!!!http://portal.sre.gob.mx/chicago/popups/artic...FROM Judicial Watch:Mexico Promotes Free U.S. Healthcare For Illegal ImmigrantsMexico’s government operates programs in about a dozen American cities that refers its nationals–living in the U.S. illegally–to publicly funded health centers where they can get free medical care without being turned over to immigration authorities.The program is called Ventanillas de Salud (Health Windows) in Spanish and its mission is to help illegal immigrants find U.S. hospitals, clinics and other government programs where they can get free services without being deported for violating federal immigration laws.Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego and Indiana are among the cities where Mexican consulates operate the health referral system which annually costs U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars. In Los Angeles County alone, illegal immigrants cost taxpayers nearly $440 million in health services annually and a whopping $1.1 billion statewide.The Mexican consul in Los Angeles proudly announced that nearly 300,000 Mexicans in the area have benefited from his government’s health referral program, which he says actually saves the county money by encouraging immigrants to seek preventive care rather than waiting for more expensive emergency treatment.The Southern California operation promises to assess “consulate clients” for eligibility to government-funded health insurance and other primary care services and offers free legal assistance to those who are denied coverage. Its goal is to improve access to health services for immigrants of Mexican origin by formalizing a health education, medical home referral and insurance enrollment program.In Chicago, the Mexican consul’s Spanish-language web site heavily promotes the Illinois Department of Health’s low-cost prescription medicine program for illegal aliens and various free medical services throughout the state. It encourages all Mexicans in the area to pursue the valuable U.S. government-financed services for their entire family.The Indiana-based program boasts that it serves thousands of “Mexican nationals” living in that state as well as Ohio, Kentucky and southern Illinois. Mexican officials claim that its highly successful pro-health program sends out a clear message to other Mexican consulates throughout the country and the world.Although these programs facilitate people to remain in the country illegally, Mexico is working hard to expand them to all 47 U.S. consulates to better serve its nationals. In the meantime, U.S. taxpayers will keep picking up the exorbitant tab of medically treating the millions who live in the country illegally.Judicial Watch is a non-partisan, educational foundation dedicated to fighting government and judicial corruption and promoting a return to ethics and morality in our nation’s public life. To view the Judicial Watch Internet site click here (www.judicialwatchwatch.org ).LA TIMES ARTICLE:http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-healt...
This should be the title:
“Americans are Punished by Illegal Aliens taking money away from our Programs that are meant for our AMerican Citizen Poor”
Nicely written Tyler.
“Americans are Punished by Illegal Aliens taking money away from our Programs that are meant for our AMerican Citizen Poor”
Why do I get the feeling the republicans have little or no empathy for the poor in this country? Is it because they can’t make any money off them, or is it because they have no use what so ever for the downtrodden, who are more so now because their jobs are now in some third-world country, by a company run by republican fat-cats too cheap to pay decent wages.
Personally, I think both apply.
Another spin Jason?
This is about providing proper documentation to get benefits from the U.S. government.
If you want to provide free health care for illegal immigrants, then by all means use your tax dollars for it.
Just don’t use mine.
You mean fat cats like Al Gore, George Soros, the Clintons? They are all millionaires and Soros is a billionaire. Those fat cats?
It is not that hard to get a copy of your birth certificate. There is no reason why the State of Kansas couldn’t just make the request for the person and ask for the amount at the time of applying. Another way would be to create instant access for the state to the birth certificates. For certificates from other states get the money and have the state make the request for them.
If they are legal then getting the birth certificate is easy. We cannot afford to pay for those who have chosen to break laws by entering this country illegally.
It is the state of Kansas that wants to sign people up for welfare at all costs. They should also think about the taxpayers. Some of us are barely living from pay check to pay check. We can’t afford to pay for those that should not get welfare.
DUH, Jason.
