California Explores Private Insurance for Immigrants Lacking Legal Status. But Is It Affordable?

A doctor found cysts in Lilia Becerril’s right breast five years ago, but the 51-year-old lacks health insurance. She said she can’t afford the imaging to find out if they’re cancerous. Becerril earns about $52,000 a year at a nonprofit in California’s Central Valley, putting her and her husband, Armando, at more than double the … Read more

California Says It Can No Longer Afford Aid for Covid Testing, Vaccinations for Migrants

All day and sometimes into the night, buses and vans pull up to three state-funded medical screening centers near California’s southern border with Mexico. Federal immigration officers unload migrants predominantly from Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, and Peru, most of whom await asylum hearings in the United States. Once inside, coordinators say, migrants are given face masks … Read more

As Covid Grabbed the World’s Attention, Texas’ Efforts to Control TB Slipped

Narciso Lopez has spent more than two decades working to control the spread of tuberculosis in South Texas. He used to think that when patient traffic into the clinics where he worked was slow, that meant the surrounding community was healthy. But when the covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, that changed. “I would be … Read more

Public Health Agencies Turn to Locals to Extend Reach Into Immigrant Communities

When covid-19 vaccines became available, Colorado public health officials initially relied on mass vaccination events publicized through Facebook, email, and texts, and required Coloradans to book appointments online. But when that go-big strategy drove large disparities in who was getting vaccinated, public health departments in the Denver area decided to go small instead. They provided … Read more