A common myth about undocumented immigrants in the United States is that they place an undue burden on the nation’s health care system and particularly the safety net. In 2016, the Center was host to Paul Dourgnon, the research director at the Paris-based French Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics, and a 2016-17 French Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice. Using data from the California Health Interview Survey, as well as county stakeholder interviews, Dourgnon assessed how well immigrants are served by California’s safety net and what the health outcomes are for immigrants who are able to access services. On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, Paul returned from Paris to, among other things, talk to us about the results of this research, which could not be more timely in light of current political debates.
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