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Illegal immigrants' emergency room visits fewer than expected

Patient Access Weekly Advisor, Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2007

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Illegal immigrants from Latin American countries are 50% less likely than US-born Latinos to use hospital emergency rooms in California, according to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine on November 26th.

The study, led by Alexander N. Ortega, an associate professor at UCLA's School of Public Health, accounted for age, health status, insurance status, and poverty level.

The Los Angeles Times reports that 10 emergency rooms have closed in the last five years, due to losses from overcrowding and treating the uninsured. Illegal immigrants, who often have no insurance coverage, are commonly seen as the causes for these issues.

"The current policy discourse that undocumented immigrants are a burden on the public because they overuse public resources is not borne out with data, for either primary care or emergency department care," said Ortega, according to the Los Angeles Times. "In fact, they seem to be underutilizing the system, given their health needs."

To read the full story in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

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