Who’s entitled to healthcare?

Re “Spared as children -- then cut loose,” April 13

The sense of entitlement that Ana Puente has is what angers and frustrates many Americans about illegal immigrants. Her statement, “They should take care of me at UCLA for the rest of my life because I’ve been there since I was a baby,” left me speechless.

What has Puente contributed to American society in her time here? What has she done to deserve to be treated for free for the rest of her life in this country?

I am paying more for my daughter’s retainer than Puente is paying for a lifetime of liver transplants and follow-up care.

My husband and I work hard to support our family and be meaningful contributors to society. But if a member of my family gets a life-threatening illness, will the state of California be there to cover all the bills we can’t afford to pay? No, it won’t. And I don’t expect it to.

I was taught to take responsibility for my problems. Too bad no one taught that to Puente and others like her.

Michelle Volonte

Corona

--

Does The Times want readers to feel sorry for illegal immigrants when their free healthcare runs out? And you offer advice on how to apply for Medi-Cal coverage after these benefits expire?

There are citizens who do an honest day’s work every day, who pay taxes and cannot afford healthcare for themselves or their families. Yet they earn too much to qualify for Medi-Cal coverage.

And there are citizens who do have coverage and get seriously ill, only to have their insurance company cancel their coverage. These are the people we should feel sorry for, and these are the ones doctors should think about when they say that “the worst ethical violation a physician can commit is abandonment.”

Linda Eaton

La Canada Flintridge

--

I have no problem with Puente and other illegal immigrants receiving organ transplants in the United States, as long as all citizens who need transplants receive them before illegal immigrants, and as long as the Mexican government fully reimburses U.S. hospitals and doctors who care for Mexican nationals, whatever their age.

Frances Hayward

Laguna Niguel

--

Our healthcare problem is solved -- everyone can have care at no cost. All we have to do is give up our citizenship, leave the country and reenter illegally.

Leonard Fritsche

La Crescenta