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Subscribe to RSSJesus Navarro has a donor and he has medical insurance -- everything the Oakland man needs for the kidney transplant that will save his life.
Problem is, Navarro, 35, is an illegal immigrant. So despite working for 14 years at a steel foundry in Berkeley and his private insurance, doctors at UC San Francisco Medical Center are refusing to perform the operation, according to the Contra Costa Times.
Immigration debates put hospitals into an "ethical gray area... which they hate," the newspaper reported. Many hospitals across the country have been criticized for refusing to perform operations because of a concern over future ability to pay for care, and others have been lambasted for performing multiple organ transplants on patients here illegally. Then there's the whole "do no harm" principle.
Navarro continued to work full-time at Pacific Steel in Berkeley despite eight years of kidney failure, using dialysis. Dialysis patients have a life expectancy of six years, the newspaper reported.
Navarro reached the top of the transplant list last year, but was nixed when hospital officials found out his immigration status. His wife then offered her own kidney, but officials again said no.
So now he's stuck in an odd limbo. His private insurance will continue despite losing his foundry job in an immigration audit last month. But if he ends up in Medi-Cal, he is in serious trouble: Medi-Cal will not pay for immunosuppressive drugs to ward off organ rejection.
Navarro is currently looking for a job, he told the newspaper. As for the new kidney he will eventually need, that's in his wife. He just needs to find someone willing to do the operation -- or he'll die.
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I think a death sentence is a bit much for being an illegal immigrant.
How could they turn down Jesus? He died for our sins and now it looks like he'll die from our borders.
Jesus dying for our sins is the biggest lie I ever heard. He died because he was sentenced to death for kicking the bankers out of the church, THAT IS FACT.
Because, apparently, you're only worthy of the procedure/money it would cost if you're an American. A human is a human. Disgraceful.
Let the hateful diatribe, based in skewed statistics and paranoia, by all the "Life is sacred" conservatives begin...
Sarah,
Please don't color all conservatives in that light.
I'm a Republican.
Voted for a Democrat in the last Congressional election because he was the better choice. A decision I still stand by.
Many issues I'm conservative on, a few I'm liberal about.
I think for myself and do not fall for party ideology.
You seem like a smart women, please don't lower your standard to the far left or right mantra.
My bad, KJW. I know you're correct. It's just the hypocracy of those conservatives that do speak out of both sides of their mouths just kills me.
I understand.
I sometimes find myself making accusations towards liberals which I'm trying to curb that attitude.
have him go home to his country for the operation. Then he can stay there where he belongs.
Please don't include me in that list. I am conservative, a Republican and I find hypocrisy out of both camps, both sides of the isle, and from all walks of life. My only issue is if this person had come to this country legally, he would not be having this problem. I feel very sorry for the man, instead of blaming it on conservatives, how about blaming it the people who are stopping him from getting the transplant? People come to this country all the time for medical procedures, and yes, transplants too. So yell at the people who are stopping it! And no, I didn't vote for the current president for one reason only, I did not like his policies!
I agree with sending home, wherever that is because he is a criminal that entered this country illegally!
so did "Americans" or did you forget that the Native Americans were here before the British
I came to America legally. People like Jesus Navarro really are a slap in the face. I'm not rich, far from it. I worked to earn the thousands of dollars it cost to come here legally. I went through a process that took two years, then an additional four years after I arrived here, and I am still working through the system (although I now hold a green card). I was apart from my husband (then fiancé) for over a year. The process is rigorous, and somewhat unpleasant, partially due to the extensive medical testing involved. I now pay for health insurance - I don't earn a great deal of money, but I prioritise. Then I read in the news about men like Jesus Navarro. I understand that if you are from Mexico, it is not as easy to come to America. However, it's virtually impossible if you're from England, unless you are a) very wealthy or b) if you marry an American. I didn't mind going through the process, because my husband (then fiancé) no longer wanted to live in England. However, it does make me angry when I see someone illegal coming to this country and expecting that they are entitled to anything they want. It sounds to me like he had a good job. A job that an American would have wanted. I run my own company here and employ workers. I check my employees' status. Couldn't the company he worked for have done this? No-one wants to see someone else die, but he really has only himself to blame for this awful situation. If that sounds harsh, well... I come from a system where medicine is 'socialised'. Americans do not want to go down the road of providing free healthcare to illegals. Trust me on that one. It leads to smaller resources for legal citizens. And then Granny dies because a hospital's resources have been depleted, and they've reached their quota on transplants for the year. I am reading comments from a lot of people who do not seem to understand the consequences of what they are proposing. I know it works differently here, but who is going to pay for his aftercare? I think he should receive the transplant, since he has a willing donor and his life is on the line. AND because he did pay some taxes (with his presumably stolen SS number). However, he and his wife should then be deported, and he should have to figure out the cost of the drugs / other aftercare on his own. This is only fair to American citizens and legal permanent residents.
