Details of HS|The government justifies its proposal with the carrying capacity of the economy and health care. Last year, the services of those staying in the country illegally cost the state around 300,000 euros.
GOVERNMENT wants to limit the health services of undocumented people, i.e. people staying in the country illegally. Minister of Social Affairs and Health Kaisa Juuson The draft law prepared under the leadership of (ps) was sent to the opinion round last week.
According to the government’s draft presentation, undocumented people would only be entitled to urgent treatment in the future. Urgent treatment means, for example, treatment given in the emergency room for an acute situation.
If the proposal passes, it will reverse the decision made by the previous government a year and a half ago. The previous government expanded health services for the undocumented from just urgent care to essential care, which means, for example, treating long-term illnesses.
Government already agreed on the weakening of paperless services in government negotiations. However, according to information from Helsingin Sanomat, the issue has caused a great deal of friction between the government parties.
Basic Finns have strongly pushed for the bill. It has been especially difficult for Rkp. Limiting services has also rubbed off on the coalition and the Christian Democrats, because it weakens the health of undocumented people.
According to the draft seen by HS, it was decided to remove the information that the limitation of health services can lead to the death of some people from the bill.
In the original draft, it was written that “limiting the bill to only providing urgent care would increase the risk of avoidable complications, hospital stays and deaths for these individuals”.
The words complication, hospital periods and death have been removed from the public draft of the presentation, which went out for comment. The presentation now states that the limitation according to the bill would increase the risk of avoidable “adverse events”.
In the presentation draft it is estimated that the bill will have a significant impact on the well-being and health of those in the country illegally. According to the draft, the proposal could also be a hindrance to the prevention of human trafficking and work-related exploitation if it becomes difficult to reach people and identify problems.
The Rkp, the coalition and the Christian Democrats also got relaxations through the motion: the limitation to urgent treatment does not apply to children at all.
In addition, pregnant women and the severely disabled and long-term ill would continue to receive essential services. Treatment related to infectious diseases should also continue to be arranged for all those staying in Finland.
In the government program limiting services is part of the “voluntary return and departure package”. The idea is that the health services offered by Finland could act as an attractive factor for immigrants.
In the recent government presentation, the reasons have changed. According to the presentation, the main goal of the bill is “to secure the carrying capacity of the economy and health care”. According to the proposal, the carrying capacity of the economy and health care could be jeopardized in a situation where there would be large-scale immigration to Finland in violation of the Aliens Act.
The draft presentation describes the situation on the eastern border as an example of large-scale immigration. All land border crossings between Finland and Russia are closed, because Russia has been organizing asylum seekers at the border since last fall. So it has used asylum seekers as instruments of its hybrid operation.
Asylum seekers are not included in the scope of paperless health services, but they receive their services through the reception center. A person becomes an illegal resident in the country at the point when he receives a legally binding negative asylum decision.
The government’s proposal is therefore based on the fact that if a large number of people came to the country, many of whom would receive a negative asylum decision and nevertheless remain in Finland, they could be a risk to the state economy and health care operations.
However, the presentation does not specify what kind of sums or number of patients could be talked about in such a situation. At the moment, taking care of the undocumented costs Finland little. Last year, Kela reimbursed the welfare areas for care of the undocumented about 300,000 euros. The budget of welfare regions last year was around 24 billion euros this year.
Presentation draft there is no evidence that health services for undocumented immigrants act as an attraction factor for immigration.
The draft presents a study carried out in Sweden. According to it, it cannot be completely ruled out that the expansion of services could not have had an impact on the decision of an individual person who came to Sweden to come to Sweden. A law change was made in Sweden, with which the undocumented receive not only urgent but also essential services.
However, according to the report, people choose the country of destination primarily based on which country the person has access to some kind of network that allows them to get work, livelihood and housing. According to the report, factors other than health care also determine how long a person lives without papers.
The draft presentation also states that the interests of persons in the country illegally may include avoiding the authorities. This can be reflected in a reduced application to health services, even if there is an opportunity.
In addition, according to the proposal, limiting services may increase the need for urgent treatment when the problems get worse. Urgent treatment is usually the most expensive.
Previous the government justified the expansion of services by, among other things, the realization of human rights and international agreements.
According to the previous government, providing only urgent services was problematic, especially from the point of view of the Agreement on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (TSA). Finland has signed the agreement.
The TSS committee, which oversees the rights covered by the agreement, had expressed its concern before the previous government’s law amendment that undocumented persons in Finland have no right to health services except in urgent, life-threatening situations.
The draft presentation of the current government also states that the limitation of services would weaken the rights secured in international human rights agreements, especially the right to health without discrimination secured in the TSS agreement.
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