Hörtnagel, Luisa Franziska Nike (2025) Understanding the legal barriers and political (un)willingness determining healthcare access among asylum seekers and undocumented migrants: A comparative case study analysis of two German federal states. Bachelor thesis, Global Responsibility & Leadership (GRL).
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Abstract
Across Europe, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants are subjected to numerous barriers to healthcare access. In Germany, asylum seekers’ and undocumented migrants’ healthcare access is most significantly shaped by the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act (1993), the Residence Act (2005) and the Asylum Procedure Acceleration Act (2015) which have been vehemently criticized by scholars and non-governmental actors. Across the country, healthcare access strongly differs between and among both groups of migrants. This study explores how legal barriers and their practical implications affect asylum seekers’ and undocumented migrants’ healthcare access in Germany. Moreover, it aims to understand the patterns in healthcare access by determining whether and how policy-outcomes are shaped by political willingness among key decision-makers. In order to do so, two comparative case studies were conducted that examined how federal legislation was individually implemented and adapted to in the contexts of the federal states Saxony and Bremen. The case study analysis builds on a content analysis of national law, local policy documents and exhaustive stakeholder interviews with NGO staff. The results indicate that the analyzed legal framework foresees an insufficient scope of healthcare entitlements and preserves discriminatory and impractical practices. A common thread across all policies is the strong diffusion of responsibility among stakeholders, thereby impeding political action. The case studies showed that the pursuit of permissive health policies in local contexts seems to depend on political willingness, which tends to be more present among progressive forces. Saxony’s case however illustrates a neglect of migrants’ health needs across the political spectrum. This study highlights that migrants’ right to health is under increasing scrutiny and thus, achieving Universal Health Coverage for all residents in Germany requires confronting the underlying political motives within the legislation as well as rethinking healthcare as a right, not a privilege.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Name supervisor: | Rotulo, A. |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jun 2025 10:12 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jun 2025 10:12 |
| URI: | https://campus-fryslan.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/620 |
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