IRCT REGIONAL REPORT 2016 bzfo – BERLIN, BRANDENBURG All asylum seekers are provided with a medical screening at the beginning of their asylum claim, to detect the presence of communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis. However, there is no specific medical screening to detect torture. Asylum seekers must inform the social worker or staff member at the reception facility that they need to see a doctor. In general, asylum seekers in Germany have very limited and restricted access to healthcare, as it is only available in emergencies or if the applicant suffers from acute health problems and treatment is deemed necessary. In order to access to healthcare services, asylum seekers must apply for a special health insurance voucher known as Krankenschein from the reception centre or the social welfare office of the relevant municipality. In practice, this means that in some cases asylum seekers are not able to access healthcare when in pain or discomfort. They must first request this health insurance voucher, which in effect serves as a permit to see a doctor. However, asylum seekers are able to apply for the same health insurance as German nationals after being in the country for 15 months. As a result of changes to the asylum law in Germany in 2015, regions are now able to offer access to healthcare without the issuance of permits. Since January 2016, the regional authorities in Berlin offer asylum seekers a health insurance card upon arrival without the need to receive permission from the social welfare office. “We recently engaged in a research study, which aims at looking at what types of care fall under the scope of “necessary treatment” and preliminary results suggest that in other parts of Germany, requests for therapy will generally never fall under the scope of ‘necessary treatment’.” — Nadja Saborowski Asylum application Germany, 2010 - 2015 Asylum applications in Germany, 2010 – in 2015 500,000 441,800 450,000 400,000 350,000 300,000 250,000 202,815 200,000 150,000 50,000 126,995 77,650 100,000 48,590 53,345 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 page 22 2014 2015