Andrew,
As you pointed out the lower rungs of the American socioeconomic ladder are populated
by a great many Hispanic immigrants. This represents a challenge for our healthcare system as
Hispanic immigrants represent vulnerable population due to a myriad of health conditions.
These Hispanic immigrants often work in dangerous occupations as you pointed out and they are
targeted by discrimination. These same immigrants also face significant mental and physical
health risks (Wassink, 2018). Research has shown us that there is a large database of information
regarding the health challenges that are faced by Hispanic immigrants in the United States.
International migrants, especially those without proper authorization, exist in a liminal space,
and are often excluded from formal institutions such as health insurance while they are working
here in the United States (Wassink, 2018). Without access to such formal institutions as health
insurance, Hispanic immigrants do not seek the medical care that is needed, and higher co-
morbidity and mortality rates are seen in the United States. Wassink (2018) suggests that
migration could reduce health coverage due to absence during key enrollment periods or a lapse
in coverage due to migration.
Hispanic immigrants represent a disproportionate number of those employed in the
informal employment sector. Because of this, the jobs they work lack then the benefits and
employment protections that are commonly seen in the formal sector of employment seen in the
United States. In addition to these dangerous, informal jobs that don’t have the various
employment protections, Hispanic households stay at the bottom of the social ladder due to
their limited formal education, low household incomes and the inability to effectively
communicate with medical care providers that many Hispanic immigrants suffer from (Luque et
al., 2018). Lastly, the inability of some Hispanic patients to provide proof of citizenship or legal
residence combined with a lack of health insurance places them in a structurally vulnerable
situation where they face the possibility of being denied health care or receiving substandard
care.
References
Luque, J. S., Soulen, G., Davila, C. B., & Cartmell, K. (2018). Access to health care for
uninsured Latina immigrants in South Carolina. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3138-2
Wassink, J. (2018). Uninsured migrants: Health insurance coverage and access to care among
Mexican return migrants. Demographic Research, 38, 401–428.
https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2018.38.17
