Illegal Immigrants Should Receive Health Care Essay

Even though the United States is one of the most advanced nations it still does not provide healthcare for all. Not everyone can obtain insurance under Obamacare, a lot more people are going to remain uninsured due to high costs (para 3). If something similar was made to Universal Healthcare they should make it more affordable for the low-income families who live from their low paying jobs day to day and have families to take care of. “Additionally, starting in 2014, there will be tax credits to help middle-class Americans buy coverage” (para 4). Middle-class people do not need as much help as the low-income families when it comes to helping buy coverage they should help the low-income families who live with not enough money to even feed their families. The government is helping the people who have the capability of getting more money by working harder. But the low-income people do not have that possibility because even if they work two jobs, the hourly pay is very low. And what they make a year is also low. Illegal immigrants make up 4 percent of the population. Immigrants use health care less than legal residents because they don’t use it until they really have to. About 11

Throughout the last three decades, increasing numbers of Asians have migrated to Canada from all over the Asian continent. Currently, 44% of the Vancouver area population is of Asian descent (Statistics Canada, 2001). Immigrants commonly occupy skilled job positions that the host nation is unable to fill with its own citizens, and thus they offer many advantages to their receiving country. In a nation with a declining birthrate, such as Canada, their contribution can play a major role on multiple levels. The immigrants themselves often enjoy a greater earning potential than they did in their native country, which can be advantageous for those who wish to send money back home to support their families.

For many illegal aliens, seeking healthcare is undermined by the fear of being deported. Many would rather suffer through an illness or injury than seek care for fear that they will be sent back to Mexico. Unfortunately, but the time that they finally get to a point where it is absolutely necessary to obtain care, the cost of that care has become a much larger figure than it would have been had they obtained care sooner.

Illegal immigrants in the United States (US) have long been a topic of debate for policymakers and the public. The rationale about them is that they do not pay taxes; they add to the costs of taxpayers and use up funds in resources meant for assisting citizens and legal immigrants (the legal citizens). Therefore, they are perceived as a threat to the US economy. The true impacts of illegal immigrants on the US economy are discussed by debating over the economic benefits as well as economic costs of these immigrants. The negative impacts, discussed first, presented the decreases in low skilled jobs’ wage rates for legal immigrants and citizens instigated by illegal immigrants, the social services such as educations and healthcare that they

A key goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was to decrease the number of uninsured individuals, many of whom are in low-income families and are minorities (Kaiser Family Foundation 2016). Under the ACA, immigrants who are in the U.S. legally are eligible for coverage through the health insurance marketplace but undocumented immigrants are not (HealthCare.gov) even when using their own money to purchase. There are estimates of 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in the country as of 2014 (Krogstad, Passel, & Cohn 2016). It is estimated that California was home to more than two million undocumented immigrants in 2013. In 2016, California passed SB 10, a bill that would require the California Health Benefit Exchange, which facilitates the enrollment of qualified individuals into health plans, to apply to the United States Department of Health and Human Services for a waiver to allow individuals who are not eligible to obtain health coverage through the Exchange because of their immigration status to obtain coverage from the Exchange (California Legislative Information). This paper will explore California’s SB 10 legislation, its purpose, and how it will seek to serve its undocumented immigrant population and their health needs.

Financial barriers to access health care are common in a low-income family when they are uninsured or underinsured. Many uninsured and undocumented immigrant received federal and state health care coverage. Latinos and African American are the ethnicities that are disproportionally get affected. Limited access to a doctor when they are sick, taking non-prescribed medication and holding off recommended treatment is only some of the problems they encountered (Carrillo et al., 2011).

The biggest issue in America is not just hunger, education, and crime- but health care. Perhaps the cause of these other issues, health care is expensive and hard to access. The high cost is tolerated in the belief that more expensive health care leads to better care. This is not true, as studies show that 20% to 30% of patients are issued the wrong treatment or medicine. These medical errors have caused thousands of lives to be lost- at a higher cost. As more Americans are aware of our low ranking in worldwide health care- Japan, Sweden, and Canada making the top three-the need for a nationwide health care reform is much debated. Even with other great countries to mirror we are still hesitant in reforming health care to make it accessible to every American citizen. Although the United States guarantees it's citizens access to fire and police services, protection by military, national postal service, and education as well as many other free federal- and state-funded services they have yet to commit to ensuring them health care coverage.

