The impact of international migration on our public health is often overlooked. These populations are of greatest consequence because they are living among us and often are using U.S. health care services.
Immigrants are often uninsured and underinsured.
Forty-three percent of noncitizens under 65 have no health insurance. Earlier attempts by Immigration and Naturalization Service officers to require that new immigrants have health insurance were quashed by the INS administration. The cost of the medical care of these uninsured immigrants is passed onto the taxpayer, and strains the financial stability of the health care community. Another problem is use of hospital and other emergency services rather than preventative or normal medical attention. For example, the 29 percent of the illegal alien population is estimated to use public hospitals and clinics in a given year, compared to 11 percent use by the general U.S. population.