Immigration and healthcare: the data that debunks the collapse myth

Immigration and healthcare: the data that debunks the collapse myth

Migrants are healthier and use the healthcare system less than Spaniards. That is the conclusion of the report 'Health status and use of the healthcare system by the migrant population', presented by Spain's Health Minister, Mónica García. The data are stark: people born in Spain visit primary care centres between 18% and 51% more, consume between 32% and 69% more medication, and suffer between 24% and 38% more chronic illnesses. The report, based on records from the National Health System, demolishes the narrative blaming immigrants for the healthcare collapse.

The profile of the healthcare user: higher consumption among natives

The study leaves no room for doubt: the bulk of healthcare spending is generated by the native population, especially those over 65. Per capita data show that Spaniards visit primary and specialist care more frequently and have a higher prevalence of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease. Migrants, on the other hand, who are on average younger and with a lower ageing rate, make less intensive use of the system. This contradicts the argument that immigrants "overwhelm" healthcare: if anyone does, it is the Spaniards themselves.

Contribution vs. use? The debate over the right to healthcare

A weighty argument comes up here: those who have paid taxes all their lives have the right to use public services. "Those elderly people have paid taxes all their lives to use public healthcare if they need it," argues one current of opinion. And it is true: the older native population has contributed for decades. But the debate goes astray when immigrants are required to contribute in advance in order to access healthcare, ignoring the fact that many work and pay social security contributions, or that treating them is also a legal and humanitarian obligation. The removal of barriers for irregular migrants, approved in March 2026, reinforces the universality of the system.

The rise in elderly foreign patients: a nuance

Some point out that waiting lists in specialist care are saturated by "high-age family reunification groups" from other countries. In other words, older immigrants who arrive through family reunification and who, because of their age, do consume many resources. It is a real phenomenon, but a limited one: the volume of these patients is small compared with the ageing of the Spanish population itself. The real demographic challenge is not immigration, but the fact that Spaniards live longer and with more chronic illnesses. And that is not solved by pointing the finger at foreigners, but by planning a sustainable system.

With these data, the story of collapse caused by the healthy immigrant does not hold up. Public healthcare is strained by ageing and chronic illness, not by those who use the system less. Mónica García's report puts in writing what many doctors already know in their surgeries: the problem is not the one who arrives, but how we manage the one who is already here.

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