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Country comparison of health entitlements for refugees and asylum seekers according to status |
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| Australia |
New Zealand |
Canada |
UK |
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| Refugee |
Medicare |
NZ Health System coverage |
Provincial Health Cover: Canada's Federal Health system (comprised of Federal and Provincial contributions) includes comprehensive health cover, including hospital, physician, surgical-dental and specialist cover. |
NHS Coverage |
| Asylum Seeker in detention |
Health care through the private company in charge of the detention centres a |
N/A: Asylum Seekers rarely held in detention for longer than 48 hours b |
No overarching coverage: individuals are assessed on a case-by-case basis b |
National Health Service (NHS) Coverage. Coverage includes: primary & secondary care, free prescriptions, dental services, coverage of travel costs to/from hospital b |
| Asylum Seeker awaiting primary decision of refugee status |
Depends on when visa applied for: If application submitted within 45 days of arrival, then individuals have access to Medicare but no translating services, Early Health Assessment and Intervention, and torture/trauma counselling, If application submitted after 45 days of arrival, then no Medicare access |
NZ Health System coverage. Coverage includes all services, such as: Primary & secondary care, co-payment of pharmaceuticals, specialist referral and coverage, cost offsets for 'frequent users' of medical services, hospital & accident cover, dental, mental, maternity and sexual health care. |
Interim Federal Health (IFH) Program coverage. Coverage includes essential health services for the treatment & prevention of serious medical conditions, essential prescription medications, contraception, prenatal care, obstetrical care, Immigration Medical Exam, emergency dental service. |
NHS coverage |
| Asylum Seeker appealing a negative Refugee Review Tribunal (or equivalent) outcome |
No access to Medicare c |
NZ Health System coverage NB: may take some time to receive Community Services Card, necessary for accessing a General Practitioner (GP) |
IFH Program Coverage |
NHS Coverage |
| Refused Asylum Seeker who has exhausted all appeals |
No access to Medicare d |
NZ Health System coverage NB: may take some time to receive Community Services Card, necessary for accessing a GP |
IFH Program Coverage |
Primary & urgent care only e |
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Sources: [14, 31-33, 36, 37, 49, 55-60] a Detention is mandatory for all 'unauthorised arrivals'. b Detention is not mandatory for 'unauthorised arrivals'. c Under certain circumstances, these individuals may be eligible for ASAS. See: DIMIA, 2003. d The majority of individuals in this circumstance will not have Medicare access. A small number of individuals living in the community on 'Removal Pending Bridging Visas' will, however, have access. See: Table 2 for further explanation. e Asylum Seekers who are deemed 'hard cases' maintain NHS coverage until a decision has been reached. | ||||
Correa-Velez et al. Australia and New Zealand Health Policy 2005 2:23 doi:10.1186/1743-8462-2-23 |
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