Medicaid use by documented and undocumented farm workers

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Immigration Studies

Background:

• Debate exists regarding Medicaid utilization by undocumented immigrants.
• Limited research quantifies this use or compares it between documented and undocumented households.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess Medicaid usage differences between undocumented and documented immigrant households.
• To identify factors influencing Medicaid access for these populations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of National Agricultural Workers Survey data (1993-2009, N=41,342).
• Utilized logistic regression to predict Medicaid participation over 2-year intervals.
• Examined unadjusted and adjusted (child presence) odds ratios.

Main Results:

• Undocumented farm worker households had lower Medicaid use (12.2%) compared to documented households (22.6%).
• Unadjusted odds ratio for Medicaid use was 0.48 (95% CI, 0.33-0.69).
• Presence of children increased the odds ratio to 0.86 (95% CI, 0.73-1.02), indicating higher responsiveness.

Conclusions:

• Undocumented farm worker households are significantly less likely to use Medicaid than documented households.
• Medicaid access for undocumented households is particularly influenced by the presence of children.
• Findings underscore disparities in healthcare access for immigrant populations.