Stopping care to immigrants opposed

NAMPA, Idaho — Some regional leaders are speaking out against a proposal from the Idaho Association of Counties that would stop local governments from having to pay for medical care for undocumented workers.

Caldwell Chamber of Commerce President Mike Pollard told lawmakers this week that such a move would only shift costs, not eliminate them.

The Idaho Association of Counties’ proposal, backed by Canyon County commissioners, asks the Legislature to ban undocumented immigrants from receiving indigent medical care because counties pick up the tab on such services.

Pollard read a statement from the chamber’s board chairwoman, Tina Haines, who was out of town.

The statement does not necessarily reflect the view of the full chamber, he said.

“If hospitals no longer receive reimbursement from the counties then those costs will have to be shifted to employees and patients. The costs will not go away,” Haines said in the statement.

Nampa Chamber of Commerce President Georgia Bowman Gunstream said her organization has not taken a stance on the issue.

Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry President Steve Ahrens also said his organization, which in part represents chambers of commerce across the state, takes no stand on the issue.

Canyon County Commission Chairman Matt Beebe said if hospitals are concerned about picking up those costs, they should lobby the federal government to pay for them.

“If the federal government is allowing those folks to come here, then they should be responsible for bearing that burden,” he said.

The effort is being championed by Robert Vasquez, the Canyon County commissioner who earlier this year tried to invoice the government of Mexico $2 million for reimbursement of jail and medical treatment costs of that country’s citizens.

But Leo Morales, a farmworker advocate and organizer with Idaho Community Action Network, has said the counties are making ill-informed attempts to vilify an entire class of people.

“Undocumented community members are also making contributions and paying taxes,” Morales said. “It’s absurd to not offer any services to people in the community who also pay taxes.”