If Joe Wilson Lied When He Said Obama Lied …

… Why is the White House providing what MSNBC cutely calls “clarification” of its position on health care for illegal immigrants? (“Clarification,” for those of you whose Washington-speak vocabulary is weak, means abandoning one’s previous position.)

As reported by MSNBC last night, here are the points of the White House’s new “clarification”:

•Undocumented immigrants would not be able to buy private insurance on the exchange. Those who are lawfully present in this country would be able to participate.

•Undocumented immigrants would be able to buy insurance in the non-exchange private market, just as they do today. That market will shrink as the exchange takes hold, but it will still exist and will be subject to reforms such as the bans on pre-existing conditions and caps.

•Verification will be required when purchasing health insurance on the exchange. One option is the SAVE program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) which states currently use to make sure that undocumented immigrants don’t participate in safety-net programs for which they are ineligible.

•There would be no change in the law that requires emergency rooms to treat people who need emergency care, including undocumented immigrants. There is already a federal grant program that compensates states for emergency room costs associated with treatment of undocumented immigrants, a provision sponsored by a Republican lawmaker.

Since the proposed reform would require private insurance companies even in the non-exchange market to offer coverage to all comers, even those with pre-existing conditions, why not prohibit them from covering illegal immigrants?

Finally, you’d think that even MSNBC might think it relevant to mention that Democratic majorities on two House committees voted down amendments to require just this sort of SAVE program verification.

On second thought, no, you wouldn’t.