Health

Health Care Utilization Paper

Annetra Bowman

HCS/310

March 28 2012

Professor Nita Magee Cornelius

Imagine an immigrant who resides in New York City where access to health care is a challenge because of low income status or language barriers. Recent studies reveal that the average immigrant who resides in the New York City is less likely to have primary care providers than those who born as Americans. New York city represent one of largest population of immigrants who born outside of the United States and that includes immigrants such as, neutralized citizens and legalized nonimmigrant who are known as diplomats and foreign students The focus of this paper is to describe health care utilization within the immigrant population and also provide information on what health care was like when I was young and as an adult.

Health Care Utilization within the Immigrant Population

Providing Health care services for immigrants who resides in New York City is becoming a challenge for the state. Language barriers are one main issue that prevents immigrants from receiving health care services even for those who have health care coverage. According to New York City Department of Health (2006) immigrants which is under the age of 65 is less likely to have regular primary care providers than the United States born Americans , and immigrants who speak Spanish are less likely to have regular primary doctors than those who speak English

(Para. 1 ). Although language barriers is the reason for immigrants not receiving health care service, low incomes status also plays an important part of this issue.

I began to examine this problem with immigrants who resides in New York City from a friend perspective who is a Spanish descendant. My friend began to tell me her life story and how growing up in the inner city of New York was not easy and obtaining health care services was a problem within her family. My friend’s...