Government Will Pay For Emergency Dialysis, Not Transplant, For Illegal Immigrants.

On its front page, the New York Times  (12/21, A1, Bernstein, Subscription Publication) discusses the plight of an illegal immigrant in Manhattan who needs a kidney transplant. Physicians at New York's Bellevue Hospital found that when the patient's "younger brother volunteered to donate a kidney to restore him to normal life...the government would pay for a lifetime of dialysis, costing $75,000 a year, but not for the $100,000 transplant that would make it unnecessary." The Times explains that "nearly everyone with end-stage renal disease in the United States, regardless of income, is covered under federal Medicare for dialysis and transplantation, except illegal immigrants. But regardless of a patient's immigration status, hospitals can be reimbursed for emergency care by Medicaid, the federal and state insurance program for the needy," and dialysis is considered an emergency procedure. The man is still undergoing dialysis.