Spatial variation in access to the health care safety net for Hispanic immigrants, 1970–2017

Hispanic immigrants have long faced barriers to accessing health care in the U.S., as they are largely excluded from federal programs like Medicaid. Since the 1960s, the federal government has operated a nationwide network of Community Health Centers (CHCs) that serve anyone, regardless of ability to pay or citizenship status. To what extent has this widespread, immigrant-inclusive institution been accessible to Hispanic immigrants? Using novel administrative data joined with Census and American Community Survey data from 1970 to 2017, this study documents spatial variation in population-level proximity to CHCs in relation to changing Hispanic migration patterns. Findings show that health centers, both historically and contemporarily, have been far more spatially proximate to poor and foreign-born Hispanics than to poor whites. In 2017, 56% of poor and foreign-born Hispanics in the U.S. lived within two miles of a CHC compared to 30% of poor whites. While access to CHCs has been consistently greater in established gateways, regardless of urbanicity, growth in new destination safety net infrastructure has increased at a faster rate. The CHC program has been substantially more accessible to the foreign-born than U.S.-born Hispanic and uninsured populations, showing the geographic potential for CHCs to provide care to underserved immigrant communities. This study provides the first descriptive evidence of the programmatic reach of this safety net institution across time and space, highlighting a crucial yet underexplored factor in understanding the health of Hispanic immigrants.