Survey Questions 5 and 6 will help to identify changes in the delivery of service that have been noticed by individual patients. While responses to these questions will provide a more recent snapshot of the health care services in the area, they will not provide a long term history. The results of Survey Questions 5 and 6 will be correlated with records of hospital closures and other reductions in services. Costs The survey will require the use of qualified bilingual surveyors who are familiar with research methods. These surveyors will be compensated at a rate of $50 per hour.
Other costs include the cost of printing survey forms and the final report, computers to be used to tabulate and analyze the data that is received, the rental of office space during the research project, and incidental expenses. The total estimated budget for the project will be under $100,000. Conclusion Despite political rhetoric about the need for immigration reform, the surge of illegal immigrants who are coming across California’s southern border shows no sign of subsiding. If anything, government policies such as Medi-Cal and other programs have encouraged this behavior.
The consequences of unchecked illegal immigration can be seen in virtually all areas of American life, including schools, prisons, and changes in the American culture. In the health care arena, the consequences of illegal immigration have included a dramatic increase in the number of uninsured patients and the subsequent lack of payment to hospitals for services rendered. As noted in the literature review, lack of payments from uninsured patients has forced some hospitals in the United States to close their facilities or to reduce the services that are offered to people who live in their service area.
In essence, non-paying consumers of health care services represent a double tax that is placed on patients who pay. First, taxpayers pay for the care and treatment of these patients through Medicare, Medi-Cal, and other programs. Secondly, taxpayers also pay through increased insurance premiums and higher costs of treatment that are required to offset the income that is lost due to non-payment. This study seeks to add to the body of literature about the effects of illegal immigration on American citizens and legal immigrants.
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