Illegal Immigrants and Health Insurance in California
The following presents the topic of whether or not illegal immigrants should be granted health insurance in California. Carpenter (2000) reported that there are seven million Mexican nationals in the U.S. and many are in the U.S. illegally. This group includes lower-paid workers who require benefits and medical coverage. The California HealthCare Foundation funded a nationwide study over a two-year period to determine the feasibility of cross-border health insurance to provide health insurance for illegal immigrants and their families in the U.S. and Mexico. While the need for health insurance in this group is clear, it remains less clear whether they should be provided U.S. health coverage since it is expensive and lacks federal and state support (Hirota, Garcia, Silber, & Lamirault, 2006). Despite the cost, Guendelman, Schauffler, and Pearl (2001) pointed out that to ignore the contribution of the illegal and legal immigrant and their medical or health care needs is "short-sighted" (p. 263). For example, adults are an important part of the U.S. labor market and the children of these adults need to be immunized against communicable diseases, they require check-ups to ensure normal growth and development, and they need care for illness or injury.
Hirota, Garcia, Silber, and Lamirault (2006) presented a study of an effort by Alameda County, California, to implement a health coverage program for low-income residents. This program took place from 2000 to 2005. Local efforts were to expand the coverage to all adults and children, to include immigrants. Findings from this pilot program were that local health coverage programs were unsustainable without significant state and federal support. Health coverage must be consolidated and a federal tax base must be allotted for it to be sustained. While it is recognized that the federal, state, and local governments are alread...