Iris Publishers- Open access Journal of Nursing & Healthcare | The Case of Theresa S. An undocumented Immigrant with Lung Cancer

Authored by Phyllis Wood

With soaring health care costs in the United States, the added burden of assisting people who do not legally live in the United States can be overwhelming to health care providers and institutions. For unauthorized immigrants (also known as undocumented or illegal immigrants), few options are available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), usually limited to emergency services, charity care, or community health centers. Senate Republicans are working hard to repeal the ACA with revising the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) that would ultimately limit eligibility for some benefits that immigrants have under the current law.
Theresa S. is a forty-year old female who presented to an Urgent Care in Texas with a sore throat and cough which had persisted for three weeks with no relief of her symptoms using over the counter (OTC) medications. She currently does not smoke tobacco but was a 30 pack per year smoker for three years and quit smoking at age 31. She has had second hand smoke exposure her entire life. She does not know her immunization status. Through testing, metastatic lung cancer was discovered. She does not have health insurance and does not make minimum wage. She cannot get public assistance because she is in the United States, illegally.
If you are wondering what might happen to Theresa or others like her, you’re not alone. She does not have a social security number which would likely help her get public assistance for her medical costs. It has cost Theresa S. and her family their entire, modest life savings to come to the United States and they have lived here for three years. Theresa and her family are reluctant to return to Mexico. Theresa’s case is not uncommon.

To read more...Peer reviewed journals in Nursing & Care 

To view more Journals...Iris Publishers