Over the past five years, the undocumented immigrant population in the United States has remained relatively stable at around 10.5 million, following the historical maximum of 12 million in 2008 (Batalova, Blizzard, and Bolter 2020). Previous research has shown that health and health care inequities in the United States are significantly associated with immigrant documentation status (Bustamante et al. 2012). In 2019, approximately 46% of undocumented immigrants lacked health insurance compared to 9% of US citizens (Bustamante et al. 2021). The lower health insurance coverage rates among undocumented immigrants have been linked to suboptimal access to and use of health care. Although federal legislation such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has expanded eligibility and improved health insurance coverage for legally authorized immigrants, it has largely excluded undocumented immigrants (Ortega et al. 2022). Consequently, undocumented immigrants continue to face the worst patterns of access to and...
US Immigration Enforcement Separates and Increases Health Inequities for Mixed-Status Families
Arturo Vargas Bustamante is a professor with the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He is also faculty research director at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. His research has focused on health care access and use, with a particular emphasis on Latinos/Hispanics and immigrants in the United States. He has also contributed to border and international health care research as well as chronic care management research in primary care settings. Currently, he is the principal investigator for a project studying gaps in access to telehealth appointments among Medicaid enrollees who have limited English proficiency. Another of his ongoing projects examines efforts of health and community organizations to reduce mis- and disinformation about Medicaid eligibility among undocumented Latino immigrants.
Arturo Vargas Bustamante; US Immigration Enforcement Separates and Increases Health Inequities for Mixed-Status Families. J Health Polit Policy Law 1 April 2024; 49 (2): 315–322. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-10992407
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