Mexican consulates offer healthcare help

05/31/2007

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Anna Gorman,
LA Times Staff Writers
May 31, 2007


First came the Mexican consular photo identification cards that closely resembled U.S. driver's licenses and allowed immigrants, including those in the country illegally, to establish credit and apply for government services.

Then the Mexican government worked with the Treasury Department to make sure the U.S. banking system remained open to immigrants.

Now Mexican consulates in the U.S. are taking on an even more formidable challenge: the healthcare system.

A program called Ventanillas de Salud, or Health Windows, aims to provide Mexican immigrants with basic health information, cholesterol checks and other preventive tests. It also makes referrals to U.S. hospitals, health centers and government programs where patients can get care without fear of being turned over to immigration authorities.

"Being undocumented, we thought we didn't have the right to certain things," said Rosalba Hernandez, 26, who came to the U.S. two years ago and lives in Panorama City. "We were scared to ask for information."

Hernandez, a housecleaner, and her boyfriend, a gardener, said they rarely go to the doctor because of treatment costs and fear of deportation. But after a visit to the Mexican Consulate last week to get her consular ID card, Hernandez now knows she can get affordable insurance and free access to some government health services.

READ MORE: Click HERE