Finland: new draft law bars undocumented people from necessary health care

The Finnish right-wing government is set to table a draft law that restricts access to public health care for undocumented people in Finland.

According to this proposal, undocumented people would be barred from accessing non-emergency health care, with few exceptions.

Should this become law, conditions like diabetes or asthma could be left untreated, with serious risks for the person and higher chances that they will end up in emergency care in the future.

The proposal, tabled by the right-wing Orpo government, seeks to overturn a 2023 law that had allowed undocumented people to access necessary care beyond emergency situations. Necessary care was defined as any care deemed necessary by a health professional.

The limited exceptions foreseen in the new proposal fail to provide meaningful protections.

While children would retain full access to health care, their undocumented parents or other caretakers would not, which in turn would strongly impact on children’s health.

People who are in an “extremely vulnerable position regarding their health” would still get access to health care, but no clarity is given as to who this concerns and how this would be evaluated.

Other limited exceptions would be made for pregnant women, people with disabilities, and for vaccinations and treatments against certain infectious diseases that are deemed to pose a risk to public health.

Outside these limited exceptions, people would risk finding themselves with untreated conditions and ultimately in life-threatening situations.

Quotes

Aino Tuomi-Nikula, Advisor, Physicians for Social Responsibility, said, “Those who tabled this proposal pretend that we don’t have enough money for everyone and that full access to health care would invite more people to Finland. We know this is not true, and that it’s actually cheaper to treat conditions in advance by primary health care than leaving them to emergency care. This measure is a political stunt to crack down on marginalised people and bank on public fears of migrants.”

Louise Bonneau, Advocacy Officer, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, said, “Healthcare is a basic human right, not a privilege reserved for some. This law, if passed, would lead to suffering and betray Finland’s commitment to equality and justice. It must be rejected.”

Dr Christiaan Keijzer, President of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), said “A discriminatory healthcare policy can only further endanger public health. We stand by the position of the Finnish Medical Association that adoption of this law would contradict fundamental medical ethical principles and would only serve to increase the overall cost to health services by limiting access to necessary care.”

Kirsi Marttinen, Senior Adviser, SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health, said, “The bill would weaken the constitutionally guaranteed right to necessary care and adequate health services. It would undermine the right to health without discrimination, as secured by international treaties, and goes against other government initiatives to combat racism and promote equality. The proposal itself is based on the wrong assumption that healthcare rights act as a pull or retention factor—there is evidence of precisely the contrary, and it’s concerning when flawed economic arguments become a reason to curb fundamental rights.”

Michelle Gripenberg-Wik, Refugee Advice Centre (Pakolaisneuvonta ry), said, “The right to health is a fundamental and human right that belongs to everyone despite their residence status. Providing only urgent care is not enough to secure this right which Finland has agreed to respect through international agreements. International human rights treaty bodies have even previously criticized Finland for only providing urgent health care for undocumented migrants. The suggested law is very problematic and breaches international human rights obligations.”

Notes to the editors

• This draft law was to be presented to the Finnish Parliament in the week starting on 23rd  September 2024 but this was later delayed. It was first published on 12 June 2024 and subjected to a public consultation until 24 July 2024. Physicians for Social Responsibility submitted their statement (in Finnish) here.
• After its presentation to the Finnish Parliament, the draft law will be sent to the competent parliamentary committees (the Finnish Parliament has only one chamber).
• The cost of necessary care for undocumented people in Finland has been estimated to be approximately 300,000 euros (the reference is the draft law published on the Finnish Official Journal), a drop in the wellbeing service counties’ 24 billion euro budget (data from the government).
• More information about the current 2023 law can be found in this blog.