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Immigrant Health

Key Facts

Rolling Back the BBB's Health Care Provisions Would Not Give Health Care to Undocumented Immigrants

In the ongoing government shutdown, Republicans claim that H.R.1, or the “Big Beautiful Bill”, will restrict health coverage for undocumented immigrants, and that a proposal from Democrats to reverse the cuts would expand coverage for those undocumented immigrants.

However, as KFF's Drishti Pillai explains in this Quick Take, the law's provisions related to limiting immigrant eligibility for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare, and subsidized Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace coverage only affect lawfully present immigrants. Undocumented immigrants already are ineligible for federally-funded coverage under longstanding federal policy.

Recent Trump Administration Policies that Impact Health Coverage and Care for Immigrant Families

Key Facts on Health Coverage of Immigrants

1.4M Lawfully Present Immigrants Will Lose Health Coverage Due to the 2025 Tax and Budget Law

Potential Impacts of 2025 Budget Reconciliation on Health Coverage for Immigrant Families

Immigration Enforcement and Health

Health Issues for Immigrants in Detention Centers

As of September 2025, the Trump administration held nearly 60,000 immigrants in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities. ICE is responsible for management of detention facilities, but it has a history of inadequate compliance with detention standards and insufficient health care.
Research shows that immigrants in detention experience widespread health risks. This issue brief summarizes recent trends in detention and the health care risks and challenges faced by people in such facilities.

Recent State Actions Impacting Immigrants’ Access to State-Funded Health Coverage

Policy Bars Many Immigrants from a Broad Range of Federal Health and Social Supports

Key Facts on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Potential Impacts of Mass Detention and Deportation Efforts on the Health and Well-Being of Immigrant Families

survey of immigrants

Health and Health Care Experiences of Immigrants: The 2023 KFF/LA Times Survey of Immigrants

A KFF-Los Angeles Times partnership survey of immigrant adults, released in September 2023, shows most feel they found a better life for their families in this country, but many also face economic hardships and discrimination.

This report, drawing upon the main survey findings, shows how these challenges extend to health care. Many immigrants have difficulty accessing and using health care in the U.S. due to higher uninsured rates, affordability challenges, linguistic and cultural barriers, and immigration-related fears. The survey also shows the difficulties immigrants face in obtaining health coverage and underscores the role of coverage in access to care.

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131 - 140 of 155 Results

  • A Final Look: California’s Previously Uninsured after the ACA’s Third Open Enrollment Period

    Report

    The Kaiser Family Foundation California Longitudinal Panel Survey is a series of surveys that, over time, tracked the experiences and views of a representative, randomly selected sample of Californians who were uninsured prior to the major coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The initial baseline survey was conducted with a representative sample of 2,001 nonelderly uninsured Californian adults in summer 2013, prior to the ACA’s initial open enrollment period. After each enrollment period concluded, a survey was conducted of the same group of previously uninsured Californians who participated in the baseline (a longitudinal panel survey). The fourth and final survey in the series, and the focus of this report, followed up with them after the third open enrollment period in spring 2016 to find out whether more have gained coverage, lost coverage, or remained uninsured, what barriers to coverage remain, how those who now have insurance view their coverage, and to assess the impacts that gaining health insurance may have had on financial security and access to care.

  • New Survey Finds 72% of Previously Uninsured Californians Now Have Coverage, Including 78% of Those Eligible for New Affordable Care Act Options

    News Release

    For Remaining Uninsured Residents, Cost and Immigration Status Are Main Obstacles Three years after the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansions were fully implemented in California, nearly three quarters (72%) of the state’s previously uninsured residents now have health coverage, finds the fourth Kaiser Family Foundation Longitudinal Panel Survey, which is tracking the experiences of a randomly…

  • Media Briefing to Release New Survey Tracking California’s Previously Uninsured Residents Under the Affordable Care Act

    Event Date:
    Event

    Media-only web briefing that released a new survey tracking the experiences of California's previously uninsured residents under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). New survey provides a detailed assessment of how well the ACA is working for previously uninsured residents in a state that embraced the ACA's coverage expansion opportunities by establishing the Covered California insurance marketplace and expanding its Medi-Cal program.

  • California’s Previously Uninsured After The ACA’s Second Open Enrollment Period

    Report

    The Kaiser Family Foundation California Longitudinal Panel Survey is a series of surveys that, over time, tracks the experiences and views of a representative, randomly selected sample of Californians who were uninsured prior to the major coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The initial baseline survey was conducted with a representative sample of 2,001 nonelderly uninsured Californian adults in summer 2013, prior to the ACA’s initial open enrollment period. The second survey in the series followed up with the same group of previously uninsured Californians who participated in the baseline (a longitudinal panel survey). The third in the series, and the focus of this report, followed up with them again after the second open enrollment period in spring 2015 to find out whether more have gained coverage, lost coverage, or remained uninsured, what barriers to coverage remain, how those who now have insurance view their coverage, and to assess the impacts that gaining health insurance may have had on financial security and access to care.

  • Drew Altman: Amid Tensions, Legal Immigrants Fear Signing Up for Obamacare

    News Release

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new Kaiser Family Foundation survey findings about how fear of enforcement of immigration laws may be affecting Latino enrollment in the Affordable Care Act. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available online.

  • Amid Tensions, Legal Immigrants Fear Signing Up for Obamacare

    From Drew Altman

    In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses new Kaiser Family Foundation survey findings about how fear of enforcement of immigration laws may be affecting Latino enrollment in the Affordable Care Act.

  • Where are California’s Uninsured Now? Wave 2 of the Kaiser Family Foundation California Longitudinal Panel Survey

    Report

    This second wave of the Kaiser Family Foundation's California uninsured survey assesses the impact of the Affordable Care Act to date on state residents who were uninsured prior to open enrollment. The results capture the share of previously uninsured Californians who gained coverage or remained uninsured, how they feel about and interact with their new coverage options and what barriers to getting insurance remain. The report examines breakouts by race, coverage type, and other demographic factors.