health advantage as the number of years in the u.s. increases until about 10 years in when health conditions align with the level of foreign born populations, and become of this, the presence of cultural barriers could perpetuate the decline especially in immigrant populations that suffer from acculturative stress in their new country. policy reform and proposals in 2003, the federal government created a proposal to fund hospitals over a four-year period to cover emergency treatment for uninsured and undocumented immigrants, but required asking for patients' citizenship statuses. this proposal was ultimately withdrawn due to the belief that such a policy would delay immigrants from actively seeking care unless in extreme need, thereby contributing to overall higher incidences of medical problems in a community. in 2005 and 2006, the senate and house of representatives proposed bills to criminalize health care providers who service undocumented immigrants. the american medical association passed a policy called "opposition to criminalization of medical care provided to undocumented immigrant patients" in response. policy proposals to expand health care benefits focus on allocating more funds to community health centers and to schip and/or state programs. similarly, another proposal specifically targets increased funding for prenatal care, with studies showing that preventative care acts as a cost-effective solution to overall health care costs. finally, policies to enhance insurance affordability for workers have been proposed to potentially reduce coverage disparities, given that a large proportion of immigrants are less likely to be covered than native-born citizens. studies indicate the overall effectiveness of state-funded coverage programs can reduce the immigrant-citizen health care disparities when compounded with other efforts such as health promotion and reduced enrollment barriers. public health scholars have acknowledged that certain marginalized groups, including immigrants, experience a lower quality of healthcare. laura uba proposes that culturally competent healthcare for immigrants can be delivered through improved provider education on communication patterns, others' perceptions of health and fatality, and traditional folk medicines. narrative medicine is a growing field that seeks to better educate medical professionals to see patients as complex individuals rather than an isolated set of symptoms. proponents believe this practice can reduce the discrimination immigrants face at the hands of healthcare providers, but implementation remains an obstacle. proposals vary from the employment of "cultural translators" to mandating cultural education and listening practice by medical professionals. patient-centered care, which primarily focuses on improving communication between providers and marginalized patients, is considered a more feasible approach. this is achieved through preparing medical professionals to be attentive listeners, ask open-ended questions, and practice power-sharing during patient interactions.