Bills return to parliament

Portugal's parliament debated on Thursday, 15 October, a set of bills that would restrict access to the national health service (SNS) for non-resident foreigners, a topic the right calls "health tourism". The PSD, CDS-PP and Chega bills had been approved in 2024 but lapsed when the Assembly of the Republic was dissolved in 2025, so the parties brought them back. Votes are scheduled for the morning of Friday, 16 October. The PSD and CDS-PP want irregular migrants and non-residents to pay for their care, while Chega extends the charge to stateless people and to asylum seekers whose applications have not been granted. Chega's Marta Silva put the potential gain at 15 million euros a year, a figure she attributed to estimates circulating among credible sources.

“We do not confuse resident immigrants with opportunistic visitors.”

Left parties push back

The Socialist Party (PS) argued that the existing Health Bases Law already requires non-residents to pay, and that universal access applies to people living in Portugal. The PS also cited the conclusions of a review commission chaired by Maria de Belém Roseira. Mariana Vieira da Silva of the PS was blunter about the PSD text itself.

“The PSD bill is just propaganda.”

Other opposition parties, including IL, accused the right of blaming foreigners for failures in how the state collects unpaid bills. Joana Cordeiro of IL said it was easier to point at people arriving from abroad. Paulo Muacho of Livre called the debate a façade the right keeps feeding. Paula Santos, the PCP parliamentary leader, criticised what she described as "reactionary, racist and xenophobic rhetoric" from the right.

Scale of the issue

Bloco's Fabian Figueiredo opened the debate by asking what the yearly impact of treating non-resident foreigners actually was, downplaying the 15 million euro estimate. Paulo Muacho cited the Inspeção-Geral das Atividades em Saúde (IGAS) for 2024 data: non-residents treated in the SNS without any cover, such as health insurance, a convention or an international agreement, made up 0.66% of emergency episodes. PSD MP Alberto Machado conceded that the real size of the phenomenon is unknown, while stressing that these costs are borne by Portuguese taxpayers. Centrist deputy João Pinho de Almeida ironised that the emergency rooms at Amadora-Sintra and Garcia de Orta hospitals were "full of Swedes and Norwegians", and summed up the proposal in one question.

“How much does it cost? Even if it were 50 cents, it would still have to be paid.”

Outlook for Friday

The PS filed a non-binding resolution asking the government to collect data on non-resident access to the SNS. IL proposed collecting payment on arrival at the health unit, while the Bloco wants to end moderating fees (taxas moderadoras) altogether. Livre proposed improving immigrants' access to health care. On the same day, the PSD presented a bill to approve the statute of the National Council for Medically Assisted Procreation, but the opposition focused on the lack of public PMA centres in the Alentejo and the Algarve and on waiting lists for treatment. Votes on the health bills are set for Friday morning, 16 October.