White House Agrees with Joe Wilson

I guess Joe Wilson's "You lie" got through to Obama and the White House.

Obama has been claiming that ILLEGAL immigrants would not be covered by ObamaCare, a claim he reiterated in his address on Wednesday night.

OBAMA: There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false.

(Grumbling)

The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.

JOE WILSON: You lie!

(Booing)

OBAMA: That's not true.

It's interesting that Obama has insisted again and again that ILLEGAL immigrants wouldn't be covered, yet the White House now stands with the Republicans, calling for specific language in the bill to keep taxpayers from providing individuals in the country illegally with health insurance.

From MSNBC:

The White House tonight is providing the below clarification on what the president's health-care proposals would mean when it comes to the issue of illegal immigrants.

The question, as we all know, arises from the Wilson "You lie" outburst, and the core claim that notwithstanding specific bill language barring illegal immigrants from participating in the "exchange," as a practical matter, there is no way of verifying the citizenship of applicants -- which is the current state of play. Republicans say that then means illegal immigrants would end up being enrolled in plans -- bill language or no bill language.

Today, for the first time as far as we know, the administration is backing a provision that would require proof of citizenship before someone could enroll in a plan selected on the exchange.

The bullet points sent tonight by the White House:

---Undocumented immigrants would not be able to buy private insurance on the exchange.

---Those who are lawfully present in this country would be able to participate.
Undocumented immigrants would be able to buy insurance in the non-exchange private market, just as they do today. That market will shrink as the exchange takes hold, but it will still exist and will be subject to reforms such as the bans on pre-existing conditions and caps.

---Verification will be required when purchasing health insurance on the exchange. One option is the SAVE program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) which states currently use to make sure that undocumented immigrants don't participate in safety-net programs for which they are ineligible.

---There would be no change in the law that requires emergency rooms to treat people who need emergency care, including undocumented immigrants. There is already a federal grant program that compensates states for emergency room costs associated with treatment of undocumented immigrants, a provision sponsored by a Republican lawmaker.

I guess Joe Wilson's outburst was effective.

More likely, polling had a lot to do with this change, and the Gang of Six.

I don't see this as a concession by the White House. I see it as damage control.