Posted on 10/14/2005 10:46:15 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Mexican immigrants rely heavily on health clinics but use emergency room services less often than most white Americans, a study released Thursday found. The joint study by the University of California and the National Population Council of Mexican Governments of Mexico bucks long-held perceptions that recent immigrants make more frequent emergency room visits.
"Mexican immigrants when they come here, they don't get here with the idea of using public services," said Fabian Nuez, speaker of the California assembly and a son of Mexican immigrants himself. "They come here to contribute something."
Still, even after living in the United States for generations, Mexicans tend to have lower rates of health insurance coverage than U.S.-born whites.
Where only 12 percent of U.S.-born whites were uninsured, 22.5 percent of Mexican-Americans lacked health insurance. For recent immigrants, that number is much higher - more than 67 percent were uninsured.
"This reveals gaps in worker based health insurance," said Steven Wallace, one of the study's authors and associate director of UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research. "Latinos are more likely to work for smaller companies and industries including construction or service where hours offered don't quality for health insurance."
This could become a problem during a public health crisis, researchers said. Without health insurance, sick persons put off visiting a doctor. If they contract a contagious illness such as avian influenza, it could put everyone at risk.
The 34-page-study - which looked at immigration patterns and health care access nationally - also found that 37 percent of recent Mexican immigrants depend on clinics rather than doctors. In comparison, 15 percent of U.S.-born whites rely on clinics.
While 10 percent of recent Mexican immigrants visited emergency rooms in 1999 and 2000, 20 percent of U.S.-born whites did.
Researchers based their report on 2004 U.S. and Mexican census data and a 2000 study from the Centers of Disease Control. The study considers recent immigrants living in the U.S. 10 years or less.
"Mexicans aren't using as much health insurance as they could be because they are not friendly linguistically," said Xochitl Castaneda, director of the California Mexico Health Initiative at the University of California. "Many of these clinics are also overwhelmed with people."
recent immigrants?
Recent immigrants as reported in Census data. That would seem to imply LEGAL immigrants wouldn't it?
University of California and the National Population Council of Mexican Governments of Mexico.
Look at the source: Mexico's government and, UC which, gets more money for foreign students then Americans.
This study is a joke and not true - all you have to do is visit an ER to know this study is a lie.
Illegal Immigrants shouldn't be using our ERs at all. Why does this article make it seem like they are doing us a favor by not visiting as much as whites? And why compare to whites specifically and not the general population?
they don't go to emergency rooms because they will be arrested there for the crime they just committed. That is a well know fact. have your buddy sew you up or explain to the cops why you have a bullet or knife or bottle wound...it is an easy choice. it would take them over a week to get back in the country if they got deported.
--Boris
before i get flamed, i can tell you this because my girl friend is a doctor and has done rotations in the ER's in Houston. They only come in for serious trama and only go to the state sponsored hospitals. They also refuse ambulance service because they know they will be charged for it since they don't have insurance.
I smell poopoo.
why do you say that?
If you read this version, you'll see that they're only counting adult "migrants".
I guess treating the kids doesn't cost anything.
BS. Liberal propaganda. Another study trying to excuse the "New World Order". Illegals cost us plenty in Medical..YES they use the Emergency room...Brought my sick mother to emergency..shes 80, with pneumonia..Emergency took PREGNANT MEXICAN WOMEN IN BEFORE MY TAX-PAYING, INSURANCE CARRYING MOTHER..they were there "first" for an "exam".
We the People had better WAKE UP and DEMAND that illegals be deported when found and disallowed entry.
We the People have been fooled. What RIGHT does our government have to change the constitution to suit its view of the NEW WORLD ORDER? What RIGHT do they have to MAKE US SUPPORT LAWBREAKERS?????? NONE NONE NONE.
We DO NOT HAVE TO SUPPORT ILLEGALS OR THE INVASION OF THIS COUNTRY.
This is true. Illegals are usually hard workers trying to support families back home. They are fearful of all authorities and try to keep a low profile. However, they will show up in the ER for very serious injuries--which are frequent since they often work in dangerous jobs with less training and safety equipment than are provided for legal workers. My observation is that often they don't request this training and equipment because they don't want to make waves, they have a certain sense of "machismo" and they are grateful for the work in any case.
This points out something that should be discussed much more, which is that illegal immigration sets up workers to be exploited here. Lefty's, at least, should show more sensitivity toward this issue. An orderly immigration system is needed from our government to prevent this.
This piece is pure propaganda filth and lies.
What you must understand is that this is propaganda. Its misinformation in order to confuse people. If this article were true, how do they explain all the hospital closing in areas that have a high number of illegal immigrants?
Do not believe all so called news stories that say the opposite of what everyone knows. This story is semantic gobbley gook.
Why is the government of Mexico studying American hospitals? I smell a huge raton; to mix metaphors shamelessly, the foxes have set out to study goings-on in the henhouse. OF COURSE they're going to find what they found. Meanwhile, here in reality, everyone is well aware that emergency room use is just one of the ways the rest of us are subsidizing cheap, parasitic, illegal labor.
Total BS
1 in 5 visiting the emergency room ?
I think not
How would the hospital know if a person was legal or illegal? It's not like they ask that question.
BS
Employers of illegals stint on benefits. Who could have predicted that?
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