Health insurance for undocumented worker?

No, there is no indication that insurance application information has been reported to the INS, but there are two additional points to consider:

1. This is a politically sensitive topic so the specific terminology used to discuss the issue has extra significance. Because you mentioned the INS, we can assume the worker is an undocumented immigrant. We use the term 'undocumented immigrant' for clarity, and because this is the term typically used by the government as we address our immigration reform and health care laws.

2. Only a relative handful of health insurance policies in the US are available to applicants without a social security number, a tax identification number, a passport, or a visa. But among those few policies that are available, we have never heard of a case where this information was obtained by INS. Publications by immigrant advocacy groups strongly reinforce the position that a health insurance company may not release personal information to INS.

This assurance likely offers little comfort to a worker whose residency status is at stake, especially in the current political climate. This understandable distrust likely contributes to the high rate of unreimbursed care provided to undocumented immigrants--even among those who may be able to afford coverage or have access to employer-provided insurance. As a result, undocumented immigrants make up 15% of the total uninsured population in the US, according to the Center for Immigration Studies .