OBJECTIVES In Chile, access to healthcare is guaranteed to all people, regardless of their immigration status. The aim of this study was to describe gaps in access to healthcare between international migrants and the local Chilean population.

METHODS Descriptive secondary analysis of a nationally representative, anonymous Chilean survey called CASEN (socioeconomic characterization) from year 2017 (sample size=216.439 participants, belonging to 70.948 households). The sample consisted of 95.1% Chilean-born and 3.14% international migrants. We described sociodemographic characteristics of migrants and locals separately, and then we identified gaps in access to healthcare between these groups based on two indicators: healthcare entitlement and healthcare based on need. Analysis was conducted in STATA 14.

RESULTS The sample contained more women than men in both groups (locals and migrants) and migrants had higher educational levels compared to locals, 15.8% of the migrants didn’t had health insurance compared to 2.2% of the Chilean-born and 9.2% of the migrants did not receive healthcare after having a health problem/accident during the last 3 months, compared to 6% of the Chilean-born in the same condition. Among migrants, healthcare access was lower in those who had higher educational and income levels.

CONCLUSIONS According to this descriptive study, international migrants living in Chile have lower rates of healthcare access than the Chilean-born population, even after experiencing the same problem or healthcare need. For adequate policy action, these findings needs to be further explored in order to understand underlying mechanisms of existing inequity gaps in access to healthcare between locals and migrants.