NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS

 

GERMANY

Creation of a fund to finance emergency healthcare for undocumented migrants
On July 2nd, the city council of Munich voted unanimously the creation of a fund to finance emergency healthcare for undocumented migrants and people without health insurance. The fund should be endowed with € 100.000 a year and serve two purposes:

- Support NGOs (Ärzte der Welt and café 104) already offering medical support to undocumented migrants;

- Finance emergency healthcare on an individual basis: the procedure is supposed to be un-bureaucratic: Ärzte der Welt, café 104 and the Malteser will have to apply for a funding for a specific patient at the social welfare office. The office will check if the person is not entitled to social benefits, or in the case of undocumented migrants, will check with the foreigner department if the person does not have the possibility to obtain a residence permit. If this is not the case, the funding will be granted.

Fatal delay
An undocumented migrant, who had lived in Germany for 20 years, suffering from AIDS, did not dare –out of fear of being denounced and
expulsed - to seek medical support before the end of July. He died some weeks later. According to Medizinischen Flüchtlingshilfe (‘Medical care for refugees’), this would not have been the case if medical care and treatment could be provided to undocumented migrants on an anonymous basis.
Source: Die Tageszeitung (www.taz.be)

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