Government to make healthcare free and universal again 'within six weeks'
Friday, June 15, 2018 @ 6:55 PM
SPAIN'S new government is working on a Bill of Law, or Royal Decree that will once again make free healthcare universal for everyone living in the country, irrespective of their legal status.
The previous right-wing PP-led government stopped healthcare for anyone who was not legally resident, except for emergency treatment, all care for the under-18s and for pregnant or post-partum women, back in 2012.
And hospitals and clinics did not always have the same criteria as to what constituted an emergency.
An overwhelming number of doctors defied the ruling, which they said was 'cruel' and 'leaving people to die or stay ill', and continued to treat anyone who walked through their surgery doors without asking questions.
One of the most vocal in this sense was the region of Valencia, whose newly-elected regional government, in 2015, announced healthcare would be available free to anyone who needed it – and who were ordered by the State and the courts to follow the rules.
Health experts have said restricting care and expecting those not eligible to pay for it does not actually save money – in fact, it costs more, because most of those left untreated would be unable to fund their own medical attention and would eventually become an emergency, costing more to assist because the problem had been left unmedicated for too long.
Also, with undocumented migrants refused all but emergency or childbirth-related care, the risk of infectious tropical conditions was high.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com