I agree they could do the transplant but he needs to find aftercare. Do they not affer aftercare medicines in South America. And also how many Americans have insurance but are struggling to pay aftercare co-pays. If they are going to help him then help the Americans too. And he shouldn't have applied for the job illegally. This is what happens when companies don't check statuses. Don't slam the hospital, they ARE following the law. People from South America need to file paperwork-don't come illegally. Just stop doing it.
The family needs to contact Sophie Deluanay, director of Doctors Without Borders.
Surely someone with this group could help.
What part of the Hippocratic oath says, Not if you are an illegal? Shame on everyone refusing to save this man's life! Pro-Life, but only if you are a fetus?
From what I gathered in the article the main point is his insurance status. He is unemployed with current insurance from his job which may run out before the procedure and followup treatments are done. If they start the procedure and he goes on medi-cal the treatment is NOT covered. So they will have wasted a transplant and the doctors time.
A medical treatment of this kind must be ensured to completion or they will not start it at all, thats the point. His illegal status is complicating the insurance issue, not the medical issue.
Enma3 I was thinking just that myself! I think we should all email this medical center to remind them of this. Do it in a polite non-threatening way I should add!
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/contact_us/index.html
Lets remind them of their humanity!
Azrancher The article states he was refused once they discovered his immigration status not his insurance status.
What about that woman from Afghanistan who had the opperation to restore her face? She was an alien who received medical care at a US hospital, in California, I believe, and she had no insurance, and her injuries were not life threatening. Do you, AZRancher, object to that procedure? As I understand the issue, the sole objection that the hospital has is his immigration status, not the insurance status.
Something that you all forget is that when people come to this country seeking medical treatment that they come here WITH ALL OF THEIR LEGAL PAPERWORK IN ORDER(VISAS),SPONSERS(Weither it be the HOSPITAL and or a relative),a place to live etc.,.There can be NO road blocks to their treatment and care. If it is ALL on the hospital best believe that they are in cooperation with the drug companies to also sponser the patient with the promise of SOMETHING such as a write off(weither for publicity or tax purposes),publication in a medical journal etc.,. but the patient's paperwork is in ORDER 1st and for most. When people come to the hospital with an unclear immigration status the best of care is STILL given to the PATIENT.
If the facts are straight, he's been working steadily, has insurance, and has somehow (wink, wink; nudge, nudge) avoided an immigration audit for FOURTEEN YEARS. I think he's paid his dues. Practicality aside, he's here, his life is in jeopardy, so the moral thing to do would be to perform the operation.
I only have one question: Would you make the same decision if a close relative, maybe your spouse or child, were awaiting the same operation, and he was ahead of them in line? Just asking.
I also wonder if he is one of those unfortunates who are trying to do the right thing, and have been cusght up in the nightmarish administrative boondoggle that becomes a trap for would-be immigrants. The system is badly broken, and IMHO, we need to revive Mass Immigration and clean things up, or we'll be living with these horrors forever.
he is here ilegally! enough said!
If he has the insurance and there is no cost to the taxpayers, then it should be done. My question is how did he get and hold a job all these years without a social security number?
My wife once worked for a small company, a sweat shop, actually, that employed illegals all the time. There was never any shortage of help. The company had a kind of deal with the INS, and would throw a few illegals under the bus now and then to keep them happy. If a worker stays out of trouble, works hard and keeps his mouth shut, he might go a long time before his number comes up. Shameful, but commonplace in today's world, where greed rules, and the authorities often look the other way, as long as their quotas are filled.
Probably because he was willing to work in a foundry at or close to the minimum wage.
Now watch the owner of the foundry cry because he can't find anyone willing to work.
possibly by using mine, or yours or one of the thousands of stolen identities used by illegal aliens for work purposes.
It's so funny how everyone here talks about how illegals take a lot of jobs and yet about a year ago or so the president asked the late and great Steve Jobs why it wasn't possible to make all the great apple products in America instead of overseas and he basically told the president it wasn't possible, so with that being said a lot more corporations are taking jobs away from Americans rather than illegals. I think he should have the transplant because something like that shouldn't matter where you are in the world especially if you have a donor. Would you want to be denied? It's a human thing, but like others have posted on here...it's all about the Benjamins.
