Hundreds of thousands of people are not insured

Hundreds of thousands of people in Germany are not insured

04/05/2013

In Germany, hundreds of thousands of people living here are unable to seek medical treatment. Especially foreigners without a regular residence status are affected. The German Medical Association pointed to this malady last week in Berlin.

Health insurance obligation in Germany
Although there is a health insurance obligation in Germany, not all people in this country receive adequate medical treatment. Especially foreigners without a clear residence status are affected. The German Federal Government is held responsible by the doctors for this deficit. German physicians therefore demand better regulations for the treatment of hundreds of thousands of foreigners without health insurance or clear whereabouts. The human rights officer of the German Medical Association, Ulrich Clever, emphasized in an interview that it can not be that people with a migrant background for fear of deportation or lack of health insurance, or not too late to see a doctor.

Bureaucratic hurdles against insurance coverage
For treating physicians, questions such as compliance with confidentiality or assumption of costs arise. Doctors would also have to refrain from necessary therapies and therefore diseases of patients are getting worse and more often end in a medical emergency, so clever. According to the ethics committee of the German Medical Association there are, according to current estimates in Germany "between 200,000 to 600,000 people without a clear residence status". In addition, "more people would come from Eastern European countries without work and health insurance and asylum seekers, both with and without secure residence status." The Asylum Seekers Benefits Act actually guarantees the necessary medical treatment. However, the health certificate must be applied for from the social welfare office and is often rejected. It is particularly criticized that especially children and adolescents do not receive the necessary check-ups, vaccinations and therapies. The ethics committee warned: „For many people without valid residence papers and their children there is virtually no regular treatment option.“

Anonymous help in an emergency
Since 2001, the Malteser Werke also offer anonymous treatments. According to a spokeswoman for Malteser in Fulda counts, „if a person can no longer stand it in pain or a disease threatens his life, only the question of how this person can get well again.“ (Sb)