The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) brought a complaint alleging that the 2006 and 2008 amendments to Bulgaria’s Social Assistance Act of 1998 (‘the Act’) violated Article 13(1) of the RESC, taken alone or in conjunction with the non-discrimination provisions of Article E. Prior to these amendments, entitlement to social assistance benefits under the Act …Read more

This case involved plaintiffs (parents of a minor) who filed a writ for protection of fundamental rights (amparo action) against a private insurance company (the defendant), claiming that their infant had a right to receive a milk substitute health supplement called Neocate, financed by the private medical insurance company.  The plaintiffs waited for four months …Read more

The claimant, Mr. Oscar Fontes, brought a protection action against the Ministry of Public Health (the “Ministry”) for its failure to provide him with the drug Cetuximab, as prescribed by his doctor for treatment of colon cancer. The drug was not included on the Therapeutic Drug Registry, and the Ministry denied his request. The claimant …Read more

Plaintiff Roland Doige alleged that the health premium policies of the Ministry of Finance of British Columbia discriminated against him as a single person. A single beneficiary of the Medical Services Plan (“MSP”) paid a monthly premium rate of CAD 54.00, which was up to CAD 6.00 more per person than would be paid by …Read more

The appellant, a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis, brought a claim against New Zealand’s Ministry of Health for discrimination contrary to s. 123(2) of the Human Rights Act, 1993. She claimed that if her disability had been caused by accident rather than illness, she would have received significantly greater disability benefits from the government under …Read more

M was Zimbabwean citizen diagnosed as HIV positive, who was living in the United Kingdom while his appeal of a decision to return him to Zimbabwe was ongoing. Because of his illness, he applied to the local health authority to assess his needs for accommodation. The authority declined to provide accommodation to M. It determined …Read more

On March 21, 2007, the Egyptian Prime Minister issued a Decision (“The Decision”), no. 637/2007, establishing the Egyptian Holding Company for Health Care (“The Holding Company”). The Decision transferred the assets of the Public Health Insurance Organization’s (“HIO”) hospitals and clinics to The Holding Company and its affiliates, declaring the assets privately owned by the …Read more

In 1993, Colombia passed Law 100, a broad national healthcare reform act that attempted to improve delivery of health services in Colombia by utilizing public and private insurers (“Health Promoting Entities,” or EPSs) as substitutes to purchase health care for insured patients. To this end, the law established a two-tier system of benefits: (1) a …Read more

Mini Numa is an indigenous rural community located in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, composed of a population of 270 and whose closest medical center is four kilometers/one hour away in Metlatónoc, Guerrero. The regulations for the construction of a medical center in Guerrero required that the community hold at least 2500 to 3000 inhabitants …Read more

The applicant, Iuri Archuadze, suddenly developed a life threatening jaw condition and went to the Tbilisi State Medical Institute where he had an immediate surgical operation, and, following post-surgical complications, was taken to the intensive therapy department.  In total, the cost of the treatment was 9263,71 GEL, but the applicant was only reimbursed 205,94 GEL …Read more

This case concerned whether there was unlawful discrimination under New Zealand’s Human Rights Act (1993) (“HRA”), where legislation provided financial support for a disability arising from an accident, but not for a disability arising from a degenerative process or the manifestation of a disease. Ms. Trevethicks (Plaintiff) suffered from multiple sclerosis. She could only drive …Read more

YL was an 84-year old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, who was entitled to free accommodation provided by the Birmingham City Council under s 21 of the National Assistance Act 1948 (the 1948 Act). The council, with the power given to it by s 26 of the same Act, contracted a private health service provider …Read more

The Ombudsperson of the Republic of Macedonia (the Ombudsperson) challenged a provision from the Law on Amending and Supplementing the Law on Health Insurance (the Law). The Law provided that insurees would have a right to basic health services from health facilities that had concluded a contract with the Health Insurance Fund (the Fund), but …Read more

The plaintiff worked as the Senior Administrative Officer of the Municipal Office of Ocuri. When she became pregnant, she informed the Mayor in order to receive a prenatal allowance. The mother received the subsidy for only one of the two months to which she was entitled and she did not received any salary during that …Read more

On August 2006, the Director of the Voivodeship Branch of the National Health Fund rejected the application of the plaintiffs for the reimbursement of the costs incurred during the plaintiff’s in vitro fertilization procedure. The plaintiffs had neither obtained a physician’s referral for the in vitro treatment nor filed an application with the Director of …Read more

The applicant, a mental health patient, brought action against the Secretary of State for Health alleging violations of Articles 8 (private life), 13 (ineffective remedy) and 46.1 (failure to change law) of the European Convention on human Rights when she was without power to change or even make objections to the identity of her ’nearest …Read more

The applicant was a Romanian national who had hemophilia and second degree disability. He had been examined  by the Medical Expert Reports and Occupational Rehabilitation Board (the Board) under the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare (the Ministry) every year and issued with a temporary certificate that enabled him to receive certain entitlements, indicating his …Read more

This case was a reference for a preliminary ruling, concerning the interpretation of Articles 48-50 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, as well as Article 22 of Council Regulation 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, self-employed persons and members of their families moving within the Community. The reference arose …Read more

The Petitioner, Radovan Zecevic, challenged a provision from the Law on Health Insurance (the Law) which excluded any health conditions resulting from the conduct of a criminal offence or a misdemeanour from being funded under the Law. Zecevic argued that the provision was contrary to the right to equality, the right to social security, and …Read more

The author was a resident of the Netherlands who was employed in a part-time salaried position and was also simultaneously self-employed, working with her husband at his business. She was insured under the Sickness Benefits Act (“ZW”) in relation to her salaried position and under the Invalidity Insurance (Self-Employed Persons) Act (“WAZ”) in relation to …Read more

Since 1999, plaintiff Teaching Hospital and defendant National Healthcare Fund entered into contracts that committed the National Healthcare Fund to finance the obstetric pathology services provided by Teaching Hospital. The contracts between the plaintiff and defendant contained a maximum annual amount that the National Healthcare Fund would finance for the subsequent year, however due to …Read more

T and W applied for support pursuant to the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997 (‘the Act’). Their applications were denied by the Director of the Program and an internal review confirmed the Director’s decision. The Social Benefits Tribunal (‘the Tribunal’) dismissed the appeals pursuant to s 5(2) of the Act based on its finding …Read more

Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (‘the Act’) authorized the Home Secretary to provide or arrange for the provision of support for asylum-seekers and their dependents who appeared to be destitute, as defined, or likely to become so within a prescribed period. L, A and T, from Angola, Ethiopia and the Sudan …Read more

The plaintiff filed a suit against the National Institute of Social Services for Retiree [Instituto Nacional de Servicios Sociales para Jubilados y Pensionados] and Prestaciones Médico Asistenciales S.A. [PAMI] for the reimbursement of the surgical procedure the plaintiff had to go through in a Hospital that wasn’t designated by the health insurance company. This occurred because …Read more

This case concerned what level of destitute asylum seekers must have reached before their condition signified a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“Convention”), which prohibits torture and cruel or inhuman or degrading treatment. A violation of Article 3 required the Secretary of State for the Home …Read more

The National Commission on Benefits of the National Health Treasury (CNS) provided free medical insurance for the elderly. Alejandro Cuba Plaza, a beneficiary of CNS, was diagnosed with “terminal chronic kidney failure” and treated with ongoing hemodialysis at Obrero Hospital. After 52 weeks of treatment, CNS ordered the Director of Obrero Hospital to transfer Plaza …Read more

Appellant, KZM, was a patient with hemophilia A who became infected with HIV and hepatitis C. Appellant brought action against Shanghai Institute of Biological Products for causing the infection of HIV/AIDS from the medical product in which he was injected. The Shanghai Chang Ning District People’s Court found against the plaintiff in civil verdict No. 1984). …Read more

Petitioner sought nullification of the lower courts’ decisions finding that termination of his insurance coverage by the South Estonian division of Health Insurance Fund was lawful and that § 28 of the Constitution did not guarantee the right to any type of free health care. The South Estonian division of Health Insurance Fund sent a …Read more

The plaintiff regularly stayed in Germany during part of the year and needed dental treatment. The first treatment was deemed acute and thus paid for by the German version of the Swedish Social Security Insurance Agency (SSIA). Subsequent treatments were deemed not acute and thus were not paid for. The plaintiff sought compensation by the …Read more

Parents of daughter with disabilities brought action for legal protection against the Armed Forces of Argentina, as a State organ, for failing to ensure comprehensive coverage of the needed treatment for their daughter.  The appeals court reversed the trial court’s decision that granted Petitioners legal protection.  The appeals court found that a) Petitioners did not …Read more