Last Thursday, the Executive of Pedro Sánchez, driven by the Ministry of Health, published a royal decree that recognized the right to public healthcare for foreigners who are in Spain but do not possess legal residence in the country. However, the recognition of rights for everyone does not sit well with the far-right ultras.
In this context, the Vox deputy José María Figaredo, in Wednesday's government control session, has criticized that “Spanish healthcare has been opened to everyone” and has maintained -the origin of the information is unknown- that “in Colombia there are advertisements to come here for surgery”. “It seems there is money for everything, except for Spaniards", he concluded.
Public healthcare for all
The measure that Vox opposes aims, as explained on the ministry's website, "to establish a homogeneous and effective procedure throughout the national territory to recognize the right to health of foreign persons not registered or authorized as residents. With this regulation, the aim is to guarantee equity and avoid inequalities in this group, which allows for better control of diseases from primary care and a more efficient use of public resources."
For this, people who are in this situation and want to go for treatment in public healthcare, will have to provide a responsible declaration stating that they do not have healthcare coverage through another means, to which they must also include, their habitual residence, through census registration, schooling certificates, utility bills or social services reports.
