The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 greatly restricts the provision of many federal, state, and local public services to undocumented immigrants. These restrictions have prompted intense debates about the provision of free and discounted primary and preventive health care-services and have placed significant burdens on institutions that serve large undocumented immigrant populations. Intended to serve as a tool for reducing illegal immigration and protecting public resources, federal restrictions on undocumented immigrants' access to publicly financed health services unduly burden health care providers and threaten the public's health. These deleterious effects warrant the public health community's support of strategies designed to sustain provision of health services irrespective of immigration status.

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immigrant law economics health care policy community care health care personnel Preventive Health Services human immigration Federal Government health service medical ethics State Government social care financial management Eligibility Determination resource management United States cost effectiveness analysis health care cost health program Humans Health Care and Public Health preventive health service Review welfare Legal Approach social welfare Article organization and management health care utilization migration legal aspect health care access government preventive medicine medicaid Emigration and Immigration health care system health center Transients and Migrants Public Assistance immunization medical care practice guideline public health Health Services Accessibility primary health care documentation health care delivery