Xenophobic Truth Proven False

For those who believed immigrants put a strain on our health care system, a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health indicates that it is only a myth perpetrated by xenophobes looking for an excuse to keep immigrants out of the country.

The following is an exerpt from a news article that appeared on Yahoo! News yesterday.

Immigrants do not overwhelm healthcare - study

Mon Jul 25, 5:17 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Immigrants are not swamping the U.S. health care system and use it far less than native-born Americans, according to a study released on Monday.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that immigrants accounted for 10.4 percent of the U.S. population but only 7.9 percent of total health spending and 8 percent of government health spending.

Health spending by the government, insurers and patients themselves averaged $1,139 per immigrant compared to $2,564 for non-immigrants. Thirty percent of immigrants used no health care at all in the course of the year.

Immigrant children spent or cost $270 that year, compared to $1,059 for native-born children.

"Our study lays to rest the myth that expensive care for immigrants is responsible for our nation's high health costs. The truth is, immigrants get far less care than other Americans," Dr. Sarita Mohanty, who led the study while she was at Harvard University and who is now at the University of Southern California, said in a statement.

Click here to read the entire article from Yahoo! News.