Uh Oh – Harvard Study Finds Immigrants Contribute Far More to Medicare Than They Receive in Benefits

Another Right Wing Theory Shot to Hell

One of the arguments that Conservatives use against immigration reform is that these individuals will now drain the social services systems and the health care systems of all of their funding.  Of course they do not ever support such an argument with facts, figures, analysis or research, or if they do they do like the Heritage Foundation and use flawed and incorrect analysis.  If one is a Conservative, the arguments are mostly made on faith and are expected to be taken on faith.

Now a new study shows that the argument that immigrants are a drain on Medicare is just plain false.  And false in a big, big way.

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Immigrants stood to sing the national anthem at a citizenship ceremony in New York this month. A study by researchers at Harvard Medical School shows that immigrants help cover the growing costs of Medicare and Social Security.

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 on 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.

Now regular, normal people who had taken an anti-immigrant position based on the belief that immigrants are a net user rather than a net contributor to Medicare would say that based on this new information they were wrong.  Conservatives, not being normal people, will continue to cling to their discredited beliefs.  After all the position was based on faith anyway, and so faith continues to be their rationale for supported concepts proven to be false.