Citizenship, policy barriers limit access to health care for some California Latino, Asian immigrants

Two new studies by the  UCLA Center for Health Policy Research explore the link between citizenship status and access to health care among Latino and Asian immigrants in California. The studies are part of the center’s Research on Immigrant Health and State Policy Study, or RIGHTS, which analyzed the experiences of Latino and Asian immigrants in the state from 2018 to 2020.In the  first study, researchers compared job opportunities and workplace conditions for immigrants based on whether they had ever had undocumented status.Among immigrants who had ever been undocumented, 49.5% said they had been unable to apply for a job because of their status, compared to 21.6% of immigrants who had never been undocumented. In addition, immigrants who had ever been undocumented had significantly higher rates of:Settling for a job that paid less than what they deserved (47.3% compared with 29.3% for those who were never undocumented).Being injured at work (36.7% versus 22.1%).Not getting paid for hours worked (28.1% versus 14.2%).Being asked to perform dangerous job duties (22.1% versus 8.1%).“Immigration status is an important factor not only in whether an individual gets hired and gains health insurance, but in terms of how they are treated at work and how that can harm their health,” said May Sudhinaraset, a faculty associate at the center and lead author of the study. “Our research showed that many undocumented immigrants felt pressured to keep working while sick so they...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news