Contested Healthcare Territories: Policies and perspectives on migrant access to healthcare in Europe

In the fast-evolving landscape of migration, the access of migrants to healthcare has emerged as a battleground in European social policy, generating a contested service territory wherein the ideals of universal care within bounded systems clashes with the dynamic realities of migration. This study explores these ‘contested healthcare territories’ across various European nations, based on the experiences of both migrants and healthcare providers. It focuses on understanding how non-EU migrants and healthcare professionals navigate the complexities of migrants’ healthcare access in diverse European systems. In doing so, it sheds light on the dynamics of migration-related contestation and negotiation within European policy regimes. This exploration is crucial in understanding the dynamics of migrant service provision as not just a matter of welfare policy, but as lived realities for migrants and those serving them in the healthcare sector. The study is based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews with 169 third-country national migrants and 56 healthcare professionals across four distinct European contexts - Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Belgium. It relates the narratives of migrants, who often find themselves navigating these ‘contested healthcare territories’, with the perspectives of healthcare providers, who are at the frontline of implementing and mediating healthcare policies. This comparative approach not only highlights the divergences and commonalities in healthcare access across key European countries, but also brings to light the nuanced ways in which healthcare access is negotiated on the ground, by or for migrants, across different European contexts.