In recent years, Congress has focused significant attention on groundbreaking legislation to improve health care access and coverage, including important advances for our nation’s children. Despite these gains, however, the needs of immigrant families have gone largely ignored. While the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, passed in 2009, and the Affordable Care Act, passed in March 2010, included key provisions that will improve the health and well-being of millions of children in low-income families, the reach of these new laws will be more limited for children in immigrant families despite the evidence that this population faces significant barriers in having their health care needs met.
