Uninsured Migrant Farm Workers and Their Impact on the Health Care Industry

As the recession deepens and the amount of persons who become uninsured there is a crisis within the health care system. One particular population with a large number of uninsured people is Mexican Americans. For this study the following criteria must be met: The person(s) must be born outside of America, the patients must spend less than $2000 a year, meet Federal poverty guidelines and must be uninsured. “For Mexican American immigrants, living in an area populated by relatively more Spanish speakers or more Hispanic immigrants is associated with better access to care. The associations are generally stronger for more recent immigrants compared with those who are better established. Among U.S.-born Mexican Americans who are uninsured, living in areas more heavily populated with Spanish-speaking immigrants is negatively associated with access to care” (Carole Roan Grenenz, Jeanette Rogowski, and Jose Escarce, 2009). Mexican-born Americans whether insured or not are more likely to seek medical help than those who are new to the United States. Reasons for this are simple. Language barriers, unfamiliararity with the system and lack of funds to see a doctor are some examples. “As with the insured, the uninsured who are more recent immigrants have more limited access to care compared with U.S.-born Mexican Americans. Among the uninsured, living in areas populated by relatively more Spanish

speakers or Hispanic immigrants has a deleterious effect on access to care among U.S.-born Mexican Americans. More specifically, we find that for the U.S. born, living in an area with a relatively greater population of Spanish speakers or Hispanic immigrants has a negative effect on the probability of having an office visit, and the percentage of the population that is Hispanic immigrant is also negatively associated with having any medical expenditures” (Carole Roan Grenenz, Jeanette Rogowski, and Jose Escarce, 2009). Many of the Mexican American people mentioned above...