Now Gingrich Has to Make It Happen : State is counting on immigration-relief vow

Last week in San Diego, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) disclosed a plan to make the federal government reimburse California for emergency medical services provided to illegal immigrants. The Speaker said he has the money set aside for a reimbursement of $6 billion nationwide over seven years. California would receive about $400 million annually, a total of $2.8 billion. The money would be added to the budget reconciliation bill Thursday when it reached the House floor.

Rep. Brian P. Bilbray (R-San Diego) says he and Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) are confident the money will be there for California. They think that even if the budget reconciliation bill, which settles differences between House and Senate versions, runs into problems, the reimbursement funds will survive.

HOT POLITICAL ISSUE: Gingrich is right when he points out that the federal government’s failure to control the borders should not be a burden to states where illegal immigrants receive emergency medical care. With immigration shaping up as a hot topic for the 1996 presidential campaign, the issue is awash in politics, and surely the nation’s voters will see many more maneuvers in this regard. Even so, the Speaker is on target in suggesting that fairness demands that California and the other affected states receive federal relief.

By promising to place reimbursement funds in the reconciliation bill, Gingrich shrewdly has put the heat on President Clinton to accept the legislation. If in vetoing the budget bill the President wipes out the reimbursement money, he may lose points in California--a state whose electoral votes he undoubtedly will need if he is to have a second term in office.

Over decades, Washington has demonstrated an inability to control the flow of immigrants into this country. In addition, a federal law requires the hospitals of California and other states to provide emergency care to whoever needs it, regardless of immigration status or insurance coverage. This situation places an enormous burden on the states that have large numbers of illegal immigrants.

DEARTH OF DATA: Reliable data on the cost of health care for legal immigrants is hard to get, and it is even harder to obtain solid information regarding illegal immigration. But Gov. Pete Wilson’s office figures that publicly financed emergency health care for illegal immigrants in California will amount to $382 million this year, an amount close to the annual $400 million promised by Gingrich.

The legislation providing the money should clear Congress and be sent to the White House by mid-November. Its course will be carefully watched.

Among those watchers will be Los Angeles County, which would stand to gain $100 million in federal aid for the cost of emergency health care for illegal immigrants. County officials anxiously await these millions as the health care system here struggles for its life.

In the meantime, Gingrich should keep in mind that he is on the record promising to reimburse the state treasury, and that Californians will hold him accountable too.