Should Illegal Immigrants Have Access to Health Care?

Contrary to this, others believe that illegal immigrants threaten the United States HealthCare System, Madeline Pelner Cosman stated, “In 1994, 74987 anchor babies in California hospital maternity unit cost $215 million and constituted 36 percent of

SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL CITIZENS WHO CANNOT AFFORD THEIR OWN?

One of the most significant issues to issues to affect healthcare in today’s society is the impact that illegal aliens have on the already broken healthcare system. This paper will explore the impact of undocumented Hispanics and their impact on the services available and used in California. Included will be the numbers of those that are affected as well as what is being done to decrease the impact of this population on the current healthcare system.

America needs comprehensive health care reform, and immigrants should be a part of the movement.  But many American citizens might ask that pertinent question: why should they cover the expense for illegal immigrants to access health care?  The answer is plain and simple: until congress passes immigration laws that work, people are going to migrant here illegally.  And to deny migrants access to affordable health care, Americans are not only denying them their human right, they are also putting individual and national health at risk.  I believe that this country – which has the medical advancements and the facilities to ensure the health of its citizens – should reach out to its non-citizens, legal and illegal, until it

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.

Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of America back 500 years ago in the year 1492. Were he and his crew the first illegal immigrants in America? The land was occupied by another group of people that didn’t grant these explorers the right to have whatever they please without acquiring some kind of legal status. The topic of legal status might have been irrelevant back in those days but it surely is an issue that is widely talked about in today’s America. The issue of illegal immigrants has been a hot topic especially when it comes to discussing whether these people should be allowed to have health care provided by a government that doesn’t recognize their

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.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (a non-profit group that opposes illegal immigration), the cost of treating illegal aliens’ amounted to nearly $11 billion in 2009. However, the HRI (Health Research Institute) reported that the government spent approximately $2.2 trillion on United States citizens in 2009. Although there are more citizens in the country than illegal aliens, the amount of money spent on illegal aliens appear

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.

The amount of money that comes out of your pocket for schooling, incarceration, jobs lost, and maintaining the medical system in the United States because of illegal immigrants may be more than people know. During the past few decades, the influx of illegal immigrants has risen dramatically. Illegal immigrants put a huge strain on our school systems, commit a disproportionate amount of crimes in this country and have taken many jobs that American citizens unemployed could do.

Undocumented immigrants in the United States are denied and limited to health care access due to their legal status. However, recent arrived immigrants are healthier than the general U.S. population. According to the National Longitudinal Mortality Study (1979-1989), “Singh and Siahpush (2001) found that all-cause mortality was significantly lower among immigrants than among the U.S. born (18% lower for men and 13% lower for women), after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, marital status, urban/rural residence, education, occupation, and family income (Acevedo-Garcia & Bates, 2008). While policy and Health Care Acts are denying and limiting health insurance to undocumented immigrants and wanting them out of the country, that may not be an appropriate strategy to promote health insurance in Latino communities since recent arriving immigrants are healthier than the general U.S. population. Some studies suggest that, “Latino and immigrants have more positive health behaviors, particularly related to substance abuse, than their non-Latino and U.S. born counterparts. For example, compared to non-Latino whites, Latinos are less likely to consume cigarettes or alcohol, independent of SES (Abraido-Lanza, Chao, & Florez, 2005)(Acevedo-Garcia & Bates, 2008). However, after several years of acculturating into the majority culture, Latinos/as are becoming accustomed to unhealthy habits that American citizens are familiar with. Researchers have taken in consideration the Latino Health

As for immigrants using welfare and health care benefits, it is argued that, “Immigrants are unlikely to become leeches on the government. Only Medicaid and limited food benefits are available to illegal immigrants, and most don't apply for these out of fear of detection by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.” (Analysis of Immigration Problems. http:www.cyberessays.com/Politics/35.htm). The Attorney General and the Governor of California beg to differ. They see the tremendous impact illegal immigration has had to its state. Governor of California says that they spend over three billion dollars a year on healthcare and education for those in the country illegally.

Many pregnant immigrant women are illegally coming into the country just to have their babies. These women get free medical attention for themselves and the baby. This is costing the U.S. millions of dollars every year.

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,

Should the U.S. government provide free health care for all citizens? Free health care for all citizens, is a very controversial topic that has been debated for years. This debate concerns many pros and cons, such as “CNN reporting that 45,000 Americans are dying per year because they do not have access to health care because of costs.” According to research and statistics, majority of the people say that they agree with having free health care. Most people agreed because they believe it is the government’s job to help the ones that are in need. This paper will discuss why free health care is needed, what problems are caused by not providing free healthcare for all citizens, and the solutions that will benefit everyone.