Because eventually it WILL become the taxpayers who will have to foot the bill for this man. The insurance will not cover him indefinately. They probably have a cut off time period that wasn't made known to us all which is why the hospital WON'T do the operation. Just think our insurances have barked @ paying bills for much lesser offenses than this one so why wouldn't they disagree with payment of this bill because the man obtained his job through fraudulent means??? He is not legal to work in this country and California is in enough financial hotwater as it. I don't disagree with what someone else here posted. He made enough money while here for YEARS. Go home and have the operation and come back here the LEGAL way. As a matter of fact the operation may be cheaper in his home country than here. Everyone knows that we have the highest rates interms of anything medical. You mean to tell me he can't go home live with relatives for a bit and probably pay a third of what he'd probably pay having the operation HERE? And the meds that he's going to NEED afterwards wouldn't be WAY CHEAPER than paying $500 a bottle here? It's simple math folks.
FACT: If you receive a transplant that is not your own tissue (allograft), you must remain on anti-rejection drugs until the day you die.
FACT: If you do not take the anti-rejection drugs, the transplant is futile, there is no benefit to the patient and is actually worse (physically for the patient) than not having the transplant in the first place.
FACT: A hospital will not provide an allograft to someone who cannot ensure they will take their anti-rejection meds daily and this is for the patient's sake, not the hospital's.
FACT: Medi-cal does not pay for the anti-rejection drugs for anyone, regardless of citizenship.
CONCLUSION: This man's immigration status is not the reason the hospital will not provide the transplant.
WRONG CONCLUSION: The hospital hates illegal immigrants.
You are so very right. If this man truly wanted help he should have went to the hospital explained the situation properly and applied to their Charity program if they have one. But the charity program might cover just the operation and not the expenses of the medications he needs AFTERWARDS which if they don't have their own onsite pharmacy owned by their own faucility then no they won't do the surgery because they can't get him the meds hes going to need Afterwards. Its not have a heart its them getting sued by him after the procedure because he was given a kidney they knew he couldn't care for and the waste that the surgery would incur. And in cases of transplant they aren't going to waste an organ. I know H.I.V+ patients that couldn't get a kidney transplant. Not saying its RIGHT. But in a situiation where you have thousands waiting for organs they won't do it if they feel its wasted.
What is amazing is that Medical will not pay for the immunosuppresive drugs he will need but they WILL pay for continued dialysis for the rest of his life.
This is the issue we should be talking about.
Not about a hospital that is supposedly 'racist' because they don't want to harm a patient.
That's because they know he will die within 6 years if they give him dialysis, but he could live many more years with the transplant and immunosuppresive drugs. Use your brain dummy.
Actually a person can be on dialysis over 20+ years. A lot has changed over the past few years with treatment and patients are living longer on dialysis than ever before. I'm on dialysis and my insurance company is billed approximately $45,000 per month for my treatments. They don't pay that much, but that's how much the dialysis center bills them.
Here's a simple solution....GO BACK where you came from and get your operation there!!!!
JT is on to something.
He can have the transplant in his home country.
He can come back here and maybe or maybe not get the anti-rejection meds.
He might die in agonizing pain --> Then the hospital was right
If he lives the liberals were right --> he's still around and the point is moot.
Win win.
Bob,
I was thinking more on the lines of GO BACK & STAY THERE....He was illegal in the first place.
Bob brings up a good point: life-long drug therapy that may or may not continue uninterupted; a hospital will not provide a non-compliant diabetic with a new kidney, either. race, immigration status, or finances have nothing to do with this. The kidney will go to the patient with the best chance of keeping it, not the first tissue match that comes along. It's really not like what you see on TV!!
I would suggest a good Doctor in Mexico City perhaps, they wont question your status there.
No, he would just get crappy care and probably die. Why do you people think folks come to this country for things like this? We have the best healthcare in the WORLD. And to think Obama wants to destroy it with his Marxist/Leninist Healthcare Reform.
Careful Bringit, your stupid is showing. Do you even understand what Marxism or Leninism is or are you just really, really good at regurgitating what you have heard from Fox News and other right-wing nutjobs?
If you want to deport this guy, fine. But do it after the transplant and the anti-rejection regimen. It's not like he is going to go into hiding. This is a human being. I don't care where he is from or how he got here. I don't care who made a profit (financial or political) on his being here. These medical professionals have the ability to perform the transplant and they should be allowed to without fear of any reprisals.
I strongly favor strict immigration enforcement. I believe everyone should follow the laws in place regarding illegal immigration. But for crying out loud people, do we have to lose our compassion for human life in order to prove our ideological superiority?
he can go to MEXICO for it !!!!!!
"So despite working for 14 years at a steel foundry in Berkeley..."
Sooooo this man has been committing ID Fraud for 14 years...I do hope he can get a transplant, but I Don't understand why he needs to get that operation here...Go Back ... !!!
So it appears that if you are an illegal immigrant it is okay that you are breaking a law and you should get everything that the people who do NOT break the laws get...
With all the reports of how much better so many foreign countries are with the healthcare, why can't this guy go where he is "legal" and get the operation there? I'm sure his "donor" would go with him.
