Identifying Health Insurance Predictors and the Main Reported Reasons for Being Uninsured Among U.S. Immigrants by Legal Authorization Status (The International Journal of Health Planning and Management)

The authors examine differences in health insurance predictors and investigate the main reported reasons for lacking health insurance coverage between short-stayed (10 years or less) and long-stayed (more than 10 years) U.S. immigrant adults (foreign-born adults ages 18-64 years) to parse the possible consequences of the Affordable Care Act among immigrants by length of stay and documentation status. Health insurance coverage predictors and the main reasons for being uninsured are compared across cohorts and by documentation status.

The analyses determine that legal status is a strong health insurance predictor, particularly among long-stayed undocumented immigrants. Immigration status is the main reported reason for lacking health insurance. Although long-stayed documented immigrants are likely to benefit from the Affordable Care Act implementation, undocumented immigrants and short-stayed documented immigrants may encounter difficulties getting health insurance coverage.

• Arturo Vargas Bustamante, PhD, MPP, MA
• et al