in the ruSSian health care SyStem (evidence from the republic of t atarstan )

Aim. To analyze a status of labor migrants in Russian health care system, reveal evaluation of their health in a context of social security, consider a potential influence of health of migrants to public health and health care system in general. Material and method. The article is based on the research conducted in 2012—2013 in Republic of Tatarstan, Russia (survey of 339 labor migrants, expert interviews, analysis of documents) and addresses the issues of health of migrants, the impact of migrants on public health and healthcare system. Results. The survey results show no significant difference in the self-assessment of health among labor migrants and permanent residents. The level of some dangerous diseases is higher among migrants but it does affect public health in general. Only about 27% of foreign workers have health insurance policies, and only a third of them are insured with the assistance of the employer. In the event of illness 40% of labor migrants seek medical advice, 48% — self-medicate, 12% — do not do anything. Free emergency medical care received slightly more than 0,2% of the total number of migrants working in the region. Conclusion. Labor migrants in the Russian health care system are a vulnerable group because their rights are unclear and they often find themselves as involuntary clients. This limits their possibilities to access to clinics and free medical care and therefore they turn to private doctors «specializing» on migrants. Thus the development of optimal models of medical evaluation and medical care for labor migrants is an important social, economic and humanitarian issue.