In light of the ongoing debate about immigration reform, a recent study found that
contributions by immigrants to the Medicare Trust Fund outweigh their expenditures
[
[1]
]. Another 2013 study found that health expenditures are lower for unauthorized immigrants
and legal residents than US natives and naturalized citizens [
[2]
]. However, evidence for the emergency department (ED) setting is limited, where much
of the debate on health service utilization of unauthorized immigrants is concentrated.
The most recent study of ED utilization found that noncitizen immigrants used significantly
less ED services compared with citizens [
[3]
]. However, that study did not have an estimate for unauthorized immigrants. Given
the continuing debate about the impact of immigrants on the health system, especially
the potential impact of unauthorized immigrants, we compared differences in ED utilization
and medical expenditures by nativity and legal status.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
- Immigrants contributed an estimated $115.2 billion more to the Medicare Trust Fund than they took out in 2002-09.Health Aff (Millwood). 2013; 32: 1153-1160
- Unauthorized immigrants spend less than other immigrants and US natives on health care.Health Aff (Millwood). 2013; 32: 1313-1318
- Emergency department services use among immigrant and non-immigrant groups in the United States.J Immigr Minor Health. 2013; ([Epub ahead of print])
- Undocumented immigrants, left out of health reform, likely to continue to grow as share of the uninsured.Health Aff (Millwood). 2011; 30: 1997-2004
- A portrait of unauthorized immigrants in the United States.Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, DC2009
- Trends in emergency Medicaid expenditures for recent and undocumented immigrants.JAMA. 2002; 297: 1085-1092
- Immigration reform: a long road to citizenship and insurance coverage.Health Aff (Millwood). 2013; 32: 639-642
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: March 20, 2014
Accepted:
March 13,
2014
Received in revised form:
March 11,
2014
Received:
March 3,
2014
Footnotes
☆Grant or other financial support: None.
☆☆Conflicts of interest: None.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
