Uninsured Argument Analysis

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.

The United States of America (USA) has been one of the traditional receiving countries of immigrants (Friedberg & Hunt, 1995), and they do not take in too lightly of allowing immigrants violate its law and entering illegally to settle in its country without consequences. To date, millions of people have violated its immigration policies. The USA is also the economic leader of the world. It has been the notion that illegal immigrants are devouring up the US economy and for that reason they should be ousted. However, illegal immigrations have rooted into society since far back in history, and realized now, it is that illegal immigrants are not damaging the US economy; they contribute to it and their services costs

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.

This paper explores the United States, Immigration Policy from an historical, fair and factual perspective. The Immigration Act of 1990 States limited “unskilled workers to 10,000 a year. Skilled labor requirements and immediate family reunification were major goals. The Act continued to promote the nuclear family model, foreign-born in the US was 7%”. This paper will also explore the demographics and diversity, of immigrants, throughout the U.S. This paper includes an article form the website of the Washington, D.C., Immigration Policy Center, and American Immigration Council. This paper will examines significant research data from the Pew Research web site on Hispanic trends and immigration, around the United States. This paper will also cover numbers, facts and trends which shape the immigration policy. This paper will also include five different books written by authors concerning the immigration policy and public issues which most concern Americans. This paper will cover topics of history of social problems and the policies that address immigration, special interest groups advocacy groups, political party and supporters, social justice and ethical issues, policy outcomes of illegal immigrants and how other countries compare to the United States when dealing with immigration.

Are illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants beneficial to America’s economy? Most illegal immigrants have a positive impact on the United States (U.S.) economy. Illegal immigrants have a positive impact on the United States economy because they increase our tax revenue, they add to our social security, and they also increase our employment rates.” In 2000, statistics revealed 8.7 million illegal immigrants resided in the United States” (Knickerbocker pgs.11-12). “A study of illegal immigrants living in Texas showed a 420 million dollar increase in the states economy” (Strayhorn). Companies risk hiring illegal immigrants

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.

While the Affordable Care Act has rapidly reduced the number of uninsured Americans, there are still millions of people living without health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2015 poll, 46% of Americans tried to get Marketplace coverage- such as independent insurance companies- but the cost was too expensive. Many uninsured citizens are a part of a “coverage gap” that doesn’t give an affordable option for healthcare. The population that is a part of the coverage gap would earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, yet not enough to qualify for a Marketplace monthly premium. By eliminating or reducing the coverage gap through the creation of policy changes, the number of uninsured Americans would decline. Additionally, only

Opponents of illegal immigrants receiving healthcare services do not believe that illegal immigrants should have access to healthcare when so many Americans are uninsured. Illegal and undocumented immigrants, according to opponents, do not have a right to healthcare because it is a benefit that they do not deserve and that taxpayers cannot afford. Furthermore, illegal immigrants, who seek publicly funded healthcare services in the United States, cause a financial drain not only on the healthcare system but also the national economy. For example, FAIR (Federation for American Immigration) estimates that the cost of reimbursed medical care in California in 2004 was about $1.4 billion and $.85 billion in Texas, with one of the frequent costs to U.S. taxpayers being the delivery of babies to illegal alien mothers.

In 2008, during President Obama’s campaign, President Obama announced that he would fight for a national health care system that helped millions of uninsured Americans obtain health insurance. The Affordable Care Act, also termed Obamacare, passed on Christmas Eve of 2009. While some people believe the Affordable Care Act is great, others are not too fond of the of it. From passing the bill, the government hoped to expand Medicaid eligibility to help more people whose income was meager or near poverty level. Although the idea was good, studies show that people of color, families in rural areas, and those with cultural and language barriers struggle to receive health care and pay for it. Furthermore, since Obamacare passed into law, the

Challenges were evaluated and although the ACA has provisions for healthcare, numerous individuals still remain uninsured and blame the high cost of healthcare insurance as the primary reason they do not have healthcare coverage. In a survey by the Kaiser Foundation in 2014 showed that 48% of uninsured people stated the cost for healthcare was too expensive as the primary reason they were uninsured. Many workers do not have accessibility to healthcare coverage through an employer, and others, predominantly poor working adults from states with no Medicaid expansion, stay ineligible for public healthcare insurance coverage. Furthermore, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid or other healthcare from the Marketplace.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was the first step that the United States takes in order to provide greater access to health care coverage, reduce health care spending rate, and improve the quality of service. Ever since the implantation of the ACA, millions of Americans were able to have access to health care coverage. However, the ACA fails to include the undocumented immigrants. Compared with other immigrant group in the United States, undocumented immigrants have lower rates of health insurance coverage. The studies shows that undocumented Latinos were less likely to check their health and they report that “blood pressure being check in the past 2 years and cholesterol checked in the past 5 years. There was 40% reported that reported receiving

Today, the United States faces budget problems at local, state, and national levels. Soon, Congress will vote whether or not to raise the national debt ceiling, hoping to avoid defaults on loans and causing further harm to a slumping economy. While federal budget cuts will have to be made should the ceiling be lifted or not, cuts are also being felt on a local level, even in places like education. While not completely responsible for these problems, there are over 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. Unfortunately, about 59% of them do not have health insurance. With 25% of legal immigrants uninsured, that creates a large population that cannot seek or receive proper medical treatment (Wolf, 2008). Fixing this

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,

Immigration is a controversial topic that has impacted our society for decades perplexed by policies media coverage, perceptions based on one’s own lack of knowledge, personal experiences and a host of other factors that influence how our society views immigrants and immigration policies. The United States is a diverse population of people and filled with experiences that come from various walks of life that contribute to enhancing our social culture, economic development, and cultural acceptance.