During her speech in the plenary session of Parliament, Green Party MP Inka Hopsu criticized the government’s proposal to remove the obligation for social services to provide essential but non-urgent healthcare to undocumented migrants.
According to Hopsu, approval of this amendment would lead to increased human suffering for already vulnerable people. At the same time, she fears that this amendment could lead to increased costs, as untreated non-urgent illnesses worsen and require urgent care. Social care professionals also opposed the government’s proposal to limit treatment to emergency care only.
Such a delay in treatment is also contrary to healthcare ethics and places staff in the difficult position of having to judge when to provide a service or not. This proposal is purely ideological and not based on research or current experience, Hopsu criticized in his speech.
Member of Parliament Inka Hopsu criticized the government’s proposal to remove the obligation for social services to provide essential but non-urgent healthcare to undocumented migrants. VESA MOILANEN / LEHTIKUVA
The government justifies its proposal by citing access to essential healthcare, which would attract people to Finland. However, according to Hopsu, based on research data, the level of social security or healthcare services are not pull factors, but rather the inability to live in the country of origin, which has a greater impact on people leaving their country of origin.
– Following the recent amendments to the Aliens Act, several experts believe that the number of undocumented people in Finland will increase in the near future. The government’s actions will therefore increase the number of people living on the margins of social services, not new immigration, Hopsu emphasized.
Hopsu emphasized, however, that social services will continue to play a major role. Like Helsinki, they can decide to offer more services than the legal minimum.
“If they wish, social services can guarantee human rights and ultimately save money by maintaining health services for undocumented immigrants as they are,” Hopsu encourages.
