Healthcare availability for undocumented immigrants in the United States
[6] Estimates suggest as of 2010 there are approximately 11.2 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, some of whom have U.S. citizen family members.
[1] These findings are supported by a study conducted in 2000 using data from a 1996 survey of undocumented Latino immigrants in four U.S. cities: Houston and El Paso, Texas and Fresno and Los Angeles, California.
[10] This study found that undocumented immigrants obtain fewer ambulatory physician visits than other Latinos or the rest of the U.S. population collectively.
[11] These lower expenditures have raised a number of questions about the accessibility of health care services and insurance to both documented and undocumented immigrants.
From an economic standpoint, undocumented immigrants in the United States are often employed in jobs in either the secondary or informal sectors of the labor market.
[8] They also argue healthcare policies which make insurance, coverage, and treatment more accessible to all populations will encourage undocumented immigrants to overuse services without contributing their fair share to the tax base, ultimately placing an unjust burden on the general public.
[8] Meanwhile, both taxpayers and politicians point to state welfare and Medicaid programs as specific areas of concern when it comes to such healthcare use by illegal populations.
[10] Impeding undocumented immigrants from receiving health care has been shown to increase the spread of preventable diseases through communities.
[11] The ongoing debate and subsequent policy-decisions have important implications for the healthcare of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States.
To match public opinion and boost popularity for the legislation, the ACA contains language that explicitly excludes undocumented immigrants from being able to purchase health insurance coverage.
[16][1] Community health centers and clinics play an integral role in implementing provisions of the ACA and are heavily relied upon by undocumented immigrants.
[1] The ACA does provide additional funding for these "safety-net" services, but many physicians are expected to leave these clinics as a result of the higher demand for doctors working with the increased number of insured persons.
[17] After the ACA took effect in 2014, the state lowered HSN funding from hospital revenue tax as a result of the reduction in uninsured persons.
[18] PRWORA draws a distinction between benefits—most significantly Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), food stamps, and Medicaid—accessible to citizens, but not to noncitizens, including lawfully present immigrants.
[18] Moreover, while undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for these benefits, these laws result in even greater barriers to access in the form of higher financial burdens placed on states which want to offer substitute programs, and stricter federal enforcement and outlining of restrictions.
[18] For example, IIRIRA mandates a legally binding "affidavit of support" where state or local governments may sue the sponsors or petitioners of immigrants for the value of the public benefits or services acquired while ineligible.
[18] Other foreign countries are also wrestling with questions related to the access of undocumented immigrants to national healthcare services and insurance programs.
[21] Single-payer healthcare has recently entered the debate in the United States, most notably as part of the platform of 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
In five countries, undocumented immigrants had more than minimal rights, including primary and secondary care (Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and France).
