Beyond welfare reform: Reframing undocumented immigrants’ entitlement to health care in the United States, a critical review

Anahí Viladrich

Social Science & Medicine, 2012, vol. 74, issue 6, 822-829

Abstract: This article addresses the main scholarly frames that supported the deservingness of unauthorized immigrants to health benefits in the United States (U.S.) following the passage of the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), known as the Welfare Reform bill, in 1996. Based on a critical literature review, conducted between January 1997 and March 2011, this article begins with an analysis of the public health rhetorics that endorsed immigrants’ inclusion into the U.S. health safety net. In this vein, the “cost-saving” and “the effortful immigrant” frames underscore immigrants’ contributions to society vis-à-vis their low utilization of health services. These are complemented by a “surveillance” account that claims to protect the American public from communicable diseases. A “maternalistic” frame is also discussed as a tool to safeguard families, and particularly immigrant mothers, in their roles as bearers and caretakers of their American-born children.

Keywords: U.S.A.; Immigrants; Undocumented; Welfare reform; Deservingness; Framing; Health care; Health services; Review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:6:p:822-829

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.05.050

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