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Medical help for 4,000 people from Bremen without papers – this is how it works!
In Oldenburg, people without health insurance receive medical help through various initiatives and organizations.
Medical help for 4,000 people from Bremen without papers – this is how it works!
Health care for people without health insurance is a major problem in Germany. According to estimates, between 500,000 and 1.5 million people in this country live without valid documents or health insurance. The star reports that people without housing, work or papers in Germany often do not receive adequate medical care. In Bremen alone, more than 4,000 people are said to be living without residence status. In order to help these people, there are various initiatives in the Hanseatic city that take care of their health.
A central point of contact is the Medical Treatment Center for Paperless and Uninsured People (MVP), which was launched in 2022. With annual funding of 1.2 million euros from the Bremen health department, the MVP supports medical care for people without health insurance. A Report from the Tagesschau explains that the MVP is open three days a week and, in addition to general medical treatments, also offers consultations to facilitate access to insured status. So far, around 1,000 people from 76 countries have taken advantage of the help, and 168 of them have been given insured status.
Medical initiatives and their importance
The Malteser, which has 19 locations in Germany, also offers comprehensive support for people without health insurance. Among other things, they have set up a practice in Berlin-Wilmersdorf that offers free treatments in various medical specialties. Here too, it is primarily people without legal residence status who are dependent on help. The medical journal highlights that such voluntary practices offer valuable interim solutions, although funding often remains inadequate.
But that's not enough. The treatment options are not widely available and the existing structures cannot solve the fundamental problems. Many organizations are therefore calling for more comprehensive health care and the introduction of citizens' insurance in order to legally secure access to health services for everyone. The federal government is actually planning to examine insurance coverage for people with unclear status, but concrete measures have not yet been taken.
The approaches in Bremen and other cities are important not only to alleviate acute emergencies, but also to relieve the long-term burden on the healthcare system's care structures. Health Senator Claudia Bernhard emphasizes that origin and social circumstances should not play a role in health care. Special efforts are needed to ensure that even the most vulnerable members of our society have access to medical care.