By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    4 Reasons Chris Cornell’s Death Raises Medical Ethics Questions
    December 19, 2018
    What If You Could Sell Your Vote?
    August 24, 2017
    The Sleepy American
    September 12, 2017
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How Immigrants Strengthen the Medicare Trust Fund
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > How Immigrants Strengthen the Medicare Trust Fund
Policy & Law

How Immigrants Strengthen the Medicare Trust Fund

Brad Wright
Brad Wright
Share
4 Min Read
Image
SHARE

Growing up in the deep south, where most of my family still lives, I can’t tell you how often I hear complaints about all the supposed havoc immigrants are wreaking on our nation. Apparently, they’re taking our jobs, marrying our women, and wringing every last drop of our hard-earned, begrudgingly paid tax dollars from our nation’s public programs.

Growing up in the deep south, where most of my family still lives, I can’t tell you how often I hear complaints about all the supposed havoc immigrants are wreaking on our nation. Apparently, they’re taking our jobs, marrying our women, and wringing every last drop of our hard-earned, begrudgingly paid tax dollars from our nation’s public programs. The problem is, no matter what you think about the first two, research clearly demonstrates that that last point is absolutely not true.Image

A smart group of researchers from Harvard and the City University of New York (CUNY) including Leah Zallman, Steffie Woolhandler, David Himmelstein, David Bor, and Danny McCormick have done the math and concluded that immigrants contributed $115.2 billion more to the Medicare Trust Fund than they took out between 2002 and 2009, and this figure, if anything, may be an underestimate. In 2009 alone, immigrants paid in $13.8 billion more to Medicare than they received in benefits. By contrast, that same year, U.S. citizens “generated a deficit of $30.9 billion,” according to the authors. So, while we’re busy bankrupting ourselves, the immigrants are slowing the bleeding.

If I know anything, it’s that the skeptics among you don’t believe this. “How can it be?” you ask, “Immigrants don’t pay taxes!” And that, my friend, is where you’re wrong. Some immigrants are here quite legally and they do, indeed, pay taxes. Then there are the undocumented immigrants, and they pay taxes, too. According to the study’s authors:

More Read

Rosa DeLauro on Public Health
DeLauro Statement on Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures
Teens And STDs: 3 Best Practices For Mitigating Risk
Understanding Medical Malpractice and Negligence
Issue Brief Finds Twelve States Have Obesity Rate Above Thirty Percent
The Funny (and Somewhat Embarrassing) Side of Medicine

“Undocumented immigrants often pay payroll taxes under Social Security numbers tied to invented names or belonging to someone else, because to comply with federal law employers must obtain a Social Security number from every employee. Less frequently, undocumented immigrants pay self-employment taxes (in lieu of payroll taxes) under individual tax identification numbers, which allows them to claim credit for their contributions should they eventually obtain legal status.”

So, you see, immigrants are bolstering this country’s Medicare Trust Fund, and most believe they are also doing the same for Social Security. With immigration reform on the political agenda, we should be very careful about how we proceed. Opening the floodgates to allow unrestricted immigration is unlikely to solve the problems faced by Medicare and Social Security, but severely restricting immigration could certainly make them much worse than they already are. So, the next time you’re tempted to complain about immigrants, take a moment and thank them for subsidizing the health insurance and retirement income of America’s senior citizens instead.

TAGGED:immigrantsMedicare
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025
engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

First Lawsuit Filed Against a Business Associate Under HIPAA / HITECH

February 14, 2012
what you need to know about life insurance
Health care

Here is What You Need to Know About Life Insurance

March 24, 2021

Health Affairs Briefing Addresses Costly Consequences of Diabetes Treatment in America

January 12, 2012
what is a certified nurse midwife
Hospital AdministrationMedical EducationPublic Health

The Role of a Certified Nurse-Midwife [INFOGRAPHIC]

February 12, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?