Migrants have “better health” than Spaniards and thus use fewer public healthcare resources than the native-born population, Spain’s socialist government claims through a study published by its own health ministry
According to Spanish Health Minister Mónica García, the study states that migrants in Spain make fewer use of the nation’s healthcare system, medications, and have a lower prevalence of chronic diseases than the native-born population — who are attributed by the document of using a more “intensive” use of their own country’s healthcare resources.
The study, titled, “Health Status and Use of the Healthcare System Among the Migrant Population in Spain” was presented by García on Monday. According to the La Moncloa presidential palace, the document contains a study that analyses the “health reality” of foreign-born individuals in Spain. Furthermore, the government of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez claimed that the study “confirms” the “Healthy Immigrant Effect” theory, which states that migrants have a health advantage over native-born individuals.
García, in remarks during the report’s presentation, claimed that the study makes the prevailing narrative surrounding migration and its pressure on the nation’s healthcare system “not hold up.”
In a post sharing her own remarks on social media, García claimed “We dismantle the narrative of hate with data” and that “universality is not only fairer, it also saves money for the healthcare system.”
“The migrant population uses the healthcare system less than the native-born population,” García affirmed on Monday. “Native-born individuals make greater use of the system at virtually every level of care: in primary care, they have more visits, undergo more procedures, consume more medications, and have a higher prevalence of chronic diseases.”
Hellbound and Down 