Reuben Lim at the International Organization for Migration writes a compelling piece this week about the importance of meeting the health care needs of migrants. As so many economies in Asia rely upon labor from outside the country, it’s worth remembering that including people in the health care system from the beginning, rather than dealing with emergencies or taking the risk of a public health crisis, makes a lot of sense.

Lim notes that many countries do not include migrants in their health care system, which can be a costly mistake:

Speaking at conference organised a fortnight ago by IOM and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), Dr. Phua Kai Hong of the National University of Singapore asserted that the idea of limiting healthcare only to citizens and excluding migrants is becoming increasingly costly and irrelevant in today’s globalised world. “It is cheaper to take care of the health of migrants than to exclude them” claims the health policy expert, citing a study in Singapore where the exclusion of migrants from the health system and loopholes in protection laws cost the tiny city state US $1.85 billion in 2013. “Migrant health is everyone’s responsibility”, he concluded.

If your country’s health care system does not include migrant workers, then you should look carefully at your company’s health benefits program and make sure migrants are covered somehow, not just for emergencies and treatment but also for preventative measures. A healthy workforce is a lot more productive than one that is missing a percentage of people every day due to illness.

You can read the complete article here.