Immigrants and healthcare in Bulgaria: the responses by policy and legislation

Abstract

The global scale of international migration flows has pushed migrants’ health issues high up the policy agenda as worldwide. Bulgaria as a new EU member-state is increasingly affected by immigration pressure. The health of migrants is acknowledged as an issue of major public health importance and a challenge for policy responses. The study aims to explore the existence of specific legislative regulations and policies developed in response to immigrants’ health and healthcare services in Bulgaria, to identify the main problems and to highlight the challenges to both law and related policies. The methods involve comprehensive review and documentary analysis of international and national migrants’ health literature; analysis of regulatory norms, specific policies and practices to assess the situation of immigrants’ healthcare legislation and policy responses in the new context of Bulgaria’s EU membership. The results reveal that legislative and multi-sectoral policy initiatives have been undertaken in Bulgaria to assure the protection of immigrants’ health, never the less, there are problems emerging in practice, related to: deteriorated immigrants’ health status; absence of consistent migration-management policy; lack of systematic reliable data, health in formation and rigorous research; insufficient inter agency and international cooperation; lack of publicity and information about health insurance rights and obligations of immigrants and existing services; insufficient sensitivity and training of health professionals and relevant stake holders. Promoting migrant-sensitive health policies; sensitizing and training health service providers and relevant policy-makers and stake holders; encouraging research and information dissemination; increasing multi-sectoral involvement and expanding international cooperation on migrants’ health are actions of recognized importance to better deal with immigrants’ health problems in Bulgaria. Scripta Scientifica Medica 2009; 41(1): 69-73.