The American College of Physicians has released a policy paper calling for national healthcare policy for immigrants, acknowledging the barriers they face to healthcare access, according to an ACP news release.
In the paper, titled National Immigration Policy and Access to Health Care, the ACP calls for a policy including the following points:
• A national policy. Individual state laws result in a patchwork system that is not adequate to address this complex problem.
• Taxpayers should not be required to subsidize health insurance coverage for persons who are not legal residents of the United States and people should not be prevented from paying out-of-pocket for health insurance based on immigration status.
• The same access to health coverage and government-subsidized healthcare for U.S.-born children of parents who lack legal residency as any other U.S. citizen.
• Acknowledgement of the public health risks associated with undocumented persons not receiving medical care because of concerns about criminal or civil prosecution or deportation. Immigration policy should include increased access to comprehensive primary and preventive care, and vaccinations and screening for prevalent infectious diseases. This will make better use of public health dollars by improving the health status of this population and alleviating the need for costly emergency care.
• Federal government support for safety-net healthcare facilities and offsets for costs of uncompensated care provided by these facilities.
• Acknowledgement that physicians and other healthcare professionals have an ethical and professional obligation to care for the sick. Immigration policy should not interfere with the ethical obligation to provide care for all.
• Policies that do not foster discrimination against a class or category of patients in the provision of healthcare.
Read the ACP release on a national healthcare policy for immigrants.
Read more about immigrants and healthcare:
- Utah House Okays Funds for Treating Undocumented Immigrants
- Bill Would Require Georgia Hospitals to Report Costs Associated With Treating Illegal Immigrants
- Physicians Say Arizona Bill Would Deter Immigrants From Seeking Care
In the paper, titled National Immigration Policy and Access to Health Care, the ACP calls for a policy including the following points:
• A national policy. Individual state laws result in a patchwork system that is not adequate to address this complex problem.
• Taxpayers should not be required to subsidize health insurance coverage for persons who are not legal residents of the United States and people should not be prevented from paying out-of-pocket for health insurance based on immigration status.
• The same access to health coverage and government-subsidized healthcare for U.S.-born children of parents who lack legal residency as any other U.S. citizen.
• Acknowledgement of the public health risks associated with undocumented persons not receiving medical care because of concerns about criminal or civil prosecution or deportation. Immigration policy should include increased access to comprehensive primary and preventive care, and vaccinations and screening for prevalent infectious diseases. This will make better use of public health dollars by improving the health status of this population and alleviating the need for costly emergency care.
• Federal government support for safety-net healthcare facilities and offsets for costs of uncompensated care provided by these facilities.
• Acknowledgement that physicians and other healthcare professionals have an ethical and professional obligation to care for the sick. Immigration policy should not interfere with the ethical obligation to provide care for all.
• Policies that do not foster discrimination against a class or category of patients in the provision of healthcare.
Read the ACP release on a national healthcare policy for immigrants.
Read more about immigrants and healthcare:
- Utah House Okays Funds for Treating Undocumented Immigrants
- Bill Would Require Georgia Hospitals to Report Costs Associated With Treating Illegal Immigrants
- Physicians Say Arizona Bill Would Deter Immigrants From Seeking Care