Clinic, ER treat most illegal immigrants in Eagle Co.

Carolyn Hileman - The Voice* | June 18, 2008

Laws requires identification before county can provide most public services
EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado — On most days, the Eagle Care Clinic in Edwards is packed.

The clinic serves the uninsured and underinsured of the county, and the patients are predominately Latino, so much so that the entire staff speaks Spanish, said clinic manager Beth Reilly.

But ask how many of those patients are legal immigrants, and Reilly said she doesn’t know — they don’t ask, and there is no way to keep count.

For many illegal immigrants, the only sources of health care in the county are the emergency room and the Eagle Care Clinic, Vail Valley Medical Center’s indigent care facility.

The Eagle Care Clinic doesn’t ask about its patients’ immigration statuses, Reilly said, and it is impossible to guess at how many are illegal immigrants.

“Most of those people would be self-pay, so there’s no insurance information,” she said. “They can get a whole range of services here, but the bills could still be significant.”

For the most part, the local governments are not allowed to provide most health services to illegal immigrants, said County Finance Director John Lewis.

Under a 2006 Colorado law, residents must show a form of ID, sign an affidavit saying they are legal residents, and have their status verified by an online database to receive services from taxpayer-funded programs.

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