Health care expenditures of immigrants in the United States: a nationally representative analysis.
OBJECTIVE
We compared the health care expenditures of immigrants residing in the United States with health care expenditures of US-born persons.


METHODS
We used the 1998 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey linked to the 1996-1997 National Health Interview Survey to analyze data on 18398 US-born persons and 2843 immigrants. Using a 2-part regression model, we estimated total health care expenditures, as well as expenditures for emergency department (ED) visits, office-based visits, hospital-based outpatient visits, inpatient visits, and prescription drugs.


RESULTS
Immigrants accounted for $39.5 billion (SE=$4 billion) in health care expenditures. After multivariate adjustment, per capita total health care expenditures of immigrants were 55% lower than those of US-born persons ($1139 vs $2546). Similarly, expenditures for uninsured and publicly insured immigrants were approximately half those of their US-born counterparts. Immigrant children had 74% lower per capita health care expenditures than US-born children. However, ED expenditures were more than 3 times higher for immigrant children than for US-born children.


CONCLUSIONS
Health care expenditures are substantially lower for immigrants than for US-born persons. Our study refutes the assumption that immigrants represent a disproportionate financial burden on the US health care system.
Mohanty
Sarita A
SA
Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric and General Internal Medicine, University of Southern California, 2020 Zonal Ave, IRD 627, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. samohant@usc.edu
Woolhandler
Steffie
S
Himmelstein
David U
DU
Pati
Susmita
S
Carrasquillo
Olveen
O
Bor
David H
DH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States