Laurence Dollimore
THE death rate among undocumented migrants in Spain has risen 15% since reforms denied them access to free public healthcare.
Migrants were excluded from access to public healthcare following a reform introduced by the Spanish government in 2012.
According to research by the University of Barcelona’s Economics Institute and the University Pompeu Fabra’s Center for Research in Health and Economics (CRES), it has had a direct impact on mortality rates in the population residing in Spain between 2009 and 2015 compared to the previous period from 2009 to 2012.
An additional 70 deaths per year were registered among undocumented migrants since the law was approved in 2012. The reforms were introduced by the conservative government led by the Partido Popular.
