26
Over sixout of ten recently-arrivedMexican
andCentral American immigrants donot
havehealth insurance
The proportion of the populationwithout health insu-
rance isgreatestamong recentarrivals fromall regions,
showing that lengthof residence in the receiving socie-
ty isa favorable factor for thesocial integrationproces-
ses of immigrant populations. Long-term immigrants
tend tohaveemploymentwithhigher salariesandbe-
tterworkbenefits, suchas health insurance, dueboth
to their acquisition of skills and competencies and to
their improved knowledge of the labor market and
social systems. However, Mexican and Central Ame-
rican levels of vulnerability are still much higher than
that ofmigrants from other regions, both among the
recentlyarrivedand thosewith longstays (Figure13).
Recent arrivals from Central America have
the highest percentage of population without health
insurance coverage (64%), followed by Mexicans
(61%) and, to a lesser extent, people from other
TheproportionofMexicanswithout health
insurance in theUnitedStates is greater
than that of other groups
Although Mexicans represented almost 4% of the
US population in 2013, they account for 13% of
the population without health insurance. Mexicans
clearly constitute the most excluded group, in com-
parisonwith immigrants from other regions, US-born
whites and African Americans. In 2013, just over
half (52%) of Mexicans were uninsured, three times
higher than the proportion for African Americans
(17%), four timeshigher than thatofnon-HispanicUS-
born whites (12%) and two and a half times higher
than that of the remaining immigrants (20%). Central
Americans report a slightly lower percentage than
Mexicans (49%) (Figure12).
These figures reveal inequality in access to
health care in theUnited States based on race, ethnicity
and region of origin, a situation that has remained vir-
tually the samebetween2004and2013.
migration & health •
mexican immigrants in the us: a 10 year perspective
Source: Migration Policy Bureau, SEGOB, based on U.S. Census Bureau,
Current Population Survey
(CPS), for March
2004 to2013. IntegratedPublicUseMicrodataSeries (IPUMS)USA,Minneapolis: UniversityofMinnesota.
Figure11.Mexicanpopulation living in theUnitedStateswithout health insurance,
2004-2013