My argument was TO PROVIDE for AMerican Citizen poor. BUt illegal aliens have no right to be here in the first place. And if they are here thye should NOT displace our poor to get benefits.
First we take care of Poor Americans, Then we wil take care of others.
But we already send lots of dallars to all these countries that send us the illegal aliens. So we are in effect PAYING TWICE for these people and countries.
I think WE as AMERICANS need to draw a line and make sure no one but Americans cross it. Such as providing benefits here.
As I stated, we already send BILLIONS to the other countries to counter this poverty. It is kept by the corrupt Country Government Officials and does not make it to the poor.
So Americans do not need to pay twice!!!
Hey Durden–I thought you lived in MICHIGAN! How do you know so much about Garden City, etc?
I do not know where you got the idea I was in Michigan. Not from me. I am in Kansas.
Publican,”I doubt that your mom would have any trouble getting affidavits for proof of her birth.
“Is she was born in 1921, she would be eligible for Medicare not Medicaid (since about 1986 on -65 years of age.)”
She was born in 1914, in northern Missouri, and it took her over a year of tapdancing to get a passport. My dad’s passport took just a few weeks. She had a document from the state of Missouri that was intended to replace her birth certificate, but most goverment agencies refused to accept it, and demanded the real thing which no longer existed.
Yeah but the problems with the article is not old people it is stated:
“Kansas kids punished by citizenship rule”
We are not talking about someone born before there were good records. We are talking about children that are not here legally. ANY Kansas Kid HAS TO HAVE A BIRTH CERT!
IT would be in the KDHE database.
So again it is being spun in a directin of intelectual dishonesty if h=not outright lying by the Journalist, editorial writer, and the State Agency!!
Shame on all of you for lying!!!!!
Maybe a dead president has some words of wisdom??
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Yes Chas, Roosevelt was talking about immigrants that come under good faith legally into our country.
He wasn’t talking about illegal immigrants which defines “bad faith.”
Oh this is ludicrous. Parents need to keep track of their kid’s Birth Certificates….period. They need them for school, SS cards, and DL’s, anyway.
It’s not like a child who has a trauma situation wont be seen in an ER.
This is to qualify for government-sponsored care – and if a parent can’t motivate themselves enough to get off their duff and get a copy of the certificate in order for their kid to get charity care – I have to question their ability to care for the child in other ways.
Get real people.
Chas – finally – you posted something I totally agree with.
I guess this was a Phillip “the clueless” Brownlee coloumn.
So iot is not suprisizing that is is WRONG!!!
The point I was trying to make, and it seems lost on some of you, is that we’re becoming a society where a piece of paper or plastic, be it a birth certificate, a Social Security number or a credit card is more important than the person it’s attached to. When you deny a person the rights you expect for yourself, simply because he doesn’t possess a particular piece of paper, you’ve become everything this country fought against. You’ve made that birth certificate etc. into a divine right of royalty. Being a citizen of The United States of America is a responsibility, not a certificate of privilege!
Is that all you do in Kansas is whine? Get a life, have some responsibility for Gods sake!
“Being a citizen of The United States of America is a responsibility, not a certificate of privilege!”
That is right Jed, aND PART OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS to obey the laws!! be responsible for yourself and your children.
REMEMBER ” ENTITLEMENTS” ARE NOT “RIGHTS”! They are privilges, and yes CITIZENSHIP IS MOST DEFINATELY A RIGHT!!!
People like you should shuut up until you have something remotely intelligent to say.
The piece of paper is needed to pay taxes, caha a chekc, etc. There a lot of things you need a ‘piece of paper” for.
Money itself is nothing more than “pieces of paper”
So jjust realize that not all things are equal.
We are talking about ILLEGAL ALIENS displacing AMERICAN CITIZENS in those entitlements.
I say keep the illegal alien poor out and keep and take care of AMERICAN CITIZEN POOR!!!
90% of the population agrees with me, and not much with you!
Reevaluate your reality!
