How do you tell a sick kid that nobody cares if he gets better? That's an exaggeration, of course, but it is the fundamental message our society sends when we tell him that, because he and his family are undocumented immigrants, we are unwilling to extend them access to affordable and reliable health insurance. One major shortcoming of the Affordable Care Act is its specific exclusion of the almost twelve million undocumented immigrants-including millions of children-in this country from access to the state and federal insurance exchanges where coverage can be purchased. It is true that providing undocumented immigrants access to the exchanges and subsidies mandated by the ACA would require additional funding. However, a recent analysis in California has found that the costs of expanding state-supported care to include undocumented immigrants would largely be offset by the increased state sales tax revenue paid by managed care organizations and by reduced spending at the county level on emergency-room and hospital care of the uninsured.
© 2014 by The Hastings Center.