Examining and addressing misinformation about immigration policies among Latinos and the “chilling effects” on Medicaid enrollment and health care access.
California is home to 11 million immigrants, more than any other state in the nation. Immigration has long been a topic of public debate, and immigration policies and rhetoric have been linked to Latino immigrants’ perceptions about their rights, their trust in institutions, and use of public benefits.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, in collaboration with the University of Hawai’i, is conducting the Mitigating Inaccuracies, Reversing Access Disparities in Latino Healthcare Decision-Making Study — or MIRA Latino Study — to determine the sources and types of misinformation and disinformation about Medicaid (known as Medi-Cal in California) eligibility and access to health care among Latinos and understand how it spreads and influences health care-seeking decisions.
The MIRA Latino Study has three objectives:
Assess the efforts of health and community organizations to reduce the spread and impact of mis- and disinformation about Latino immigrants’ health care rights.
Determine the sources and types of mis- and disinformation about Medicaid/Medi-Cal eligibility and health care access and how information factors are associated with health care-seeking decisions among Latinos according to citizenship and documentation status.
Understand the spread and mechanisms by which mis- and disinformation impact messages about Medicaid/Medi-Cal eligibility and health care access among Latinos according to citizenship and documentation status.
The study will include:
- A follow-on survey of Latinos in the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS);
- Interviews with representatives from state and regional organizations with perspectives and direct experience working in the health care system and other immigrant services; and
- Machine-learning content analysis of social media about immigrant policies and Medicaid/Medi-Cal eligibility.
Are you in the survey?
Breaking down mis- and disinformation about Medi-Cal is key to ensuring Latinos and Latino immigrants get the care they need, because where and how they get health information matters.
Alex Ortega, PhD, MPH, and Arturo Vargas Bustamante, PhD, MPPCo-Principal Investigators
CHIS Data at a Glance
25.8%
of Latino immigrants in California, including 30.8% of non-citizens and 8.9% of naturalized citizens, have ever avoided government benefits due to concern over self or family member disqualification from green card/citizenship.
Source: 2023 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)
15.0%
of Latino immigrants in California, including 20.6% of non-citizens and 10.5% of naturalized citizens, were asked to provide their social security number or proof of citizenship for public program participation.
Source: 2023 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)
31.1%
of Latino immigrants in California, including 31.3% of non-citizens and 22.5% of naturalized citizens, were asked to provide a social security number when getting medical services.
Source: 2023 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)