Work in Progress: Immigrant Health Care from the Vantage of Cancer Testing and Screening

• Published in: Journal of immigrant and minority health Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 1 - 3
• Main Authors: Modell, Stephen M., Fleming, Paul J., Lopez, William D., Goltz, Heather Honore’
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Cancer; Comparative Law; Government programs; Health care; Health care expenditures; Health insurance; Health services utilization; Immigrants; Insurance; Insurance coverage; International & Foreign Law; Legislators; Letter to the Editor; Medicaid; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Noncitizens; Polls & surveys; Private International Law; Public Health; Sociology; Undocumented immigrants; Workflow; Immigrant; Colorectal cancer; Breast cancer; Genetic testing; Hispanic; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Cancer screening; African
• ISSN: 1557-1912; 1557-1920
• DOI: 10.1007/s10903-020-01129-9

This letter offers a perspective from cancer testing and screening on the improvements in immigrant insurance coverage and care charted in Bustamante et al.’s April 2019 article in JOIH on “Health Care Access and Utilization Among U.S. Immigrants Before and After the Affordable Care Act.” Supportive evidence for their data may be found in complementary literature drawing from both the National Health Interview Survey the authors use and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, while post-ACA surveys and state level information suggest disparities remain for lawfully present and undocumented immigrants ineligible for Medicaid and unable to secure insurance to pay medical costs. Existent options for cancer services are discussed. Further relevant reform depends on voter awareness and collaborative efforts between consumer advocates and legislators.