Estimates from different groups and government officials put the number of illegal immigrants at between 8 and 20 million. Most Americans are worried about rising health care costs, so this article talks about the moral and practical problems of giving medical care to uninsured immigrants.
According to a study called "The Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S." (c) [2006] Pew Hispanic Center, a Pew Research Center Project, there are between 11.5 and 12 million unauthorised migrants living in the United States right now. The data for the report came from the Census of 2000, the Current Population Survey of March 2005, and the monthly Current Population Surveys from March 2005 to January 2006. "Unauthorized Migrants" is a term used by the Pew Hispanic Center. This term refers to people who live in the United States but are not U.S. citizens, have not been admitted as permanent residents, and do not have a temporary status that allows them to stay and work longer in the country.
The Pew Hispanic Center report found that there were 5.4 million adult males, 3.9 million adult females, and 1.8 million children who were in the country illegally. The majority of illegal adult migrants are men, who make up 58 percent of the total, while women make up 42 percent.
When talking about the number of illegal immigrants, it's important to think about how many of them work. 31% of illegal immigrants work in the service industry, while only 16% of people who were born in the country work in service. Most white-collar jobs are filled by people who were born in the country, while the number of unauthorised immigrants is low. There are a lot of unauthorised migrant workers in farming (24%), cleaning (17%), construction (14%), food preparation (12%), production (9%) and transportation (9%). (7 percent ). This is related to the topic of health insurance because the industries listed do not usually cover health insurance.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) set rules for who could get Federal public benefits based on their income. The Act made it much harder for immigrants to get what they wanted. Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program are two of these benefits (SCHIP). Some immigrants can't get Medicaid or SCHIP for the first five years after they come to the United States as a "qualified alien."
Most of the time, only "qualified aliens" can get coverage. Who is a qualified immigrant? There are nine main types of qualified aliens: Aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 USC 1101 et seq.; Refugees admitted under 207 of the INA; Aliens granted asylum under 208 of the INA; Cuban and Haitian Entrants, as defined in 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980; Aliens granted parole for at least one year under 212(d)(5) of the INA; Aliens whose deportation is being withheld Battered aliens who meet the requirements in 431(c) of PRWORA, which was added by 501 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208 (IIRIRA), and changed by 5571 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, P.L. 105-33 (BBA), and 1508 of the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, P.L. 106-386. 8 USC 1641 is where Section 431(c) of the PRWORA, as changed, is written down (c). 1. Victims of a severe form of trafficking, according to 107(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, P.L. 106-386. 2.
With the exception of emergencies, health care will not be given to illegal immigrants. This policy makes it hard for paramedics and other medical professionals to do their jobs because they have to decide if the person's life is in danger and if it's a medical emergency. It's not clear how emergency health care workers are supposed to follow this rule. The terms are being worked on by the Department of Health and Human Services, and the start date is set for less than three months from now.
To get health care, people will have to show proof that they are citizens or that they are eligible as "qualified aliens." This rule could cause problems for both people who were born in the US and people who came here from other countries. People who are homeless may be the most obvious example of people who need care but may not have the right paperwork. African-American seniors may be another, less well-known example. African-Americans from the South were not allowed to be born in hospitals, so they do not have birth certificates.
The possible spread of disease is another problem that needs to be fixed. Americans don't think twice about testing for Tuberculosis, for example. People who make and enforce these rules should think about whether or not basic medical tests will be offered. Even if it seems like it's the right thing to do, denying health care services to people who live in the United States can easily lead to more concrete problems.