BTW, The kids already have Birth Certificates and can get copies at the KDHE database, and if they are from another state thy can get them forwarded to KDHE!!
So there is nothing about the kids here as stated above.
Older people should know better, and illegal aliens should NOT have access to our benefits!
“I say keep the illegal alien poor out and keep and take care of AMERICAN CITIZEN POOR!!!”
You are god damned right, Tyler! We should take care of the American poor before we take care of those god damned Iraqis!
Americans come first when it comes to spending American money!!!!
Damned Iraqi freeloaders!
It is called laziness. Too many people wait to the last minute or don’t even get off their asses to do what is required then point fingers.
Documentation and Proof is very important in this day. If you don’t have proof of whom you are, then you are a nobody, and thus don’t deserve anything. Get the proof or shut the f*ck up!
Clarkie, even though this thread is about illegal aliens getting benefits and not about the war in Iraq, and Considering you and I basically agree on not much at all(hold on to your hats), I think I agree with you and You agree with Gingrich!
This administration (Which I voted for twice) and which I defended (clarkie knows) I now have to agree with Clarkie, he is right. This administration is corrupt and lying bastards.
I think we needed to go to war, but it has been mismanaged, like Katrina, and like this immigration bill.
Hell when someon like me agrees with Clarkie, the man has screwed up one too many times.
You get your due (today that is),
I HAVE BEEN WRONG ABOUT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION!!!
Not even close WSClark. The topic is medicaid not what the hard working Iraqi people do.
Of course a cheese-eating surrender monkey Liberal can only cry the mantra of Bush, while he plays spin my opinion of the day on his waffle wheel.
Walk, walk, walk on by…………..
Another post by Republican means that he is still not willing to fight in the Iraq war that he supports (he wants other people to fight it for him).
Republican is nothing more than a lying hypocrite.
Every time Republican posts, he misses another opportunity to join the war in Iraq and stand up for what he pretends to believe.
Are all Republicans hypocrites like you?
happy,
Republank can’t go to Iraq.
He wants warmer winters, so he’s too busy posting lies here that humans aren’t causing global warming.
I just ordered some birth certificates from Kansas Vital Statistics office.
Order them Tuesday, received them Thursday.
Not hard nor take to long to get, so it should be easy for people to get Birth certs.
I’m amused by all the cries of the poor and oppressed, who blame (fat cat) Republicans. If such things were true, it would seem to me that the profitable thing to do, and improve their lifes, would be simply to switch parties, and become Republicans. Voila! You will immediately change from “have nots” to a “haves!” LOL
Okay, I have a stupid-seeming question. If birth certificates are so damned easy to get, how can they be used as definitive proof of citizenship? There’s no pictures, and even if there were, they’d be birth pictures. I suppose you could try to match footprints, but is that ever really done? How many adults footprints look like they did at a few hours old? Even if they do, who is going to do all the analyzing of prints to verify identity?
There’s something very silly about this whole notion of birth certificates proving ID…
Tom, you’re right in a sense. Birth Cert’s are really not ID’s. However, from a birth, and a subsequent Soc Sec card, a track record begins which establishes a person’s identity, place of birth, date, citizenship, etc. True ID’s don’t usually come until later, i.e. driver’s licenses, military/govt id’s, school id’s. From all this you can get a passport. ID’s have pictures, fingerprints, ht, wt, hair color, etc, and even more in modern times. That’s when a certificate becomes a means of identification.
Marty,
That “track record” isn’t what’s being required. Just the birth certificate. Your answer, in that context, is meaningless.
Birth certificate proves US citizenship only. A driver’s license or other ID provides proof of identity. A passport serves to prove both US citizenship and identity. Hope that helps.
Nice post! You have said it very well. Keep going.
Have we really become such sorry ass pitiful people?
“Have we really become such sorry ass pitiful people?”
For letting them in or wanting to send them packing?
