Inclusive State Immigrant Policies and Health Insurance Among Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and White Noncitizens in the United States (Ethnicity & Health)
Policy-making related to immigrant populations is increasingly conducted at the state-level. State policy contexts may influence health insurance coverage by determining noncitizens’ access to social and economic resources and shaping social environments. The study authors investigate the relationship between level of inclusion of state immigrant policies and health insurance coverage and its variation by citizenship and race/ethnicity. They used a scan of 10 policies enacted prior to 2014 and data for adults ages 18–64 from the 2014 American Community Survey and a fixed-effects logistic regression model to test the association between having health insurance and the interaction of level of inclusiveness, citizenship, and race/ethnicity, controlling for state- and individual-level characteristics.
The study reports that Latino noncitizens experienced higher rates of being insured in states with higher levels of inclusion, while Asian/Pacific Islander noncitizens experienced lower levels. The level of inclusion was not associated with differences in insurance coverage among noncitizen Whites and Blacks.Publication Authors:
- Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young, PhD, MPH
- Steven P. Wallace, PhD
- et al