“Willingness to Pay for Cross-Border Health Insurance between the United States and Mexico” is our site of the day

U.C Berkeley’s California Program on Access to Care (CPAC) and Health Initiative of the Americas (HIA) have jointly released “Willingness to Pay for Cross-Border Health Insurance between the United States and Mexico,” a study that shows that Cross-border health insurance represents an opportunity to expand health coverage among the uninsured Mexican population living in the U.S. at a low cost.

Currently, California is the only state in the country that has limited cross-border insurance with Mexico. Three plans offer services between Los Angeles and San Diego and border cities of Baja California, Mexico. There is a great potential to expand this cross-border provision of health services to other states and nationally in Mexico and this report should be read by those concerned with immigration and health in California for other possible applications.

The CPAC/HIA study estimated the willingness to pay for cross-border health insurance among Mexican immigrants living in the U.S. and found that:

• Among respondents, 62 percent of Mexican immigrants surveyed said they would support a cross-border insurance plan.

• When queried about specific dollar amounts, 57 percent said they'd pay $75-$125 per month for cross-border health coverage.

• Approximately 50,000 Mexican immigrants are enrolled in California's cross-border health coverage plan, but more than 11 million Mexican immigrants live or work in the U.S.

• In 2005, Mexican immigrants in the U.S. sent $20 billion to their relatives back home, primarily to help cover family health care expenses.

• Individuals who sent money for family health care expenses strongly supported binational insurance.

CPAC Director Gil Ojeda says: "The Mexican-born population in the U.S. has the lowest share of health insurance coverage than any other foreign-born group. Cross-border health coverage could provide insurance to Mexican immigrants in the U.S. and their families in Mexico. Also, U.S. retirees and families living or visiting Mexico could benefit from cross-border coverage.

The California Program on Access to Care and Health Initiative of the Americas www.ucop.edu/hia are applied policy research programs administered through UC Berkeley's School of Public Health in cooperation with the University of California Office of the President. CPAC works to promote health care access to vulnerable populations in California and HIA works to promote health resources for Latino immigrants in California.