North Carolina has programs available to immigrant communities to help them access health care, but several barriers can prevent people from actually accessing these services.
That’s the finding from a recent study by the Urban Institute and UNC Chapel Hill.
The barriers include language differences, discrimination and confusing eligibility rules. It’s part of the reason about half of the non-citizen immigrants in North Carolina lack health insurance compared to just 10% of U.S.-born citizens.
On the next Charlotte Talks, we discuss the study's findings, what other states have similar issues, and what North Carolina can do to change.
GUESTS:
Hamutal Bernstein, Urban Institute senior fellow who led a statewide study of how well immigrant residents can access safety net programs
Drishti Pillai, director of immigrant health policy, racial equity & health policy at KFF
Kayla Young, a Report for America corps member covering issues involving race, equity and immigration for WFAE and La Noticia