Immigration Saves Lives

CATO | 2026-02-24 | health

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English Summary

The article argues that liberalizing immigration is a critical strategy for making long-term care more affordable and improving health outcomes for the elderly. Research indicates that a higher influx of immigrants significantly expands the healthcare workforce, particularly in home-based care, without displacing domestic workers. This labor shift reduces reliance on nursing homes and is associated with a substantial decrease in nationwide mortality rates among older adults. Consequently, the findings suggest that immigration reform serves as a powerful lever for addressing the public health challenges of an aging population.

中文摘要

本文主張放寬移民限制是降低長期照護成本並提升老年人健康成效的關鍵策略。研究顯示，大量移民的移入顯著擴大了醫療照護勞動力，特別是在居家照護領域，且並未排擠本土勞工。此種人力結構的轉變減少了對安養機構的依賴，並與全國老年人死亡率的顯著下降密切相關。因此，研究結果顯示，移民改革是應對人口老化公共衛生挑戰的強大政策槓桿。

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