Breast cancer runs in Blanca Villagomez’s family. It struck both her great-grandmother and grandmother, but her mother, who is undocumented and uninsured, has never been screened or even consulted a doctor about the possibility of developing it herself.
“If we have health care costs to think about, that means big investments for us, paychecks lost, sacrifices for everyone in the family,” said Villagomez, a third-year sociology student.
According to a new UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education report released Tuesday, an estimated 1 million undocumented Californians are uninsured. The report recommends immigration reform that would provide a pathway to citizenship and consequently greater access to publicly funded health services like Medicaid.
The report also suggests expanding health care coverage to all Californians, echoing the recently introduced California Senate Bill 1005, which would expand Medi-Cal to include income-eligible Californians regardless of immigration status and create a new health exchange program for undocumented Californians.
Mayra Jaimes, a co-author of the report and project and research coordinator at the UCLA Labor Center, said undocumented immigrant youth are likely to deal with personal trauma due to their status, which could have significant impacts on their health.
“You’re constantly anxious about being incarcerated or deported, all the stigma around not having papers, not being able to go afford tuition,” Jaimes said. “It takes a huge toll on your physical and mental health.”
Mental health is an unacknowledged challenge faced by many undocumented individuals as a result of their immigration status, said Alma Leyva, a co-author of the report and a project and research coordinator at the UCLA Labor Center.
“People acknowledge their trauma, but they don’t see it as part of understanding their mental well-being,” Leyva said.
Students in the Labor Center’s Dream Summer program conducted 550 surveys with undocumented individuals between the ages of 18 and 32 in California for the report. Dream Summer matches undocumented students with advocacy internships.
“We’ve employed the narratives of immigrant youth to help start a conversation about health care for immigrant communities,” Leyva said.
Being undocumented serves as a huge barrier to health insurance, especially because undocumented immigrants tend to come from low-income backgrounds, Leyva said.
According to the report, 71 percent of those surveyed said they have an existing need for a doctor, but 53 percent of the same group reported that they have not seen a doctor in more than a year.
Undocumented immigrants who are uninsured frequently resort to “Band-Aid options,” or basic health services that provide a quick, temporary remedy but usually fail to address long-term health needs, according to the report.
“Not having access to health care has become normative for us, but that’s something we should challenge,” said Arlette Lozano, a fourth-year anthropology and global studies student who is undocumented. “Why are we okay with not having health care, of ignoring our health concerns because we have to?”
Lozano did not have health insurance prior to qualifying for UC SHIP, the University of California’s health insurance plan for enrolled students, as a transfer student in fall 2012. She said becoming insured has been a strange experience of its own.
“I’ve been uninsured forever, and I forget to go to the doctor,” Lozano said. “I’ve gotten used to putting (health care) off, and it’s a built-in mentality.”
For Villagomez, health insurance is something she said she never wants to take for granted.
Villagomez is the eldest of six children in a mixed-status family. Although her siblings are American citizens, she and her parents are still without papers, a reality that she says has tremendously impacted how she understands health care.
After entering UCLA in fall 2011, Villagomez left school for a year following her first quarter because she couldn’t pay her fees. Her immigration status disqualified her from receiving state or federal aid, and leaving UCLA meant losing access to UC SHIP.
“You get used to all the uncertainty – I don’t know what’s going to happen after I graduate,” Villagomez said. “Will I have health insurance? Maybe, maybe not.”
As in Lozano’s case, Villagomez said she didn’t always use health resources, even when they were available to her. But she’s made changes since coming back to school and getting back on UC SHIP. She has regular check-ins with her primary care provider and sees a therapist at UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services for depression and anxiety.
“I plan on taking full advantage of my insurance while I have it – I deserve that,” Lozano said.