Every day, the U.S. healthcare system — public and private — largely excludes undocumented immigrants, depriving millions of access to critical healthcare services. Exclusion from federal healthcare programs leaves undocumented immigrant families vulnerable to widespread illnesses and threatens to make normally treatable conditions chronic. This further engulfs many in deeper cycles of poverty and further marginalizes minority communities. With undocumented immigrant influx into the U.S. on the rise, the plight of undocumented immigrant communities only grows greater, emphasizing the urgent crisis at hand.

According to the Center for Migration Studies and the National Library of Medicine, the United States of America holds 11.7 million undocumented immigrants as of July 2023. Of these immigrants, up to 60 percent are not insured compared to only 10% of documented citizens. 

Tragically, these vast differences in healthcare access contribute to the continuous disregard for the diminishment of [the lack of healthcare of] undocumented communities in the United States. Despite a growing immigrant population, federal healthcare continues to expand through technological innovation and the establishment of new branches and programs without participation from undocumented communities, resulting in prolonged neglect by the government.

As a result, with limited access to healthcare, many crucial services — such as preventive care, immediate medical treatment, and financial protection — are denied to undocumented immigrants, leading to the exacerbation of detrimental health conditions. 

For example, the establishment of the Affordable Care Act expanded the reach of health insurance coverage to a larger U.S. population while still denying participation from undocumented immigrants. The continuous expulsion of undocumented immigrants from government healthcare programs only reinforces the barrier between marginalized communities and comfortable lives.

According to a 2002 study published in the National Library of Medicine, “Care Without Coverage: Too Litle, Too Late”, “There is a consistent, positive relationship between health insurance coverage and health-related outcomes across a body of studies that use a variety of data sources and different analytic approaches.”

The positive results of medical care benefits offered to health-insured citizens continuously undermine the minority of the undocumented population, as they remain in the search for sustainable lives. The common issues resolved by healthcare persist in the undocumented immigrant communities, eroding a significant minority of the American population. Along with core health benefits, federal healthcare services offer significant financial protection, ensuring insured individuals an efficient recovery without financial instability. 

Without the benefit of financial support, undocumented immigrants often face the burden of paying expensive medical fees directly out of pocket, leading many to avoid necessary medical care to evade financial hardship. 

As a result, many undocumented immigrants are left in detrimental health conditions that affect not only themselves but also the many around them.

According to PubMed Central, “The third barrier is a lack of financial resources to pay for emergency hospital fees or doctors visits. In all such cases, delayed care has been noted to result in shortcomings in treatment, poor follow-up, increased morbidity, and poor mental health among non-status individuals.”

Exclusion from federal healthcare deprives individuals of essential medical services, aggravating career security and consistent financial income struggles. A critical cause for this issue was emphasized by the establishment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which prohibited undocumented immigrants from accessing federal assistance programs such as welfare and supplemental security income.

Without financial or medical support offered by federal healthcare, undocumented immigrants not only endure lasting health-related hardships but also various other issues stemming from this lack of support. The absence of support leaves many deeply affected by simple preventable health issues that attack different aspects of life by leading to chronic conditions that hinder the ability to secure employment for financial stability. Additionally, continuous illness prevents children from being reliably present in school, imposing on their access to education.

While undocumented immigrants face such issues in the United States, other nations have taken a different initiative in establishing a more inclusive healthcare program. Countries such as Spain offer nationwide healthcare without restriction, and overall health outcomes are seen to be more positive than those in the U.S., according to the World Health Organization, Spain’s healthy life expectancy is about seven years higher than that of the United States. The inclusivity of federal healthcare in foreign nations helps preserve the population and the identity built upon them.

While the exclusion of undocumented immigrants poses a prominent issue in this country, recent efforts have confronted this persistent inequity.

“States have filled some of the gaps by using state dollars to extend Medicaid benefits to specific populations (such as children) without a legally recognized immigration status, or by providing a narrower set of benefits to such groups,” according to The Commonwealth Fund.

Furthermore, some state-funded healthcare programs have been made completely accessible to undocumented immigrants. For example, as of 2019, California’s MediCal program was the first to be made available to all undocumented immigrants in need of federal health insurance.

Gov. Newsom’s office told ABC News in 2023, “In California, we believe everyone deserves access to quality, affordable health care coverage – regardless of income or immigration status.”

Through efforts of expanding federal and state-funded healthcare programs, living conditions have been improved, enhancing greater sustainability and promoting reformist action toward a more inclusive environment.

In addition to state efforts, community-driven initiatives have engaged in the reform movement. Organizations such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union, fight for increased liberties for undocumented immigrants by exposing the vulnerability of the marginalized and taking an active stance against the oppressions of the federal government. These organizations partner and collectively work to expand inclusivity for the victimized.

The ongoing exclusion of undocumented immigrants from federal healthcare programs accentuates the inequity that bounds the U.S. healthcare system to the prolonged diminishment of our most marginalized communities. On the other hand, major efforts which have recently taken the initiative in the issue of denying critical healthcare services, offer undocumented immigrant communities a beacon of hope.

Progressive actions by the public and federal state governments continue to encourage a future of inclusivity and nationwide well-being. The cry for increased equity can be amplified with further help of public action including local community efforts such as food drives and public clinical services as well as participating in advocacy group movements, including policy reform campaigns.

As the country grapples with its identity as a nation held together by immigrants, confronting the issues of exclusivity no longer poses as an issue of policy, but a moral obligation. Through persistent embracement of equity in healthcare, a system defined by compassion and justice can be forged, guaranteeing the future nation as a home to everyone.