A research article by ICH’s Leah Zallman, Sharon Touw, and Karen Finnegan, along with co-authors from Harvard Medical School, was featured recently on the Boston University School of Public Health’s Public Health Post . The article, entitled “Immigrants Pay More in Private insurance Premiums Than They Receive in Benefits,” demonstrates that immigrants, both documented and undocumented, spent more toward their private health insurance coverage than they received in benefits. The article was originally published in Health Affairs last October and was subsequently covered by a number of local and national media outlets.
A prior research study led by Leah Zallman was also used on FactCheck.org to debunk a meme claiming that undocumented immigrants get Medicare coverage for free Leah’s study, entitled, “Unauthorized Immigrants Prolong the Life of Medicare’s Trust Fund,” demonstrates that the contributions undocumented immigrants made to Medicare between 2001 and 2011 allowed the Medicare Trust Fund to last beyond its expected date of insolvency. Zallman and co-authors also determined that policies that curtail the entry and stay of undocumented immigrants might accelerate the Trust Fund’s depletion. The study was first published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in May 2015.