What Caring for Immigrants Costs

New York Times: Medical care for immigrants who are in the country illegally has long been a sore subject. Emotions boiled over last fall when Representative Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, shouted "You lie!" after President Obama, in a speech before Congress, denied that undocumented immigrants would receive free coverage under the Democrats' proposed health care legislation. Now, a new study published online in the journal Health Affairs suggests that, contrary to popular perception, immigrants actually cost the health care system less per person than do natives of the United States. Nor do illegal immigrants make up a disproportionate share of the costs to public programs like Medicaid, researchers found.