Title: Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants | KFF
Headings: Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants
Health Coverage and Care of Undocumented Immigrants
Introduction
Overview of Undocumented Immigrants
Health Coverage for Undocumented Immigrants
Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants
Current Issues
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Content: Health Care for Undocumented Immigrants
Given their higher uninsured rates, many undocumented immigrants delay or go without needed care. Research shows that having insurance makes a difference in whether and when people access needed care. 8 Those who are uninsured often delay or go without needed care, which can lead to worse health outcomes over the long-term that may ultimately be more complex and expensive to treat. 9
Undocumented immigrants can obtain low-cost care through community health centers. However, care available through clinics is often limited to preventive and primary care, leaving them to face challenges in accessing specialty services. Under federal law, hospitals are required to screen and stabilize every patient who seeks emergency care. Medicaid helps offset costs borne by hospitals in providing emergency care to undocumented immigrants by providing payments to hospitals for emergency care provided to individuals who are otherwise eligible for Medicaid but for their immigration status. Immigrants spend less on health care, compared to their U.S. born counterparts.10 They also make larger out-of-pocket health care payments compared to nonimmigrants. 11 Immigrants have lower spending, in part, because they use less care due to their low coverage rates and limited access to care. They also tend to be younger and healthier than nonimmigrants, although this difference decreases over time as immigrants spend longer in the United States.