Exclusion

Inequalities (between immigrants and natives and across immigrants from different national origins) in both eligibility criteria and take up rates negatively affect healthcare utilization (particularly access to prevention programmes and delayed care) and health outcomes of immigrants, relative to natives. Moreover, inequalities in healthcare utilization tend to persist over time and across generations, even after explicit barriers are removed. The last feature is crucial, as it causes sizeable persistent differences in the access to healthcare across national minorities (ethnic, racial, linguistic).