[JPWx]

Hello,
I am retiring to Spain in a couple of years so I am attempting to get some info for my planning.

When looking into health insurance my understanding is that I will need at least one year of private insurance and have the option to buy into Convenio Especial in Andalusia in year two.

My question is in regards to prescription cost once I arrive. I have drug-resistant epilepsy making me permanently disabled and am taking newer and more expensive prescriptions to control it as best I can. In the USA my medicare keeps them semi-affordable (I will reach my critical care minimums this month).

If I buy into the Convenio Especial will being disabled cause my medications to be cheaper or is there simply no public prescription coverage as I will be non-lucrative?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[MataMata]

Under Convenio Especial the cost of medications are not covered.

Whether there are any concessions for the disabled I don't know but even if there are you will first have to be assessed and classed as disabled by the Spanish, disability in one country is not automatically transferred to another - not even between EU member countries.

 

[Alcalaina]

I've had a look at the Junta de Andalucia web page and it doesn't look as if there are any concessions for people with permanent conditions like yours. You will have to pay for your meds, but they may well be a lot cheaper here than in the US.
Try Googling "Comprar [generic name of drug] en España" for online sales, or use this government website to see what you can get in a farmacia:
https://www.mscbs.gob.es/profesionales/nomenclator.do

 

[JPWx]

That is what I was afraid of. They are cheaper but still will cost 19,000 euros. Good Times!