Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. Congress to make possible the processing and administration of the drug to all patients “in the name of humanity.” A conservative estimate is that the...

Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. Congress to make possible the processing and administration of the drug to all patients “in the name of humanity.” A conservative estimate is that the cost to U.S. taxpayers will be about $17.5 million per year. When the bill is being debated, a counterproposal is introduced. Proponents propose that the funds be allocated to provide full annual physical examinations, free of charge, to any refugee child in the United States up to 12 years of age whose parents fall under the poverty line economically. This free medical insurance will be compartmentalized from other federal or state funding for medical care because some of those plans do not cover annual exams and some do not cover the children of undocumented (i.e., illegal) immigrants. The estimated total cost is close to that in the competing bill but “will serve 10 times as many, each of whom is equally deserving of services as the people in the competing bill.” The core of the argument is that in general the latter individuals are discriminated against in the United States, that only the poorest among even that group has been targeted for public support, and that legislators and policymakers must take this factor into account in determining health care priorities.