THE DUBLIN II TRAP TRANSFERS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS TO GREECE 39 6.2. ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE RECEPTION CONDITIONS DIRECTIVE Article 13 General rules on material reception conditions and health care Member States shall make provisions on material reception conditions to ensure a standard of living adequate for the health of applicants and capable of ensuring their subsistence. Article 15 Health care 1. Member States shall ensure that applicants receive the necessary health care which shall include, at least, emergency care and essential treatment of illness. 2. Member States shall provide necessary medical or other assistance to applicants who have special needs. Article 17 Provisions for Persons with Special Needs General principle 1. Member States shall take into account the specific situation of vulnerable persons such as minors, unaccompanied minors, disabled people, elderly people, pregnant women, single parents with minor children and persons who have been subjected to torture, rape or other serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence, in the national legislation implementing the provisions of Chapter II relating to material reception conditions and health care. I suffer from pneumonia after living on the streets for a long time. Although I have a pink card I’m not accepted in public hospitals. A., Somali asylum-seeker returned from Sweden in 2005 Under international law, refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants benefit in the same way as any other individual from the “right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”. This right entails non-discriminatory access to services, which are equivalent to those available to surrounding host communities. According to Article 14 of PD 220/2007, registered asylum-seekers should receive free medical, pharmaceutical and hospital treatment, and applicants with special needs should be given special treatment. In addition, according to the ministerial decision 139491/3.11.2006, asylum-seekers with pink cards are entitled to free medical care in public hospitals. However, Amnesty International’s research revealed that these services are rarely available in reality. In practice it is common for registered asylum-seekers to be asked to pay for hospital services because hospitals administrations are often unaware of this legislation. In many cases NGOs have to intervene by showing them the law. It is significant that Article 84 of the Law 3386/2005 on entry, residence and social inclusion of third country nationals in Greece explicitly states that authorities should not Index: EUR 25/001/2010 Amnesty International March 2010