Immigrant women are less likely to receive access to timely prenatal care than their U.S.-born counterparts, especially in Asian and Latino communities, a study finds.
The findings revealed that disparities in care among immigrant groups may be caused by Medicaid exclusions based on immigration status, leading to unbalanced care during pregnancy, according to the study published in JAMA Network last October 28.
While 1 in 4 births in the United States is to an immigrant mother, non-citizen immigrants are excluded from critical safety net programs available to low-income U.S. citizens, including healthcare through Medicaid.
The text details that timely prenatal care is essential because it allows for early detection, intervention and health education that can benefit mothers and babies beyond birth. Increasing the proportion of women who receive early and appropriate prenatal care is a goal of Healthy People 2030.
Greater insurance coverage before pregnancy is thought to improve timely prenatal care because women who have a regular source of care are better positioned to receive pregnancy testing and an appointment with a health care provider during pregnancy in a timely manner.
Approximately 23 percent of immigrants in the U.S. are believed to be ineligible for Medicaid, 5 percent are temporary legal residents, 27 percent are legal permanent residents but not citizens, and 45 percent are naturalized citizens, so the potential impact of these exclusions on population health is large.
Only 5 states allow coverage for non-pregnant adult legal permanent residents, and only the District of Columbia allows coverage for non-pregnant unauthorized immigrants.
To assess the association between exclusion from Medicaid coverage and access to prenatal care, researchers conducted a study collecting data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The sample for this study consisted of births