Health Insurance in Spain

[Martin.Dye]

Hello,
Apologies for asking so many questions but I am a bit new to this.
My wife and I want to move to Spain next year but we are not sure how health insurance works. I sufer from high blood pressure and need to take about 4 different medications every day. I get these on the NHS right now. How does it work in Spain. Would I need health insurance. Is there any easy way I can figure out how much my medicine would cost me in Spain.

Thanks for any help.

Martin

[spaino]

Hi Martin,

This might help:

acespana.org/acespana/info_572.htm
Health care for EC pensioners living in Spain or visiting another EEA country

Sorry the forum will not let me post an active URL.

[Fay]

Sorry to ask, but are you going to be retired in Spain or working?

[zukukutty]

Hai,

I am Rukitamo.

Health insurance in Spain - Tips


Getting health insurance in Spain
When you start living in Spain, you will most probably be interested in how the Spanish Social Security system works. Your 'Gestor' will organise the mountain of paperwork that is need to get your Spanish Social Security card organised, if you don't wish to do it yourself.

Spanish social security plan
If you are a Spanish resident you will be entitled to free medical assistance, just like any Spanish national. Visting the doctor, dentist or the hospital are all covered under this plan, although, you will be assigned a medical proffesional in your area, you will not be free to choose.

Spanish speaking doctors
It is quite possible that your assigned doctor will speak only Spanish. Although this is not a problem for most of their patients, it may be for you. It is quite acceptable to take along a friend to help translate for you. Most doctors on the Costa Blanca are used to having expatriate patients, be they British, German, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, etc. Please don't 'expect' them to speak English, although many do.


Private medical insurance
Many residents decide on taking out private medical insurance while in Spain. There are many insurance companies here in Spain who offer health insurance for expatriate residents. A good idea is to find a doctor with whom you feel comfortable and ask him or her which insurance companies they are associated with. That way you can be sure to get the doctor of your choice.

Private medical insurance cost
You may not need to pay much for your medical insurance here in Spain. Obviously it depends on your current state of health and any special needs you may have. It is worth shopping around and weighing up the pros and cons of the services offered and those you are likely to need.

Spanish private hospitals and clinics
There are many insurance agents here on the Costa Blanca who specialise in these schemes, so take your choice. Many of them have their own clinics and hospitals, with the latest facilities available to their clients.

Disclaimer
The information on these pages is intended as a general guide only and in no way is intended to be definitive.

For more information you should contact a legal authority.

[synthia]

zukukutty - Thank you for the information and welcome to the forum!

[rowlandsbb]

Martin
It all depends
If you are just living part of the time in Spain then you are in general terms treated as a visitor and use your EHIC card and private insurance
If you become a Spanish resident and you are over 65 then you ' can qualify' to receive the same as a Spanish National under EU law
Which most think is better than UK!!!
To do this you have to get a form from the NHS in UK to give to the Spanish NHS....this enables Spain to collect any cost of your health treatment back from UK NHS......but you then give up UK NHS rights

Sounds complicated but in general you become a Spanish resident [ not the same if you are under retirement age] you get Spanish NHS and perscriptions are free for retired and cheap for the rest
Everyone is different and before you go you need good local advice
We provide full advice and admin re this and everything about moving to Spain as part of our ' Client Service' when we find a new home in Spain for you
Get in touch if you want any more help or advice re move to Spain
Regards
Brian
Brian Rowlands BSc FRICS

[Goldberg]

Hi another lady was asking about this, hence I post to move up the rankings.

[schemingturkey]

hey everyone,

i just joined and wanted to say hi.

[hollywoodheidi]

Hi! I just found this forum and it looks really cool.

Now, I gotta run off and read some posts.

[Stravinsky]

Originally Posted by rowlandsbb

Martin
It all depends
If you are just living part of the time in Spain then you are in general terms treated as a visitor and use your EHIC card and private insurance
If you become a Spanish resident and you are over 65 then you ' can qualify' to receive the same as a Spanish National under EU law
Which most think is better than UK!!!
To do this you have to get a form from the NHS in UK to give to the Spanish NHS....this enables Spain to collect any cost of your health treatment back from UK NHS......but you then give up UK NHS rights

This thread just came to my attention and I thought I would clarify the situation

If you are a part timer in Spain then it very much depends on how long you are here ... its a very grey area, for if you are moving here with the intent of residing here you are supposed to take up residence under the new laws. If you are here over 180 days then you would have a shakey arguement.

However if you do take up residence and are under retirement age/ not working, by getting form E106 from the DWP in Newcastle you can get temporary cover under the state system, normaly up to 2 years depending on the level of payments you have made into the system in the UK.

But if you are under retirement age and not working / contributing into the Spanish system, after your E106 runs out you do not have state cover any more in Spain, and you are not entitled to any treatment in the UK. You therefore need to take out temporary private cover to cover up to the period when either you or your partner reach retirement age. At that point you apply for E121 from DWP Newcastle and it will entitle you and your partner (even if he/she isn't of retirement age) to the same cover a Spanish National gets.