Most Undocumented Immigrants Going Without Health Insurance

THURSDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Of all U.S. residents, undocumented immigrants remain the most likely to be without heath insurance, a new study finds.



The study, by the nonprofit Rand Corp., also found that undocumented immigrants account for up to a third of the increase over the past two decades in the number of people in the United States who don't have health insurance.



"These findings show that if you want to do something that will have a meaningful impact on the problem of the uninsured, then you must talk about undocumented immigrants," study co-author and Rand senior economist James P. Smith said in a prepared statement.



Researchers analyzed data gathered from about 2,400 Spanish- and English-speaking adults in Los Angeles County in 2000 and 2001. Los Angeles has the largest immigrant community in the United States.



As reported in the December issue of Health Affairs, the study found that 68 percent of undocumented immigrants had no health insurance, compared with 17 percent of native-born Americans, 23 percent of immigrants who had become U.S. citizens, and 38 percent of immigrants classed as permanent legal residents.



Overall, four out of 10 people born outside the United States did not have health insurance.



Undocumented immigrants were much less likely than other groups to be covered by public health insurance such as Medicaid, the study found. Just 8 percent of undocumented immigrants had public insurance, compared with 13 percent of native-born Americans and 10 percent of both immigrant citizens and permanent legal residents.



Most undocumented immigrants with health insurance were covered through their employers.



"There are pros and cons of providing insurance to the undocumented that should be debated openly," Smith said. "Undocumented immigrants make up too much of the issue to be ignored or hidden by polite silence."