2022

"Undocumented Latinos are aging without savings, government care"


USA Today interviewed Dr. Arturo Vargas Bustamante about the impact on the U.S. healthcare system of increasing age among Latinos.

In 1998, Noe Ramirez crossed into the United States from Mexico, hoping to earn enough to buy a new taxi to replace the sputtering cab he drove in Mexico City. The part-time musician found construction work in Houston, playing guitar on the weekends.

One morning as he rode his bike to work, he was hit by a drunk driver. The driver fled, leaving him bleeding on the street, his spinal cord crushed. After being hospitalized, he was taken in by a local shelter for undocumented migrants, receiving medical care through a county program for low-income residents.

Ramirez knows he might not be as lucky were something to happen to him again. While he and his wife these days live on their own, Ramirez, 53, who uses a wheelchair, wonders how the couple will grapple with getting older without the retirement and health benefits enjoyed by U.S. citizens.

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Faculty Referenced by this Article

Dr. Arturo Vargas Bustamante
Arturo Vargas Bustamante
Health Policy and Management
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Annette Maxwell
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Lillian Gelberg
Lillian Gelberg
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Yvonne Flores
Yvonne Flores
Health Policy and Management
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Ron Andersen

Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.

Health Policy and Management
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Vickie Mays
Vickie Mays
Health Policy and Management
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Patricia Ganz
Patricia Ganz
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Naomi Zewde
Naomi Zewde
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. John Lu
Z. John Lu
Health Policy and Management
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Corrina Moucheraud
Corrina Moucheraud
Health Policy and Management
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Arlene Fink
Health Policy and Management
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Julie A. Elginer

EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program

Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Stephanie Taylor
Stephanie L. Taylor

Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.

Health Policy and Management
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Roshan Bastani Headshot
Roshan Bastani
Health Policy and Management
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Jeanne Miranda
Jeanne Miranda
Health Policy and Management
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Mangione, C
Carol Mangione
Health Policy and Management
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Michael Ong
Michael Ong
Health Policy and Management
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Gerald Kominski
Gerald Kominski
Health Policy and Management
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Leah Vriesman
Leah Vriesman
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Daniel Eisenberg
Daniel Eisenberg
Health Policy and Management
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Yusuke Tsugawa
Yusuke Tsugawa
Health Policy and Management
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Dr. Thomas Rice
Thomas Rice
Health Policy and Management
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Rosenstock
Linda Rosenstock
Environmental Health Sciences Health Policy and Management
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Jody Heymann
Jody Heymann
Epidemiology Health Policy and Management
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James Macinko
James Macinko

Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research

Community Health Sciences Health Policy and Management
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Burt Cowgill
Burt Cowgill
Health Policy and Management
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