This is especially noticeable keeping in view the theory that immigrants are a big burden on the American taxpayers and the American economy.
Immigrants in the US are paying a large chunk of US Medicare bills and helpful in subsidizing healthcare payments to the America’s ageing population, findings of a recent study show.
Immigrants pay more, use less Medicare services—Immigrants in the US are making a big contribution to the Medicare. And they use less Medicare services while living in the US, the study findings show.
Between the years 2002 and 2009, undocumented and legal US immigrants subsidized a big percentage of the Medicare that offers payments to institutes and hospitals.
The study findings published in the Health Affairs, a medical journal, state that in the year 2009, immigrants, including undocumented aliens, were found to be generating around $13.8 billion surplus in the US Medicare system while America-born accounted for a deficit of $30.9 billion.
Between the year 2002 and 2009, immigrants had generated nearly $11.1 and $17.2 billion surpluses each year leading to a cumulative surplus of a total of $115.2 billion. The findings put a big question mark on the theory that immigrants make a big hole on the US resources each year.
Younger, working age immigrants greatest contributors to Medicare—Non-citizen US immigrants, majority of whom are of younger and working age made a sizeable contribution to Medicare, the study affirmed.
There were no clear details as to the exact amount of surplus attributed by undocumented immigrants. It may be worth mentioned that undocumented immigrants in the US have access to federally funded US medical care programs only in case of emergency.
Impact of restricting US immigration policies damaging for Medicare—The study by Harvard Medical School is the first ever attempt to acknowledge the contributions by immigrants to Medicare. It also tries to ascertain the potential damaging affects of the restricting US immigration policies on the Medicare funding.
The study authors maintained that financial health of Medicare will suffer a big blow if the US introduces stricter immigration norms to restrain inflow of immigrants. Medicare funding is going to run out in the year 2024 following increasing costs for ageing population of the US rising above the revenues.