Study: Iraqi refugees not working and in poor health; need more costly health care
Posted by Ann Corcoran on July 12, 2012
I came across this interesting report just now entitled, Mental and Physical Health Status of Iraqi Refugees Resettled in the United States.
When you open the report, be sure to see the 4th frame with the map of the US depicting where the 63,000 or so Iraqis resettled (at the time of this undated report) to the US have been sent. Of course, Wyoming shines like a bright light having received zero refugees, but look closely—VP Joe Biden’s Delaware is among the handful of states receiving only small numbers of refugees. I find that so amusing since ol’ Joe helped create the Refugee Resettlement Act of 1980 with ol’ Teddy (Kennedy), yet Delaware gets only a tiny number of the neediest immigrants.
Back to the study and its results.
Here is the summary:
23% not covered by health insurance
67% not currently working ***
63% rated physical health as fair or poor
23% married to their first cousins
Chronic Diseases
60% ≤1 condition
37% ≤2 conditions
Mental Health Conditions
50% reported emotional distress
31% at risk for PTSD
Then here are some comments the refugees made during a forum:
* I will submit a request for social security pension because this will ensure having Medicaid…
* I am worried they will stop the Medicaid and I still have many operations to do…
* Medicaid will be canceled if my husband income exceeds a certain limit,….I feel that I am a burden to my husband because if he worked for extra hours, they would cancel my Medicaid. I need it for my psychological and physical health problems…
* We can handle stopping the food stamps but not the Medicaid…
* The more honest you are in explaining your medical problems, the less they will believe you……
* Please tell the Medicaid staff that when I am smiling in their face, that does not mean I am fine, nobody knows what I am going through and the pain I have……
It sure is a good thing that Obamacare will soon rescue these unhealthy refugees.
*** What do you make of that—67% not working. Didn’t we just hear a couple of days ago that over 80% (almost 90%!) of the refugees living in Manchester, NH have work? Maybe we should send more Iraqis to Manchester? (Just kidding!)
New readers take note: We have a health issues category, here, with 130 posts covering many very important topics involving immigrant health.
An afterthought: When you look at that map and notice that the largest number of refugees are assigned to California, think about that when you read that some California cities may soon “cease to exist.”
4 Responses to “Study: Iraqi refugees not working and in poor health; need more costly health care”
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mjazzguitar said
Everybody knows the oil rich muhammadans have billions of dollars. They even have an indoor ski resort in the middle of the desert.
If their religion is all about taking care of each other, then why aren’t they taking in these refugees, or at least have charities helping them with their medical problems? In fact, why do they go to western countries to begin with? If allah is the true god then the countries that follow it should be the most blessed places on the planet.
acorcoran said
Because they want to turn us into a Muslim country too, and we are suckers… Saudi Arabia does not take refugees, they ship them back or imprison them esp. the Somalis. They send money to the US so that the Muslims here (and the ones they are pushing here, like the Rohingya) can build those grand mosques popping up everywhere.
Sasha Crow said
I wager that this blog, its administrators, those that follow you and others that share your bigoted attitude are at least partially the reason for high levels of immigrant unemployment. As a test of my theory, answer this please: If you were (or are) an employer, interviewing a recent immigrant, would you hire them if they had the qualifications needed for the job?
Ah, I thought not.
tomasrose said
Sasha, I am a reader of this blog. Not only have I actively sought work for refugees I am also married to the daughter of a refugee. This is one of THE most scandal-ridden, corrupt and corrupting federal programs out there. Read this blog and learn something.