People who support paying for the illegal's services seem to feel they have to right to force me to pay my money for something I don't want. It's so easy to vote for something when you aren't the one who is going to pay the bulk of it.
I think the bottom line is this - don't break the law.
God bless America, land with no heart.
Kountryking...... The system may not have a heart but the PEOPLE do. At least MOST do.
He should go look for a job in Mexico where he belongs. Why does he think he should have special rights? If he is here illegally then he is a criminal and should be treated as such. There are many Americans that can't afford medical procedures either but do we hear about them? Here's a guy that took a job away from an American and here is a company that hired illegal workers, there is a crime here and neither deserve my pity.
Right on Richard. My sentiments exactly.
Richard.....80% of me agrees wholehearted the 20% that is not jaded still says everyone is HUMAN. With that being said the 80% is alive, unemployed, no health insurance and had a heart attack to the tune of $95,000!!! No state aide, they denied me. I have paid into the system for over 25 years and this is what I get. Although I will say the women who faked not being able to speak any english that shared my hospital room is NOT getting collection calls!!!
I speed, thats breaking the law, I get a ticket. I rob a bank get arrested, I go to jail. I live in a country where I do not have permission to be there and it is illegal to do so, I get sent back home. (well thats what it should be) instead if I was an illegal I would have food aide, health coverage, dental AND a roof over my head.
I think the concern is that since he is no longer employed his insurance will run out. Once that happens, he will not be able to get the medications he needs to prevent the organ from being rejected. That was stated in the article. If that is the case, the end result would be the same, so why bother with the operation?
Gee, and according to the posts on previously similar circumstances, it is ONLY the gays who are sick and perverted. Well, well, well. Chew on this for a while and explain now how you can deduce that. The heteros are even more perverted and mentally sick. How about that. Probably even more so because they inflict their sexuality on innocent small children as their turn on.
I have been unemployed for over a year now with no medical insurance because I can't afford the $800 COBRA monthly premium. I also can't afford any family practitioners $175 fee just to be seen, not including medications, labs, etc. I've lived in Texas and Arizona all my life. These two particular states are overrun with illegals who know how to manipulate public assistance and every other social program available to legal citizens and I am sick of it. I have no sympathy for this man. Let him die or better yet, send him back to his miserable country in shackles.
I wish I could help you JudiMV but I'am in the same boat. Maybe our vote will help this time,but I don't think there is a honest politician in this or any other country. Why are lawyer's and politicians like sperm,because one in a million becomes a human being.
I understand your plight Judi but it's not this mans fault your COBRA premium is that high. COBRA is designed as a temp. solution until your new employer offers benefits. How about if you go bust your ass in this mans old foundry posistion. They have a vancancy and offer benefits.
Thier are a lot of americans who need a kidney and they have been working here longer than he has. This is just another problem because of illegal immigration. Take care of the original problem (close our border's and send illegals back) qand then we won't have this problem to worry about. This country is suppose to have a certain amount of fairness to it. Equality for all American's, worry about us first then someone else. We and are ancestor's built this country, only to have it torn down by outside influence.
Pat, America first, interesting choice for an ID as America was first A NATION OF ILLEGALS. He is NOT taking a kidney from anyone except from his wife, a willing donor. If the path to legal immigration was not so difficult, you can all but guarantee this man would be a legal citizen. Because he was employed in the US (you know, America) for at least 14 years and was able to obtain health insurance, then that tells us that all that time he has been paying income tax, sales tax, and property taxes AS WELL AS health insurance premiums. To suggest that you are any more entitled to anything than this person, is ignorant and shortsighted, just because you had the privilege to be born on American soil? Then what is your opinion on so-called anchor babies as they too were born in this country. Perhaps we should send their parents home and they can rely on the kindness of "Good Christians" as you are undoubtedly, right?
I also find it abhorrent that Medi-Cal will not pay for life-saving immunosuppresive drugs for all transplant recipients but has no issue funding Octomom's perversion of procreation.
Put him and his donor on a bus .... problem solved. If he can arrange proper documentation, then he can return and I am sure someone will perform the necessary procedures inline with all of the other legal citizens waiting for the same procedure.
Prosecute the company who employed him.
what has this man done to you? right he is here illegaly according to Mans law, but what has he done to YOU nothing, he hasnt taken someones job and hasnt done anything bad to anyone. Why is it his fault that he came from a country with a crappy corrupt government? thats why he is here to prosper like your relatives from wherever they came from hundreds of years ago. So hopefully he can get someone wealthy enough to help him out with his Treatment after he gets the transplant. stop being so damn ignorant and hatefull. yall make me sick.
Its a shame how ppl act..this is a human being not a dog..grow up ppl!!!
14 years off work history,he payed his due give him the kidney.More than i can say for some american citizens that sponge of the tax payers