Good reasons to insure undocumented immigrants

There’s an irrefutable reason Connecticut should expand health insurance to undocumented residents: It will help in the war on COVID-19. The pandemic has claimed more than 7,000 lives in Connecticut. The last thing any resident should want is a considerable percentage of the population avoiding measures such as vaccinations.

Rising numbers of uninsured in the state dovetail with Black and Latino groups that have the worst rates for the coronavirus. Halting COVID can only happen if it is stopped for everyone.

In the absence of access to health coverage, people tend to ignore symptoms until crises arrive and land them in emergency rooms. Regardless of the humane reason to support expansion of coverage, this just makes no economic sense.

Hospital officials deal with the reality of treating everyone who shows up for emergency care, regardless of their citizenship status or ability to pay. Not only is such care expensive, but it encourages those lacking coverage to put more of a burden on the ER. Many such ailments being treated should be addressed with a primary care physician.

Most undocumented immigrants don’t have access to private insurance because they lack a Social Security number. They also are excluded from the Affordable Health Care Act and AccessHealthCT, as well as Medicaid or Medicare.

The result is that a lot of people just walk around sick and in pain. In Connecticut, only about half of an estimated 130,000 undocumented immigrants are believed to have health coverage.

Hopeful they can speak louder by using a single voice, four activists groups have formed a coalition. HUSKY4 Immigrants consists of Semilla Collective, Connecticut Students for a Dream, Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut and the Connecticut Immigrant Rights Alliance.

The word “immigrants” alone will inspire resistance in some quarters. Add “undocumented” and that will draw outrage from anyone who feels comfortable with children being separated from families at the southern borders of the United States.

Such cynics will likely not be swayed by the fact that — contrary to misguided perceptions — undocumented immigrants do contribute to the state’s tax rolls, some $145 million. So they already pay for such coverage.

There also are a growing number of doctors who support the proposal as champions of preventative medicine, so joining the movement is becoming a matter of following sound medical advice.

Lawmakers, doctors and lobbyists in support of such legislation recognize the certainty of acute opposition, so they are also appealing to the wallets of legislators.

“I hope that they’ll see this, not just as a human rights issue but really about preventative care that will save money, not just for those getting the care but for our state,” said state Rep. Kate Farrar, D-West Hartford, whose husband was a refugee.

Saving money for Connecticut is a good reason. Anything that helps end the horrors of the last 11 months is an even better one.

Ultimately, though, everyone deserves health care. That should be reason enough.

In the absence of access to health coverage, people tend to ignore symptoms until crises arrive and land them in emergency rooms. Regardless of the humane reason to support expansion of coverage, this just makes no economic sense.