Immigrants and health care

According to this New York Times article, non-citizens living and working legally in the United States are going to be forced to get health insurance (contrary to undocumented citizens), but will not be able to benefit from the new government subsidies on health care.

This worries me. I fail to understand how immigrants residing in the United States legally with a work permit should benefit less from the new health insurance policies than undocumented immigrants. It seems unfair to me. Health care plans are generally costly (I cannot afford one myself) and I feel that it might unaffordable to a many of these immigrants.

I am not sure what the solution to this problem is, but, in my opinion, immigrants who go through the trouble of coming to the United States legally, who get working permits and who pay taxes should definitely benefit from the subsidies. All tax payers should.

I understand some people do take advantage of the U.S. immigration laws and health care system. I have heard of couples coming to the United States as tourists to "take a vacation." However, they come when the woman is beginning her pregnancy and stay until it is time for her to give birth. By being born in the United States, the couple's baby is automatically a U.S. citizen. They can avoid paying the hospital bill by returning to their country as soon as the baby is a few weeks old. The child is assured an education in the United States without the hassle of international student fees.

My goal is not to find solutions to the complicated immigration situation in this country. I care mainly about immigrants having their basic human rights respected. To me, access to health care is one of those rights.