Newly arrived refugees resettling in the United States face ending one long journey and embarking on another as they begin their new life here. But even after years of displacement, people who came to the U.S. as refugees still face significant obstacles to getting the healthcare they need.

As a social work scholar who studies refugee resettlement, mental health and access to care, I know well that many refugees experienced serious trauma before migrating. Adjusting to a new country can also be highly stressful, between language barriers, money woes and immigration-related bureaucracy. And the U.S. medical system is notoriously difficult to navigate.

All of these factors can and do hamper healthcare access. But a growing body of research, including my own, points to a difficulty that gets far less attention: how refugees feel they are treated in everyday American life.

Beyond language barriers and bureaucratic challenges

Refugees enter the country through a formal resettlement system. They complete required medical examinations before arrival, are generally offered a fuller health screening soon after and are eligible for health insurance coverage for up to eight months after they arrive. In that sense, refugees have a path into the U.S. health system from day one.

Yet in the Annual Survey of Refugees – a voluntary national survey of refugees within their first five years in the U.S. – about half said they face at least one obstacle to getting medical care.

The survey asks whether factors like cost, a lack of transportation, a language barrier, not knowing where to go or difficulty getting an appointment prevented........

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