Counties worried about illegal immigrant health care costs

04:41 PM MDT on Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Alyson Oüten
Idaho's NewsChannel 7

BOISE -- Each year Idaho counties pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in health care costs for illegal immigrants.

file photo

Idaho counties want to change the law that forces them to pay health care costs for illegal immigrants.

Now those counties want a law passed that would change that.

Each year, migrant workers flood into the United States, many of them illegally - most looking for seasonal work. In Idaho alone, there are an estimated 35,000 illegal immigrants.

If they get sick, the local government has to pay for health care costs.

State law requires counties to pay the first $10,000 of each medical claim. The state picks up the rest through its Catastrophic Health Care program.

Counties say it’s costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for undocumented workers and for illegal immigrants incarcerated.

"Most every state in the country is dealing with this issue in one form or another and it's costing us a lot," said Dan Chadwick.

Chadwick is the executive director of the Idaho Association of Counties - a non-profit group that acts as a liaison between counties and other levels of government.

At its annual conference last month, Chadwick says there was nearly unanimous support for asking legislators to change the law next year - allowing them to deny non-emergency medical care for illegal immigrants.

"It’s a big issue for county governments in this state," said Chadwick.

"We're a country of freedom, we're a melting pot we have to take care of the people that are taking care of us," said Connie Chandnoit.

Members of the Idaho Community Action Network say the counties efforts are absurd. They say undocumented workers contribute to the state's tax base and deserve health care benefits.

“I think they bring so much value to our communities, they put food on our tables they pay into our county funds, why not take care of our citizens? They are our citizens," Chandnoit said.

"We don't have all the money in the world to pay for everybody's health care, I wish we did, but we have to watch those resources and make sure they go where they need to be paid," said Chadwick.

This proposal is still in its infancy. Before it's brought to the legislature, supporters need to find out if it's even legal.

They’re asking the attorney general's office for a review to see if any constitutional rights would be violated.