By August Gribbin

                      THE WASHINGTON TIMES

                           Illegal aliens who fall ill or injure themselves sneaking
                      across the Mexican border are forcing many U.S. hospitals to
                      the brink of bankruptcy.
                           The hospitals, many of which are located in sparsely populated
                      and poor counties, are spending millions treating the broken bones,
                      heat exhaustion and wounds of aliens they cannot refuse to treat
                      and who cannot pay. The result, says James J. Dickson, head of the
                      Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, Ariz., is "a
                      tragic and contentious situation."
                           Sheri Jorden, senior policy director for the Arizona Hospital
                      and Health Care Association, calls it a "huge problem."
                           "Here you have a population that is not supposed to be
                      here, that urgently needs care — which must be given — and
                      no one will pay for it. The situation may be worst in Arizona,
                      but it impacts New Mexico, California, Texas — even
                      Illinois, New York, Iowa and other states far from the
                      border."
                           George Mead, spokesman for the Texas Hospital
                      Association, says that doctors and hospital administrators are
                      not inclined to ignore those who are hurt. And even if they
                      wanted to, they couldn't.
                           The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
                      requires hospitals and ambulance services to provide care to
                      anyone needing emergency treatment regardless of
                      citizenship, legal status or ability to pay. There are no
                      reimbursement provisions, though, and the poor, desperate
                      job seekers infiltrating the United States usually have no
                      money.
                           It's difficult to determine how much the situation costs
                      border hospitals in a given year. For one thing, doctors don't
                      ask the nationality or legal status of patients. Still,
                      administrators at 16 border hospitals recently tracked the
                      expenses incurred from treating indigent and uninsured foreign
                      nationals over a three-month period. The cost: $44 million.
                           In testimony last week before a subcommittee of the
                      House Government Reform Committee, Mr. Dickson
                      reported that uncompensated costs attributed to "Border
                      Patrol apprehensions" and "compassionate entry trauma"
                      have risen more than 400 percent over the last four years.
                           "Border Patrol apprehensions" refers to what critics say is
                      a deliberate Immigration and Naturalization Service policy of
                      avoiding payment for the care of injured or sick illegal aliens
                      that Border Patrol officers track down. The officers refuse to
                      officially apprehend such victims. They take them to area
                      hospitals for treatment, and since the victims are not officially
                      in INS custody, the agency isn't legally obligated to foot their
                      bills.
                           Some months ago, for example, a van that the Border
                      Patrol was chasing overturned, and the nearest hospital went
                      on disaster alert. Because the Border Patrol refused to
                      formally arrest the injured, the hospital had to absorb the
                      costs.
                           Such costs can easily escalate, especially for surgery
                      patients who need post-operative care. Hospitals are
                      constrained from discharging patients without a letter from the
                      patient's family in Mexico, stating a family member will
                      cooperate and see that the patient receives needed care when
                      transferred back to Mexico.
                           Frequently, however, patients don't give their real names.
                      Even when they do, U.S. authorities find that the families can't
                      or won't declare the patient will get the needed medical
                      attention back home. In such cases, the hospital must arrange
                      and pay for skilled nursing, physical rehabilitation or other
                      post-hospital care.
                           Mr. Dickson told members of the subcommittee on
                      criminal justice, drug policy and human resources that two
                      trauma centers near Tucson had announced they were closing
                      because they could no longer sustain the losses. The facilities
                      were given a brief reprieve when the state provided an
                      infusion of funds.
                           But the University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz.,
                      predicts it will have to absorb $8 million to $10 million this
                      year "in uncompensated care to foreign nationals," Mr.
                      Dickson says. And Good Samaritan Regional Medical
                      Center reported it lost $1 million treating 75 undocumented
                      immigrants in the first quarter of fiscal 2002. It anticipates
                      greater losses in the months ahead.
                           Rep. Jim Kolbe, Arizona Republican, and Rep. Ed
                      Pastor, Arizona Democrat, are trying to win support among
                      their colleagues for legislation to ease the situation.
                           Their bill calls for the Department of Health and Human
                      Services to set up a five-year pilot program for directly
                      reimbursing hospitals and ambulance services for emergency
                      treatment given to foreigners who are in the country illegally
                      or who are "paroled" for humanitarian reasons.
                           "Parole" is the government's term for the practice of
                      waving into the country seriously ill or injured persons seeking
                      help at U.S. hospitals. The practice is humanitarian because
                      there are few, if any, properly equipped Mexican health
                      facilities for Mexican border dwellers. Miss Jorden reports,
                      for example, that the nearest Mexico facility providing trauma
                      care is about 150 miles from the Arizona-Mexico line.
                           Consequently, when an exploding propane tank severely
                      burned four Mexican children in Naco last year, they were
                      rushed across the border to the 49-bed Copper Queen
                      Community Hospital. All the physicians and the entire staff
                      were called in.
                           When the children's conditions stabilized, they were
                      whisked in four helicopters to a Phoenix burn center. Three
                      died, and the fourth lived after an amputation and lengthy
                      recovery. The Copper Queen hospital had to cover
                      $277,292 in treatment costs.
                           Arizona's medical community is particularly affected by
                      the influx of aliens, but the health care problem caused by
                      uninsured illegals increasingly affects other areas to which
                      they flee. "The border is now north of Kansas," Mr. Mead
                      says.