Health care use among elderly Mexicans in the United States and Mexico: The role of health insurance

The authors sought to contribute to public policy on U.S. immigrants by comparing patterns of health care use among the Mexican-origin population aged 70 and older in the United States and Mexico. They studied the role of health insurance in the propensity to have doctor visits and hospitalizations, controlling for aspects of health and the economic and sociodemographic characteristics of individuals. The authors found that the elderly of Mexican origin in the United States were more likely to be hospitalized than those in Mexico, regardless of health insurance. However, in the absence of health insurance, visits to doctors were more likely in Mexico than in the United States. The results indicate that although in both countries, the availability of health insurance is associated with a higher propensity to use any health care services, a lack of health insurance may have more negative consequences for primary health care in the United States than in Mexico.