Immigrating to New Zealand? Not if you're sick.

[indy007]

link

Man, I thought socialism was touted as equality and compassion.. I geuss it is... as long as there's nothing wrong with you.

A fourth generation Kiwi has renounced her citizenship after a year-long battle with the Immigration Service over getting residency for her husband of 32 years.

Mari McGuire says she is ashamed to be a Kiwi.

McGuire's husband, American folk singing star Barry McGuire, has been refused permanent residency because the service says his age - 70 - and heart condition would make him a burden on the health system. McGuire, who had a US No 1 hit in 1965 with the anti-war song Eve of Destruction, has a pacemaker.

The couple's $1 million-plus home - built on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula north of Auckland 18 months ago - goes up for auction today. They will return to California.

The issue of health screening for immigrants was highlighted last week by a Sunday Star-Times article which revealed a deaf South African girl, allegedly killed by her father, had also been classified a possible burden on the state.

The Immigration Service is introducing tougher health screening for migrants aimed at weeding out those with TB and HIV, but also anyone who could be a burden on the state, including children with developmental delays and people with dementia.

McGuire, whose two adult children have New Zealand citizenship, said he felt for the South African family.

"What they (immigration) are doing is playing games with people's lives. Why didn't they tell the family before they got here they might not be able to stay? They don't give a fig about people, it's all politics and money."

McGuire has been a permanent resident in New Zealand before - he and Mari lived here for six years in the 1980s. He says his pacemaker corrects a faulty nerve and his heart is otherwise in good shape.

"They (the government) are quite happy to tax my worldwide income, including royalties from 40 years ago, but they don't want me to have access to the health system.

"I'm certainly not going to be a financial burden on this country. I've poured a ton of finances into this country and I've contributed a lot."

McGuire said although he did not have a full-time job, he continued to play music and had entertained about 20,000 New Zealand school children.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, a fan of McGuire's music, had promised to help McGuire obtain re-entry visas so he could continue to visit. Peters said it was too late now, but he believed McGuire could have mounted a strong case for residency based on his continuing royalty payments.

Immigration spokeswoman Mary Anne Thompson said health screening of immigrants was a fine balance between what a person contributed to society and what they cost. She said research showed visitors spent around $6.5 billion a year in New Zealand, but also sucked about $24 million a year out of the health system.

She said a guideline had been established under which somebody who was likely to cost the health system $25,000 or more over four years would probably be rejected. Doctors, not the department, assessed a person's health requirements, and cumulative health problems were the most likely impediments.

"You could be obese and be fine, but you could also be obese and have high blood pressure and palpitations which altogether means you probably do have a problem. That would be a higher level of unacceptable risk."

Where disabled children's parents were working and paying taxes, the cost of the dependants was weighed against the family's "positive contribution". Waivers could be applied for. The very sick, including those in end-stage renal failure or needing a heart transplant, would be excluded.

In last week's text poll, "should disabled people be barred from immigrating to NZ", 59.5 per cent said yes, 40.5 per cent no.

[SOB]

Ahhh, government in action.  Guy can afford to build a home that cost over a million bucks, but he passed that magical $25,000 in four year health cost barrier so was dismissed.

Welcome back to the U.S., buddy, where you'll get more of the same mind-numbing stupidity.  There is no escape!

[NUKE]

I see nothing wrong with screening immigrants based on what they will contribute and the burdons they could impose

In McGuire's case it seems like they got it wrong, but the policy seems pretty good.

[-tronski-]

It's alot harder to migrate to Aus than NZ, and immigrants that start out as a burden almost never get in..and I bet its the same in plenty of places

 Tronsky

[Sandman]

Originally posted by SOB
Ahhh, government in action.  Guy can afford to build a home that cost over a million bucks, but he passed that magical $25,000 in four year health cost barrier so was dismissed.

Welcome back to the U.S., buddy, where you'll get more of the same mind-numbing stupidity.  There is no escape!

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."


She doesn't mention anything about sick people. Send 'em back to their own country.

[Curval]

We recently had a cruise ship passenger from the UK develop a brain anyurism (sp?) and she had no travel insurance.  The UK govt refused to pay for her to be air-ambulenced back home and she sat in the hospital here getting worse.

Eventually some rich guy here paid the $89,000 (!!!!!!!) to have the special jet take her home whereupon she promptly died.

I think the daughter is suing the UK govt over it.

[NUKE]

Curval, if that happened in the US, she would have been treated at any emergency room regardless of ability to pay.

[fartwinkle]

Seems like a good idea!
Close our boarders lock em down tight.

[Jackal1]

Originally posted by NUKE
Curval, if that happened in the US, she would have been treated at any emergency room regardless of ability to pay.

Yea right. She could have checked into an emergency room. She would have been diagnosed and referred to a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon would have reviewed the case, including researching ability to pay. If she had no insurance or ability to pay she would have been shuffled like a deck of cards and fell through the cracks.
Reality check.

[NUKE]

The emergency room/ hospital would not let just let  her sit there and die. Any life threatening issues are treated, even non-life threatening.

Are you saying that people brought in half dead from car accidents, heart attacks or whatever are not treated? They are.

[Sandman]

Some people want to socialize medicine in this country, but to an extent, it already is.

[Curval]

Errr....Nuke,  when I said she "sat here getting worse" I should have noted that she was actually admitted in the hospital at no cost to her.  BUT we don't have the facilities to deal with her condition...ie brain surgery.  For this she needed to go back to the UK or to the US.  The US refused her as she had no insurance....ooops, that blows your little supremacy theory!  So she had to return to the UK.  I'm not sure why Canada wasn't an option but probably for the same reason the US wouldn't accept her.

A kind hearted local paid the cash for her to get on an air ambulance but unfortunately she died shortly after arriving in the UK.

Clear?

article here

[Tuomio]

Some people learn it the hard way. Don't travel without insurance.

[NUKE]

Sorry Curval, I didn't realise treatment wasn't available there.

If it had happened in the US, she would have been treated. We don't import people to have free medical care though.

What a lot don't seem to realise is that you cannot be refused treatment in the US, regardless of ability to pay......that's all I was saying.

[Curval]

Originally posted by Tuomio
Some people learn it the hard way. Don't travel without insurance.

so true....

Others learn the hard way too...like Nuke trying to be a know-it-all.



Okay...edit because I just saw Nuke's apology...no worries mate.

"Treatment" may be given but I'm not so sure she would have been operated on in the US.  In fact this person was flat out refused by US hospitals.