With the economy of the United States in shambles, illegal immigration and the effects it has on health care can no longer be ignored. America has a whole needs to be concerned and well informed of the issues rather than collecting information piecemeal by way of media or other biased groups. If illegal immigration stays its present course the American tax-payer will continue to fund the well being of individuals who have broken federal rules and regulations and are being supported by law abiding citizens. This argument is not about individual rights to live and prosper. It is not about race or discrimination of any sort. It is only about the effects on health care that I am addressing.

The film showed that some health care providers might mistreat patients because they do not have insurance. Also, they do not have the means to pay their expensive health care bill. The emergency room is the least effective in caring for undocumented immigrants and people in general. Much less, it does not provide an effective way in managing individual health care needs. The film also showed that undocumented immigrants may be afraid of reporting mistreatment from hospitals and employers because they are concerned about being deported.

There are several arguments spotlighting the effect of illegal immigration on current rising health care cost. To this point, illegal immigrants and elected representatives across the country are unable to deny the increased costs placed upon the backs of American taxpayers due to the rise in health care and health care insurance cost. A bill initiated in Indiana will demand local hospitals create a report regarding the costs associated with treating illegal immigrants. Additionally, on a countrywide level, there is an ongoing endeavor to push illegal immigrant children toward federally funded Children’s Health Insurance by the governing body which in turn will effectively raise the current tax rates for all Americans. As an alternative, some policymakers are trying to use creative language in order to guarantee that illegal immigrants were blocked from obtaining health care services (Maxwell & Adolfo 324). For undocumented immigrants within the United States, acquiring health related services or care systematically increases the cost for American taxpayers across the board. Health care providers, Health care insurance companies and both the state and federally supplemented health care funds ( i.e. Medicaid) are forced to close the gap on the negative revenue return by increasing cost of services due to the excessive use and write off of public health care funds and services by illegal immigrants.

Maria C. Abascal’s  “Reform’s mixed impact on Immigrants” is a reliable source. In this article, the author Abascal refers to how complicated it can be for undocumented immigrants to be covered for health care with the Affordable Care Act, and how it can provide benefits to legal immigrants. The article quickly introduced a waiting time period for legal immigrants to receive later benefits such as Medicaid, etc. and that waiting period is “five years” (Abascal, Para 2). It really doesn't make any sense for legal immigrants to wait that long, which shows how divide the United State is to its residents when it comes to resources. However, since they are not American citizens, I can understand the difference, but everyone’s health matters.

The US labor force would not survive if it was not for illegal immigrants. If there were no illegal immigrants our labor force would decrease by four percent (Isidore 5). “We could not have grown as much as we did in the 1990s if we did not have immigrants… our growth would have been slower (Isidore 5).” Having illegal immigrants in our labor force increases the amount of resources we have, which increases the amount of production in the country. “Some economists discuss that not only do U.S. consumers benefit from lower prices as an outcome of the low wages most immigrants are paid, but that the convenience of lower-wage labor helps create more work for higher-skilled, higher-paid workers who are generally born in the US (Isidore 14).” Illegal immigrants are opening up higher wage jobs, because they take over the lower wage jobs. Many immigrants take jobs in the field of construction, agriculture

In 2010, ANA released a brief stating their stance on access to health care for both documented and undocumented immigrants residing in the states. In the brief, the group asserts that health care is a basic human right. They state that “immigrants, whether documented or not, should have access to quality health care including the opportunity to purchase insurance” (Godfrey, 2010). Undocumented immigrants do not seek medical assistance to manage chronic illness for fear of deportation and cost. This means their health status will continue to deteriorate and the cost to provide treatment will skyrocket. “Limiting adequate health care leads to increases in health care costs and possible health risks” (Godfrey, 2010). At this time, this population is only eligible to apply for charity care at local acute care facilities and one time only emergency Medicaid, burdening the taxpayer. Allowing people to purchase their own health insurance will lower the cost in health care (Godfrey,

County Hospitals that are already underfunded to provide indigent and uninsured care for citizens are also providing health services for the immigrants. Local Law Enforcement and City and County jails deal with those immigrants that break the law and are having to absorb those costs until they can be handed off to Federal Immigration services for deportation.

This year being an election year means that the American people are confronted with many issues and disparities that plague our nation. One of these hot button topics is that of healthcare. The United States is the only developed nation without a universal healthcare system, but spends the most for health services. With so many Americans lacking the adequate care needed or facing bankruptcy due to piling medical bills, one must look at the health disparities that are causing this super power nation to inadequately serve its citizens.