MILLIONS CAN BE MADE ON HEALTH CARE TO FOREIGNERS
In a speech at a conference in the University Hospital Sant Joan d'Alacant this week, the Minister of Health in the Valencia Community, Luis Rosado, has calculated that the health service could save 10 million euro by charging foreigners who do not have adequate private health insurance at the time needing medical care.
He highlighted the unique position of the area, especially coastal zones, which attract tourists and residents from across the globe, "the special climatic conditions and geographical position of the province of Alicante, in particular, as a key destination on health, both as a tourist destination as the destination of habitual residence of foreign nationals." To which he stated that the foreign population reaches 10% of the Valencia region, which increases to 14% of the total population in the province of Alicante.
The minister recalled that "whatever the situation, all foreign nationals are entitled to emergency health assistance in the case of serious illness or accident, whatever its cause, and confirmed the continuation of such medical assistance".
Similarly, he explained that all adults without adequate resources, children and pregnant women are entitled to such health care under the same conditions as Spanish citizens.
The charging mechanism established by the Health Department will be implemented to improve the current system of charges to third parties, which has expressed "limited scope" in the collection of health provision in those cases where the person concerned had no right to the consideration received or should be undertaken by a private entity contracted by it, such as insurance of health care plan providers.
As for the immigrant population, there is the peculiarity that there is a community in Alicante comprising of Norwegian and Swiss citizens, who constitute nearly 10% of the immigrant population. These citizens are habitually resident in this region and, according to the Organic Law of Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their social integration, are fully entitled to the sickness benefits catalogue of the national health scheme.
The Minister continued to explain that the government "must now set up measures to check and specify the residence while the registration and residence must be the only requirement to access this catalogue." However, registration in a municipality of the region as a foreign citizen does not prove residency for the purpose of free access to all public benefits and should apply the same criteria as the accredited citizens. In this regard, the Minister stressed the importance of not confusing registration with the right of residence as a mechanism to obtain the health benefit.
Luis Rosado stressed in his speech that the Directive on Cross-Border Health Care "represents a great opportunity to ensure the excellence of the services the Region and even increase the market capacity of Valencia in the European health field”.
This plan may suggest considerable structural changes towards a common European health system, in which a prescription may be issued in one country and be withdrawn at the pharmacy of another, with countries working hard together to reduce waiting lists.
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