Clinton: Illegals Should Be Able to Buy Health Insurance Under ObamaCare

STEPHANOPOULOS: “Immigration going to be a big issue in this campaign? In the past, you’ve said that undocumented immigrants would not be covered by your health care proposals. Here’s an exchange we had in 2007.”
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STEPHANOPOULOS: “Would illegal immigrants be covered under your plan?”
CLINTON: “Illegal immigrants would not be covered. No. They would not be covered. I will continue to have a safety net, which I think is in the best traditions of our country and also for public health reasons absolutely necessary. But we did not cover them in ‘93, ‘94 and my plan does not cover them now.”
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STEPHANOPOULOS: “Now you say that undocumented immigrants should be able to buy into the exchanges. So why the shift?”
CLINTON: “Well, because number one the kind of plan that was passed in the Affordable Care Act gives you a market-based way of getting into the insurance market. So, if you can afford to buy a policy, you can. You don’t get, however, any of the subsidies that American citizens get.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: “Martin O’Malley says they should. Why not?”
CLINTON: “Well, I disagree with him. I think part of comprehensive immigration reform should be looking at all of these issues. But as things stand right now, under the Affordable Care Act, if you have the money and you are undocumented, you can buy into it, but without the subsidies. That’s why it’s important we continue to support community health centers, we continue to support our hospitals because those are often the places that undocumented people and poor people go.”
STEPHANOPOULOS: “And what’s the reason for not going further?”
CLINTON: “Because I don’t think legally you can. I mean, that is not something that we can legally support. The law is very clear about that.”