Labor and Population Program. Do Immigrant Children Use Medicaid Differently
Abstract
The foreign-born percentage of the U.S. population has increased dramatically over time, rising from nearly 5 percent in 1970 to almost 8 percent in 1990. As the number of immigrants continues to increase, there are growing concerns about the cost of providing social services for them. Nowhere is this concern more acute than for Medicaid. Designed as a system of public health insurance for poor women and children, Medicaid is one of the most costly social programs available to families of immigrants, with the government spending about $5.5 billion on payments to them in 1990. Moreover, Congress expanded eligibility beginning in 1984, ultimately requiring states to extend Medicaid coverage to other groups of children. By 1992, states were required to cover children below age 6 in families with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line and children between ages 6 and 19 with family incomes up to 100 percent of the poverty line. States also could cover infants up to 185 percent of the poverty line. The end result is that the percentage of children eligible for Medicaid coverage has doubled, rising from around 16 percent in 1984 to about 32 percent in 1992.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA375663
Entities
Organizations
- RAND Corporation