By: Daniel Nardini
A study done by Arturo Vargas Bustamante at the School of Public Health of the University of California in Los Angeles and Jie Chen of City University of New York found that Latinos for the most part do not pay nor use the health care system in the United States. The study was published in the journal Health Services Research. Bustamante and Jie Chen found that most Latinos do not pay into the U.S. health system largely because they do not use it. When Latinos do seek health care they for the most part pay out-of-pocket. This is in contradiction to most non-Hispanic whites who pay into the health care system because they for the most part utilize it.
The study found that the reason why Latinos for the most part do not pay nor use the health care system is largely because the Latino population is mostly young (meaning quite healthy), low income, and have trouble accessing health care. The study also found that as Latinos get older they begin to seek use of the health care system more but not much more than non-Hispanic whites. This study shows one important point—that Latinos overall are not a burden on America’s health care system. The study was done on both foreign-born Latinos as well as native-born Latinos, and there is no real difference on this point.
Even when Latinos seek help and can access it, they generally do pay for services rendered and thus are not taking away health care services, as has been implied by many anti-immigrant advocates, from Americans. While they for the most part do not pay into the system (because many of them have no health insurance), they do not for the most part use up local or state funding for what health care they might need. And even when they are older Latinos still do not over-burden the medical system because they are paying taxes into it. Many anti-immigrant and right-wing extremists claim that Latinos are a burden to the American taxpayer.
The study shows that this is not true for health care. But then the health care system is already so messed up, is too expensive for most Americans, and does not provide the care that it should that one cannot blame Latinos for this. Sadly, the health care system does not help people even born and raised in this country, so it comes as no surprise that it is not helping the foreign-born much either.
Latinos: Not a Burden to Health Care
By: Daniel Nardini
The study found that the reason why Latinos for the most part do not pay nor use the health care system is largely because the Latino population is mostly young (meaning quite healthy), low income, and have trouble accessing health care. The study also found that as Latinos get older they begin to seek use of the health care system more but not much more than non-Hispanic whites. This study shows one important point—that Latinos overall are not a burden on America’s health care system. The study was done on both foreign-born Latinos as well as native-born Latinos, and there is no real difference on this point.
Even when Latinos seek help and can access it, they generally do pay for services rendered and thus are not taking away health care services, as has been implied by many anti-immigrant advocates, from Americans. While they for the most part do not pay into the system (because many of them have no health insurance), they do not for the most part use up local or state funding for what health care they might need. And even when they are older Latinos still do not over-burden the medical system because they are paying taxes into it. Many anti-immigrant and right-wing extremists claim that Latinos are a burden to the American taxpayer.
The study shows that this is not true for health care. But then the health care system is already so messed up, is too expensive for most Americans, and does not provide the care that it should that one cannot blame Latinos for this. Sadly, the health care system does not help people even born and raised in this country, so it comes as no surprise that it is not helping the foreign-born much either.