Unauthorized and Uninsured: Building Healthy Communities in California
By Enrico A. Marcelli and Manuel Pastor
San Diego State University and the University of Southern California
February 11, 2015
The USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration and San Diego State University present 15 new fact sheets titled “Unauthorized and Uninsured,” which measure current levels of health insurance coverage for undocumented immigrants in a range of California communities.
Despite expanded access to medical insurance through the Affordable Care Act, about one million undocumented Californians remain excluded from state insurance exchanges like Covered California (according to pre-Executive Action estimates). The 15 fact sheets offer a detailed and representative portrait of insurance coverage as well as the economic and social conditions affecting unauthorized and authorized immigrants compared to their US-born counterparts.
In addition to information about all Californians, the fact sheets also focus on the 14 sites in The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities (BHC) initiative and a their corresponding counties. These sites are in urban, suburban, and rural areas, and often represent some of the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the state.
This research features updated estimates on the number of undocumented residents in these areas, their current levels and types of health insurance, and other characteristics such as: ages, gender, poverty levels, countries of origin, labor participation, and key industries and occupations.