I think we are pitiful people for letting illegal immigration get so out of control. I think we are starting to be limp wristed whiners that have no stomache to stand up and say NO when NO needs to be said.
And NO they cannot come her unregulated anymore!!!
TD,”That is right Jed, aND PART OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS to obey the laws!! be responsible for yourself and your children.”
Y’know, I spent a good part of my youth breaking laws. I broke the laws that forbade black and white people from associating, riding together on public transportation, and using the same restrooms and drinking fountains. I disobeyed police officers who said we couldn’t march for civil rights or register black voters, and I got tossed in jail for it, along with hundreds of others. But we got the laws changed. If we had obeyed those laws, they’d still be on the books.You guys didn’t learn from our history, so you’re going to continue to pass racist laws, and people will continue to break them until they’re meaningless. You’ll create tears and hurt and hatred and bloodshed in the process, and someday they’ll all come round on you, and you’ll scream bloody murder. And, no doubt, do it all over again. When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
Jed,
Thank you for your hard work, and the risks you took, in the struggle for civil rights.
Jed,That is the classic liberal/conservative struggle.
Conservative: ‘That is right Jed, aND PART OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS to obey the laws’ Summarized as lets be conservative and not change thingsLiberal: That seems like it should be changed. Lets change it.
NAW they do not cost us anything!!!
Title: Hispanics Have Higher Rate of Drunken Driving Crashes (Culture…. )Source: WRAL.comURL Source: http://www.wral. com/news/ local/story/ 1468442/? print_friendly= 1Published: Jun 4, 2007Author: Amanda Lamb
Drunk driving among Latinos is a problem that law enforcement authorities and Hispanic advocates continue to battle.
According to the UNC Highway Safety Research Center , 7 percent of Hispanic drivers involved in crashes in 2005 were suspected of drunken driving. The rate is more than double the percentage of white and black drivers who were involved in wrecks.
“In ‘05, Hispanics were disproportionately represented in alcohol-related crashes,” said Lt. Everett Clendenin of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. “We’ve talked to the experts like a lot of police agencies have, and we know there’s a cultural difference.”
Since last October, El Pueblo has been bringing attention to the problem with books, workshops and public service announcements. The organization even hands out bumper stickers that calls drunken drivers fools.
“I feel that its our responsibility that we have to carry on this message and enlighten people as much as we can,” said Irene Godinez, public safety specialist for El Pueblo.
Defense lawyers said Hispanic defendants are often completely unaware of just how serious the U.S. court system treats DWI crashes, especially when someone dies.
“There may be different laws, and there’s definitely a different attitude in this country as it relates to DWI as compared to other countries,” Godinez said. “It’s not acceptable. It is a grave danger for our community, (for) all of North Carolina ’s communities.”
El Pueblo believes one of the issues that leads to high drunken driving rates among Latinos is that many come to North Carolina alone and have no family support system. Depression can lead to substance abuse, officials said.
Another component of the outreach effort involves getting Hispanics the professional help they need if they become addicted to alcohol or drugs.
“We want to do all we can to get this message (against drinking and driving) out to all communities, and especially the Hispanic community,” Clendenin said.
Tom,Appreciate it, but there were an awful lot of people who did more and sacrificed more than I did. I was just one of the troops.
I am one of the working poor who has no healthcare coverage for my son or grandson that I have custody of. This new law is BS.The crap they ask for takes forever and a day to get.It would be much easier if you could get copies of your birth cert from the town clerk’s office instead of having to send money to the state. This state is backwoods and f’d up.
It’s too bad the paperwork to get welfare is too difficult to complete.
I thought they had social workers to help hold up the hands of those who find it too difficult to hold their own hand out?
Same principle as having photo id to vote. We can’t do that! Too many poor people don’t have photo id’s. But then, how do they pick up their welfare checks? Too bad Harrah’s doesn’t provide a photo id. Then every American Citizen can have one, without excuse.