Human Rights and Immigrants' Access to Care

Abstract

This article first examines the international framework for the right to health, and how it applies to non-citizens within a state. It then looks specifically at the case of the United States of America, which does not recognize a general right to health, but does have numerous particularized health programs, each with their own criteria and exclusions. The resulting hodgepodge is especially difficult for non-citizens, who face a number of exclusions based on their immigration status. This results in non-citizens being insured at low rates, and being put at greater risk for certain preventable or treatable diseases. Finally, the article looks at an example of using state rather than federal law in the United States to secure better health care for immigrant populations. Particular attention is paid to Finch v. Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, which established under Massachusetts law that legal immigrants could not be discriminated against in a state-funded broad-based health insurance program.

Keywords: Right to Health, Immigrants, Massachusetts Health Care