Immigrant families with children appear to be avoiding seeking health care over concern about their immigration status, according to a new survey of pediatricians.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics, found that:
Forty percent of pediatricians reported that immigrant families with children are avoiding seeking care for their children because of concern about their immigration status.- Thirty-one percent said those same families were avoiding applying for any government programs, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- More than 20 percent said they served immigrant families that were avoiding sending their children to school.
As a result, pediatricians are seeing more advanced cases of certain illnesses among the children of immigrant families – a possible result of avoiding seeking care. Pediatricians also report that families are skipping preventive care visits and even forgoing surgeries.
The numbers are even higher, moreover, among urban pediatricians.
Pediatricians also fear that upcoming changes in public charge criteria governing immigration status could exacerbate this challenge.
This challenge may be even greater in areas served by community safety-net hospitals, which generally have more low-income and Medicaid- and CHIP-covered patients.
Learn more about the impact of current immigration policy on the willingness of immigrant families to seek health care for their children from the Stateline article “Doctors say children of immigrants are missing healthcare.”
