Inequalities in the access to healthcare: migration in Europe

This Work Project analyzes the unequal access to healthcare in Europe between 2004 and 2012, considering the migrant population in particular. Using the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the migrant status is determined primarily by the country of birth and secondarily established by citizenship, and the access to healthcare is measured by the unmet need for medical treatment. The empirical methodology follows an econometric approach. We start to observe that the difference between migrants and natives in the access to healthcare disadvantages the formers, although not substantial. On the other hand, it is found that the differences between age groups, for the total sample, turn out to affect relatively more the unmet needs than the migration issue. Considering the particular context of the European Union, if the migrant is not an EU citizen, the inequality in the access to healthcare is relatively more marked. This latter inequality is amplified when the reason that leads to unmet need results from financial constraints