When medicine divorces morality: The effects of immigration status on health care access in the United States
Abstract
This study highlights the importance of noting the heterogeneity of citizenship statuses among Latina/os when analyzing access to health care and health insurance attainment. A significant breakthrough in health care in the U.S. came on March 23, 2010 when President Barack Obama signed [H.R. 3590] The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) legislating a "universal" health care system in the U S. While the passing of this legislation might have been a historical accomplishment it was not a panacea for all those suffering from lack of health insurance. The objectives of this study were three fold: 1) to analyze if citizenship status influences whether Latina/os have a usual place to visit for their health care needs, 2) to examine if citizenship status impacts the attainment of health insurance (private or public), and 3) to investigate the reasons why Latina/os lack health insurance. I utilized the "Hispanics and Health Care in the United States: Access, Information and Knowledge" survey collected by the Pew Hispanic Center from July 16 to September 23, 2007 for this study. Results show profoundly lower levels of health care access for non-citizen/ non-LPRs and LPRs in contrast to U.S. born Latina/os. Moreover, undocumented migrants reported their immigration status as the main barrier for not obtaining health insurance as opposed to health insurance being too expensive or it not being offered by their employer.
Subject Area
Ethnic studies|Health care management
Recommended Citation
Menchaca, Angelica Catalina, "When medicine divorces morality: The effects of immigration status on health care access in the United States" (2013). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1539972.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1539972