Uninsured Immigrants May Affect Public Health

Liz Perry for Leaders in Healthcare – October 10, 2008

Medical News Today reported this week that a study by public health researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia revealed that foreign-born children are increasingly uninsured, as opposed to publicly insured. Since 1999, immigrant families have not been required to repay the U.S. government for Medicaid benefits. However, immigrant children did not increase their usage of publicly funded health insurance programs.

The study showed that after 2000, foreign-born children (one in five) were 1.59 times more likely than U.S.-born children to be uninsured versus publicly insured. Some public health officials are concerned that uninsured immigrants may strain the resources of publicly funded health care systems by using expensive emergency care or because their treatment has been delayed.

With an expected shortage of public health workers nationwide, this news even further emphasizes the need for qualified public health professionals. Those with field experience and advanced education will contribute greatly to this need.