Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Findings

Why Study Immigration's Impact on the Size of the Uninsured Population?

Impact on the Uninsured Already Here

Effect on Taxpayers

Higher Premiums and Costs for Those with Insurance

Increasing the Risk for the Spread of Communicable Diseases

Implications for Immigrant and Immigration Policy

Methods and Data

Definitions and Data

Methods

Policy Implications

Changing Immigration Policy

Changing Legal Immigration

Reducing Illegal Immigration

Increasing Insurance Coverage Among Immigrants Already in the Country

Conclusion

Why Has the Problem Been Ignored?

A Problem that Cannot Be Ignored

Main Report

Introduction

Trends in Health Insurance

Recent Trends in Immigration

Purpose of Research

What Does it Mean to Be Uninsured?

Why Study Immigration's Impact on the Size of the Uninsured Population?

Impact on the Uninsured Already Here

Effect on Taxpayers

Higher Premiums and Costs for Those with Insurance

Increasing the Risk for the Spread of Communicable Diseases

Implications for Immigrant and Immigration Policy

Methods and Data

Definitions and Data Sources

Composition of Immigrant Households

Findings

High Percentage of Persons in Immigrant Households Lack Insurance

Immigrant Households Account for a Large Share of Uninsured Population

Welfare Reform Is not to Blame

Recent Immigration Accounts for Much of Growth in the Uninsured Population

Lack of Insurance Remains a Problem Even After Many Years in the Country

Majority in Immigrant Households Without Insurance Are Legal Residents

Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Insurance Coverage by Educational Attainment

Insurance Coverage by Age

Insurance Coverage by Country and Region of Birth

What Accounts for the Large Differences Between Immigrant Groups?

Insurance Coverage for Refugees and Asylees

Insurance Coverage by Race

Income, Poverty Status, Workforce Status and Employer Size

Insurance Coverage by Income

Insurance Coverage by Poverty Status

Insurance Coverage by Workforce Status

Insurance Coverage by Employer Size and Education

Geographic Area

Insurance Coverage by State

Insurance Coverage by Metropolitan Area

Policy Implications

Changing Immigration Policy

Changing Legal Immigration

Reducing Illegal Immigration

Increasing Insurance Coverage Among Immigrants Already in the Country

Conclusion

Why Has the Problem Been Ignored?

A Problem that Cannot Be Ignored

End Notes

References

About the Authors

Steven A. Camarota is Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. He holds a master's degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the University of Virginia. Dr. Camarota has testified before Congress and has published widely on the political and economic effects of immigration on the United States. His articles on the impact of immigration have appeared in both academic publications and the popular press including Social Science Quarterly, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Campaigns and Elections, and National Review. His most recent works published by the Center for Immigration Studies are: Reconsidering Immigrant Entrepreneurship: An Examination of Self-Employment Among Natives and the Foreign-born, and Importing Poverty: Immigration™s Impact on the Size and Growth of the Poor Population in the United States.

James R. Edwards, Jr., Ph.D., is an adjunct fellow of the Hudson Institute. Co-author of The Congressional Politics of Immigration Reform (Allyn & Bacon, 1999), Edwards served five years as a congressional staffer, including as legislative director to a member of the House immigration subcommittee. Edwards presently works as an executive with a leading health care association. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Investor's Business Daily, the American Outlook, and other publications.

About the Center

The Center for Immigration Studies, founded in 1985, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization in Washington, D.C. which examines and critiques the impact of immigration on the United States. It provides a variety of services for policymakers, journalists, and academics, including an e-mail news service, a monthly Backgrounder series and other publications, congressional testimony, and public briefings.

Dedication

In memory of Amy Patrick Edwards, beloved wife, devoted mother, caring nurse, and patriotic American.

This document is available in pdf format.

July 2000
ISBN 1-881290-03-4
Center for Immigration Studies
1522 K Street, N.W., Suite 820
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Phone (202) 466-8185
FAX (202) 466-8076
center@cis.org
www.cis.org