AZIENDA ULSS 20 DI VERONA - ULSS 20 Verona

late reimbursement nor by the freedom that general practitioners have to choose their patients. All
doctors, general practitioners and specialists are bound by medical professional ethics and by public
health considerations. Therefore, they must always provide medical help to everyone regardless of
their nationality, economic situation or administrative status.
In fact, there are many aspects of the Aide Médicale De l’Etat that are still failing and have to be
solved. The National Human Rights Commission has acknowledged this and recommended that “it
is necessary to bring to an end all the difficulties associated with the granting of the AME in order to
avoid the failure of the system of health protection and prevention that would be unacceptable from a
humanitarian as well as from an efficiency perspective”.
Problems are also encountered with the mechanisms created to facilitate access to hospitals for the
most marginalized groups, including undocumented migrants who do not have the AME recognized.
Many undocumented migrants face serious marginalization as regards access to health care. Due to
isolation or language barriers, they are often unaware of their rights and only try to obtain the AME
when they are severely ill. Given this lack of information, many are reluctant to use hospital services
because they think that they will not able to afford medical costs. In addition, they often are afraid to
approach any kind of public administration since they confuse any kind of public administration
since they confuse the different level of administrations and wrongly believe that the police have a
link with them.
Asylum seekers are submitted to an obligatory check-up at the entry and the exit from the Centres
of Reception during the period of their asylum request. They are assisted by the OPFRA (Office
for the Protection of refugees and stateless persons). A check-up is mandatory at the moment of the
grant of the first residence permit. The purpose of the check-up is to find possible pathologies In
the case of tuberculosis the patient has to be declared contagious and this excludes the possibility
to stay in the French Territory. Serious mental illnesses are also considered, they could threatened
public safety and security. Regarding the HIV virus, the possibility of individualization of the virus
is anonymous and free.
C. Provisions for the guarantee of healthcare for illegally staying third country nationals at
the moment of return.
The 1945 Ordinance on the Conditions for Entry and Residence of Foreign Nationals in France
identifies 4 different types of voluntary return mechanisms (although they are not often used):
- Public Assistance for Reintegration (APR) established in 1984
It allows foreigners with a valid residence permit) to return in their home country carrying out a
project with reintegration purpose.
- Invitation to Leave the National Territory
In case of rejection of the residence permit or asylum application, the third-country nationals are
invited to contact the Office for International Migration (IOM) for travel arrangements and
repatriation allowance.
- Repatriation for Humanitarian Purposes based on a Circular from the Ministry of
Socials Affairs dated 14 September 1992
This concerns third country-nationals and their families living in precarious conditions wishing to
return to their country of origin.
- Local Development/Migration Programme implemented since 1995.
With this programme, the returnee will be helped in the creation of individual enterprises.