Health Insurance Coverage among Immigrants in Los Angeles

Julia C. Prentice, University of California, Los Angeles

Cross-sectional studies have reported large disparities in health insurance coverage between immigrants and the native born. Yet, immigration status has not been considered in longitudinal studies that examine the length of time people spend in an uninsured or insured state. This paper examines health insurance transitions among different immigration groups using data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS). L.A.FANS collected an event history calendar for the two-year period preceding the interview that includes all changes in health insurance coverage. Binary logistic regression was used to predict the probability of gaining or losing health insurance while controlling for other individual characteristics. These analyses found undocumented immigrants have 71% lower odds and non-citizens have 53% lower odds of exiting an uninsured spell compared to the native-born. Undocumented immigrants were two times more likely to lose their health insurance compared to the native born. Policy implications will be discussed.