Cross-border insurance plan targets Hispanic immigrants

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By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hispanic immigrants can see a doctor here or in Mexico under a handful of cross-border insurance plans being launched this week by Health Net of California.

The plans, believed to be the first of their kind in California, are open to people living in Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties, said Ana Andrade, vice president of Latino programs for Health Net of California.

Coverage areas include Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Tecate and Mexicali, with Mexican health care provider Sistemas Medicos Nacionales covering plan members while they are in Mexico.

A handful of current cross-border plans come through U.S. employers, while the Health Net plans allow individuals to buy them directly, said Bobby Pena, spokesman for the California Association of Health Plans.

It wasn't immediately known if other states have similar programs.

"The issue of cross-border plans has been growing as the need for immigrant services has grown," said Pena.

One of Health Net's new programs, called Mexi-Plan, was developed with the help of the Mexican government.

An adult 19-39 will pay $75 a month under Mexi-Plan, while a family of four will pay around $300, said Andrade. Doctor visit copays in the United States are $15, and the plan covers 75 percent of hospitalization costs after a $2,500 deductible. Copays and deductibles are less in Mexico, she said.

Ruben Beltran, Mexican consul general for Los Angeles, said he approached Health Net in 2004 after in-house research found that access to health care was the second largest concern for Mexicans in the United States, after immigration status.

The idea was to develop a comprehensive plan that was open to illegal immigrants and didn't exceed the budgets of mostly low-wage earners, said Beltran.

Estimates vary on the number of immigrants, legal and illegal, who don't have health insurance.

In a study last year, the Rand Corporation found that 68 percent of illegal immigrants had no insurance, compared with 17 percent of U.S.-born Americans.

A young population and an inability to pay were determining factors for immigrants not getting insurance, said James Smith, an author of the study.

"I'm not sure who they (Health Net) are appealing to in this market," said Smith. "If you are healthy and poor, you don't spend money on health care."



Posted on 03/14/06 20:15:30
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