San Francisco prenatal care access more difficult, Hispanics say

Sacramento Bee ^ | 12/05/02 | MARIA-BELEN MORAN

[hoosierskypilot]

SAN FRANCISCO(AP) - Pregnant Hispanic women who apply for public health insurance in San Francisco experience more confusion and immigration-related fears than counterparts in New York and Miami, according to a study released Thursday. Fifty-five percent of such women interviewed in San Francisco feared assistance would make it harder to become a citizen, and feared having to pay back aid in the future. In Miami, those fears were shared by 33 percent of such women, and the number was just 9 percent in New York.

"As policymakers we need to address women's fears," said Elena Fuentes-Afflick, one of the authors of the study. "We have made a great effort to tell pregnant women they need to follow regular doctor visits, but we found that there are many factors that influence women's decision to apply for insurance."

Among them, Fuentes-Afflick cited confusion on where to go to apply, paperwork needed to apply, fear about being asked for a social security number and fear about being reported to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

[hoosierskypilot]

All the above complaints mean one thing: these people are here illegally! And who pays for this "public assistance" (they call it public, but I'm part of the public, and I ain't never got squat!)?

[widowithfoursons]

With the huge budget deficit in NYC and the rest of the state, maybe they should rethink their procedures, and try for the 29% mark.

[caisson71]

I'm sure they would have fewer complaints in Mexico.