Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 10, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 167-176

Health coverage of low-income citizen and noncitizen wage Earners: Sources and disparities (Article)

Ponce N.A.* , Cochran S.D. , Mays V.M. , Chia J. , Brown E.R.
  • a Department of Health Services, UCLA, School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States, UCLA, Center for Health Policy Research, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States
  • b Department of Epidemiology, UCLA, School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States, UCLA, Department of Statistics, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States, UCLA, Center on Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication, Minority Health Disparities, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States
  • c Department of Health Services, UCLA, School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States, Department of Psychology, UCLA, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States, UCLA, Center on Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication, Minority Health Disparities, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States
  • d UCLA, Center for Health Policy Research, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States
  • e Department of Health Services, UCLA, School of Public Health, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States, UCLA, Center for Health Policy Research, 650 Charles E. Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States

Abstract

The health coverage of low-income workers represents an area of continuing disparities in the United States system of health insurance. Using the 2001 California Health Interview Survey, we estimate the effect of low-income wage earners' citizenship and gender on the odds of obtaining primary employment-based health insurance (EBHI), dependent EBHI, public program coverage, and coverage from any source. We find that noncitizen men and women who comprise 40% of California's low-income workforce, share the disadvantage of much lower rates of insurance coverage, compared to naturalized and U.S.-born citizens. However, poor coverage rates of noncitizen men, regardless of permanent residency status, result from the cumulative disadvantage in obtaining dependent EBHI and public insurance. If public policies designed to provide a health care safety net fail to address the health care coverage needs of low-wage noncitizens, health disparities will continue to increase in this group that contributes essentially to the U.S. economy. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007.

Author Keywords

citizenship immigrants Health insurance health disparities Gender Latinos

Index Keywords

immigrant medically uninsured lowest income group health care policy poverty health insurance human middle aged controlled study priority journal United States Health Benefit Plans, Employee Humans Adolescent California male Emigrants and Immigrants gender bias female Socioeconomic Factors Article adult Sex Factors public health insurance Healthcare Disparities citizenship
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-40349103643&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-007-9059-5&partnerID=40&md5=edd421a743395cb3a316da81a54efbb3
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-007-9059-5
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 9
Original Language: English