How Might Immigration Reform Influence Health Care Reform?

After decades of debate and legal challenges, national health care reform moves onward. Next up: immigration reform.

The two are linked.

Immigrants — both those who are documented and those who are not — are less likely to have health insurance than their U.S.-born counterparts. Almost half the documented immigrants in the U.S. do not have health coverage, according to 2011 Employee Benefit Research Institute statistics.

In California, which has one of the country’s largest immigrant populations, immigration policies influence health care policies. Some contend that health care policies influence immigration.

We asked policymakers, immigration experts and consumer advocates how immigration reform might influence health care reform in California.

We got responses from:

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>How Might Immigration Reform Influence Health Care Reform?</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2013-01-31T00:00:00-08:00">
			January 31, 2013		</time>
		</div>
<p>After decades of debate and legal challenges, national health care reform moves onward. Next up: immigration reform.</p><p>The two are linked.</p><p>Immigrants — both those who are documented and those who are not — are less likely to have health insurance than their U.S.-born counterparts. Almost half the documented immigrants in the U.S. do not have health coverage, according to 2011 Employee Benefit Research Institute statistics. </p><p>In California, which has one of the country’s largest immigrant populations, immigration policies influence health care policies. Some contend that health care policies influence immigration.</p><p>We asked policymakers, immigration experts and consumer advocates how immigration reform might influence health care reform in California.</p><p>We got responses from:</p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/how-might-immigration-reform-influence-health-care-reform/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/how-might-immigration-reform-influence-health-care-reform/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/how-might-immigration-reform-influence-health-care-reform/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20How%20Might%20Immigration%20Reform%20Influence%20Health%20Care%20Reform%3F&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2Fnews%2Fhow-might-immigration-reform-influence-health-care-reform%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/how-might-immigration-reform-influence-health-care-reform/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/how-might-immigration-reform-influence-health-care-reform/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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