Persistent effects of legal status on healthcare access and outcomes: findings from a state-wide representative cross-sectional survey in California

Background To examine how legal status and past undocumented status are associated with healthcare access and health outcomes.Methods Data were collected between 2018 and 2020 as a follow-on, cross-sectional survey to the California Health Interview Survey (N=2010). We used multiple regression models to assess associations between past and current legal status and usual source of care, delayed medical care and psychological distress.Results Overall, 26.2% of the sample had ever been undocumented. Compared with citizens who have always held lawful status (CLS), non-citizens who were previously undocumented (adjusted OR (aOR)=0.48, p