Refugees second-class patients

Refugees: second-class patients

09/12/2014

Refugees who have fled poverty and misery and sought refuge in Germany are only entitled to minimal health care in this country. Only acutely ill asylum seekers are allowed to see a doctor. Especially the lack of psychotherapeutic treatment for refugees is dramatic, especially considering that many of them are traumatized by the incidents in their home countries.

Asylum seekers not included in statutory health insurance
On Thursday, the meeting of prime ministers with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) will not only deal with the future of the state financial equalization, but also with the financial needs of the countries receiving refugees „Frankfurter Rundschau“ (FR). Accordingly, the countries had to give up the hope that the federal government will permanently pay for the health care of asylum seekers. Medical associations, charities, churches and refugee organizations had vainly urged that asylum seekers be included in the statutory health insurance.

Services limited to acute treatment
Despite reform, the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act provides that medical services will continue to be provided by the social welfare offices and continue to be eligible only in the case of acute or painful illness. The only improvement is that it should be checked whether the health card from the city-states, with which refugees can go directly to the doctor, is also suitable for the land-based countries. The medical services are still limited to the acute treatment.

Human rights activist criticizes discrimination
According to the FR, for Claudia Mahler of the German Institute for Human Rights, this is a violation of the human rights of refugees. On Monday she criticized in Berlin that the medical care should not be made dependent on the residence status. This discriminatory regime has already led to the death of asylum seekers. The human rights activist recalled the dramatic fates of refugees who were only given medical help after several attempts, or who were turned down by hospitals, because it was unclear who was responsible for the reimbursement because of the lack of a medical certificate.

One-year boy denied help
A few months ago, a court ruling in the case of a little boy from Serbia caused a stir. For little Leonardo in December 2011, almost any life-saving help would have come too late. In the central reception center for asylum seekers (ZAE) in Zirndorf in central Franconia, the one-year old seriously ill boy had been refused help. When the gatekeepers were asked by their parents to call an ambulance for their obviously ill son, they did not comply, but told the father to get a health insurance first. The judge, who fined three members of the detention center, spoke of heartless behavior that no one could think of.

Sick refugees have to go to the welfare office because of sickness
Sick asylum seekers must, according to the current regulation in acute situations, only to the social welfare office to get a medical certificate for a doctor's treatment. In addition, refugees in some cities then have to become a medical officer before they are finally referred to a specialist. As the Refugee Council recently criticized, in Berlin urgent operations, urgently required follow-up treatment after surgery and unavoidable aids for the disabled were denied with reference to public medical examination procedures for months.

Lack of psychotherapeutic treatment
As the FR reports, the lack of psychotherapeutic treatment for refugees is particularly dramatic. According to Sebastian Ludwig von der Diakonie, 60 percent of asylum seekers are traumatized by experiences in their homeland and experiences of violence while fleeing. However, there are only 30 psychosocial centers nationwide, each with two employees. Ludwig said: „The waiting lists for therapy places are now much longer than a year.“ Neither he nor Mahler have any hope that the subject of health care for asylum seekers will play a greater role in the Chancellor's meeting with the Prime Ministers. Only through the imminent implementation of an EU directive does Mahler expect a slight improvement. It calls for better medical care for certain groups of refugees, such as the disabled, women and children. (Ad)