Exploration of Healthcare and Immigrants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Exploration of Healthcare and Immigrants - Essay Example However, facts and figures show that, compared to the native-born, expenditures for immigrants’ health services are much less, and their contribution to Medicaid is much larger. Moreover, Immigration Reform could improve the situation with the shortage of the medical personnel. Immigrants are an integral part of the American life, society and economy. Currently, our country is experiencing another increase of immigration. In 2005, the foreign born population made nearly 36 million, where 35% were naturalized citizens, 33% were documented immigrants and 31% were undocumented immigrants. Children consisted 16% of the undocumented immigrants, and nearly two-thirds of them are U.S. citizens by birth. Expectations are that by 2050 about 80 of 120 million of the U.S. population will be the direct or indirect effect of immigration (King 2007, p.4). Though, contributing largely to the prospering of the country, these people experience many hardships in obtaining vital services. Access to health care system became one of the greatest problems they face. Looking back, we may suggest that the trouble started, for the reason that health care system of the US revealed its weak sides. Propaganda played its role. It was easier to misinform the public than to reform the whole health care system. Documented and undocumented immigrants were blamed for the trouble. Misinformation gave birth to numerous myths. These myths led to the restrictions in legislation concerning immigrants’ access to the health care service. In 1996 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was past, establishing that recent legal immigrants to the country were to wait five years for the eligibility for Medicaid and other public benefits programs. The same eligibility restrictions were included into the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, put in force in 1997. Further, another law was enacted as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, requiring that US citizens