New study shows funding health care for immigrants helps the state

A new University of Illinois-Chicago study shows that government funded health insurance for immigrants in Illinois is paying for itself and then some.

The Healthy Illinois Campaign wants to see existing state health insurance programs for immigrant seniors and immigrant adults continued and even expanded. In a study they commissioned from UIC's Great Cities Institute says funding health care for immigrants, including the undocumented, helps the state.

Lead researcher Matthew Wilson explained why funding health care for immigrants was beneficial.

"The top line of benefits that we find is that it makes people more productive and it enhances their ability to work," he said.

Union organizer and healthcare activist Graciela Guzman says people with health coverage, get preventive care with fewer emergency room visits.

"We have a glaring disparity in terms of coverage. Folks that are undocumented, or subject to the five year waiting period, constitute almost 34.8% of our state's uninsured," she said.

Guzman says that needs to change.

For more on this discussion, listen the the At Issue program that will air on Sunday, April 28 at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

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