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View Full Version : Immigrants Give More to Medicare Than They Receive, a Study Finds



Cigar
05-30-2013, 10:06 AM
Source: New York Times - Not MaddowBlog :grin:

Immigrants have contributed billions of dollars more to Medicare in recent years than the program has paid out on their behalf, according to a new study, a pattern that goes against the notion that immigrants are a drain on federal health care spending.

The study, led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, measured immigrants’ contributions to the part of Medicare that pays for hospital care, a trust fund that accounts for nearly half of the federal program’s revenue. It found that immigrants generated surpluses totaling $115 billion from 2002 to 2009. In comparison, the American-born population incurred a deficit of $28 billion over the same period.

The findings shed light what demographers have long known: Immigrants are crucial in balancing the age structure of American society, providing an infusion of young, working-age adults who support the country’s aging population and help cover the costs of Medicare and Social Security. And with the largest generation in the United States, the baby boomers, now starting to retire, the financial help from immigrants has never been more needed, experts said.

Individual immigrant contributions were roughly the same as those of American citizens, the study found, but immigrants as a group received less than they paid in, largely because they were younger on average than the American-born population and fewer of them were old enough to be eligible for benefits. The median age of Hispanics, whose foreign-born contingent is by far the largest immigrant group, is 27, according to the Brookings Institution. The median age of whites in the United States is 42.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/health/immigrants-give-more-to-medicare-than-they-receive-a-study-finds.html?pagewanted=all

:studying:

simpsonofpg
05-30-2013, 05:14 PM
Sorry but I don't believe a word of it. Illegals, if that is the group you are talking about, are takers not contributors. Go to an ER some time and just take a look.

Dr. Who
05-30-2013, 05:22 PM
Sorry but I don't believe a word of it. Illegals, if that is the group you are talking about, are takers not contributors. Go to an ER some time and just take a look.
I believe he said immigrants, not illegals.

lynn
05-30-2013, 06:39 PM
That is why they are pushing immigration reform right now. Foreign born citizens who have already completed college in their native country is an asset to our government. This population doesn't have U.S.government student loans and they are young and ready to be employed here immediately at a lower cost.

The negative consequence is as always the American workers keep on getting screwed from all directions.