The effect of parental immigration authorization on health insurance coverage for migrant Latino children.
OBJECTIVE
To examine if immigration authorization among parents is associated with health insurance coverage for migrant Latino children.


METHODS
A cross-sectional household survey of 300 migrant families for which one child, aged <13 years, was randomly selected.


RESULTS
Most children lacked insurance (73%) and had unauthorized parents (77%). Having an authorized parent or parental stay of more than 5 years in the US were each positively associated with children's health insurance coverage [OR: 4.9; 95% CI: (2.7-8.7) and [OR = 6.7; 95% CI: (3.8-12.0), respectively]. The effect of parental authorization did not persist in multivariable logistic regression analysis; however, more than 5 years of parental stay in the US remained associated with children's insurance coverage [OR = 4.8; 95% CI (1.8-12.2)], regardless of parental authorization.


CONCLUSIONS
Increased parental familiarity with US health and/or social services agencies, rather than parental authorization status, is important to obtaining health insurance for migrant children. Efforts to insure eligible migrant children should focus on recently arrived families.
Weathers
Andrea C
AC
Department of Maternal and Child Health, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445, USA. andrea_weathers@unc.ecu
Minkovitz
Cynthia S
CS
Diener-West
Marie
M
O'Campo
Patricia
P
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors