With intense immigration exercise on the U.S.-Mexico border this yr and a focus targeted on the plight of newly arriving migrants, a brand new KFF evaluation finds communities alongside the border confronted an array of socioeconomic challenges and weak well being infrastructures effectively earlier than this yr’s surge.
Texas – which has essentially the most counties alongside the border and is the one border state that has not expanded Medicaid below the Inexpensive Care Act – stands out as dealing with the best challenges with twice the uninsured price amongst each its border county (26%) and non-border county (20%) nonelderly residents in contrast with California, Arizona, and New Mexico.
A significant factor behind Texas’ greater uninsured charges is that 1 in 3 nonelderly adults in border counties lack medical insurance. Medicaid enlargement for adults might scale back the uninsured price among the many state’s nonelderly adults. Nevertheless, in contrast with non-border counties, the border counties within the state have greater shares of noncitizens who could also be ineligible for Medicaid.
Texas trails the three different border states in its provide of suppliers in all counties. California and Texas border counties lag different counties within the states of their provide of 4 kinds of well being care suppliers: major care, obstetrics and gynecology, dental, and emergency medication.
Texas trails the three different border states in its provide of suppliers in all counties. California and Texas border counties lag different counties within the states of their provide of 4 kinds of well being care suppliers: major care, obstetrics and gynecology, dental, and emergency medication.
Texas additionally stands in distinction to the three different border states within the clear variations between its border and non-border nation residents in different socioeconomic indicators, pointing to extra systemic points. Texas border county residents have decrease training ranges, family incomes, and full-time employment charges than the state’s non-border county residents.
Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas have 44 counties alongside the border with Mexico which can be dwelling to eight million folks. Individuals within the 4 border states usually usually tend to be Hispanic, noncitizen immigrants, poor, and uninsured than these in different components of the nation. Throughout all 4 states, the big majority (over 80%) of residents in each border and non-border counties are U.S. residents, with most being U.S.-born residents. Well being and Well being Care within the U.S.-Mexico Border Area reveals additional distinctions between and throughout the 4 border states. Higher understanding the traits and desires of residents in these areas could assist inform efforts to reply to the latest immigration surge.