The Impact of Restrictive Policies on Mexican Immigrant Parents and Their Children's Access to Health Care.

This study assessed whether policies that limit Mexican immigrants' access to care affects their children's access to a regular source of care, health insurance, and timely preventive health visits. This was a cross-sectional study among Mexican immigrant parents who attended a health promotion program in Texas, Nevada, New York, and Illinois. A sociodemographic survey, including parental and child variables, was administered. Children of parents without health insurance were almost four times more likely to be uninsured and eight times more likely to lack a regular source of care. Children of parents without a regular source of care were less than half as likely to have their own regular source of care than children whose parents had a regular source of care. Findings suggest when parents are uninsured/lack a regular source of care, a child's health disparity is created. Reducing disparities in health care coverage, affecting foreign-born parents, positively impacts their children's access to care. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT03209713.