FACUA consumers group attack the health reforms which will affect foreigners in Spain

The consumers group FACUA-Consumers in Action has described the removal of health cover from immigrants who have not got their papers and who have been unable to find work is ‘an immoral perversion which could condemn many citizens to death through lack of attention’. It comes after Health Minister, Ana Mato, announced on Friday that it would no longer be sufficient just to be on the Padrón census to obtain a health card. Now fiscal residence will be demanded, meaning that those who are in Spain without their papers can only have access to the Emergency Department, Maternity and Childcare. President of FACUA, Francisco Sánchez Legrán, said that the change is ‘a step further in breaking our universal delivery model for the health service in Spain’ and he said that it was the start of the creation of one health system for the rich and another for the poor. He said it was another cut, dressed up as a reform. FACUA estimate that half a million people will be affected with the argument that they have not got a job in a country with more than five million unemployed. They say that is ‘an insult full of cynicism’. They note that many immigrants are forced to work in the black economy by unscrupulous employers taking advantage of their vulnerability.