The right to health care of migrants in an irregular situation

Abstract

Last reforms in Spain have affected a lot of aspects of the Spanish Healthcare system. The fight against public debt has involved the reformulation of great part of the catalogue of health services, the financing system and the health care coverage. This latter issue will be precisely the object of this article. In particular, we will focus on the controversial restrictions on irregular immigrants' free access to the Health care system. These restrictions threaten the universality as one of the cardinal principles of the system. We will also assess the effects of this measure and question it in the light of the social fundamental right to health protection and the characteristic social values of the Welfare State