U.S. Health System To Be Further Strained As Undocumented, Uninsured Immigrants Age
Few undocumented residents are able to obtain help for chronic aging issues before their problems become bad enough to send them to the ER, where they are guaranteed emergency care. The financial burden of treating an aging, uninsured population in the coming years will put stress on a system that is already struggling with high costs.
Stateline:
Aging, Undocumented And Uninsured Immigrants Challenge Cities And States
For decades, the United States has struggled to deal with the health care needs of its undocumented immigrants — now an estimated 11 million — mainly through emergency room care and community health centers. But in the coming years, that struggle will evolve. As with the rest of America, the population of people living here illegally is aging and beginning to develop the same health problems that plague senior citizens generally and are a lot more expensive to treat: chronic diseases, cognitive disorders and physical injuries. Many undocumented adults lack health insurance, and even though they’re guaranteed emergency care for acute problems such as heart attacks, senior citizens without documentation don’t have access to care for chronic issues such as kidney disease and high blood pressure. (Wiltz, 1/3)
