Objectives: Policies restricting healthcare access for immigrants were applied in times of reduced public funding for welfare in Spain. This study aimed to assess the impact of the implementation of a more restrictive health policy in the Basque Country region, Decree 114/2012, on the number of consultations attended at a free clinic, where the majority of patients are undocumented immigrants. Study Design: Interrupted time series. Methods: A negative binomial regression model was applied in two phases to the number of healthcare consultations during the period 2007–2017 (n = 9272) to estimate the level and trend changes associated with the implementation of the policy. Data were analysed separately by sex and adjusted for consultations’ seasonality and unemployment rate and the sex-specific percentage of migrant population in Biscay province as confounding factors. Results: Different trends of attendance between men and women were observed during the whole period, constituting 76.94% and 23.06% of all consultations, respectively. After the implementation of the decree, the number of consultations for women per trimester decreased and increased for men by 1%, although it was not statistically significant in either of the trends. Conclusions: No clear relationship between the implementation of the Basque Decree 114/2012 and an increase in the attendance of immigrants in a free clinic during the studied period was found. © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health

migrant free clinic Undocumented immigrants healthcare access health policy

unemployment policy implementation economics health care policy human epidemiology middle aged statistics and numerical data Aged Undocumented Immigrants Young Adult Humans migrant undocumented immigrant Adolescent consultation male Emigrants and Immigrants Spain female Basque Country [Spain] access restriction Ambulatory Care Facilities outpatient department Interrupted Time Series Analysis health services time series analysis Basque Country seasonal variation Article health care legislation and jurisprudence service provision major clinical study adult health care access Health Policy Facilities and Services Utilization policy analysis Health Services Accessibility health care delivery immigrant population