# Diabetic medication



## bg9208 (Feb 15, 2012)

We are expats having been living in France for 12 years and moving to Valencia, Spain next year (2013). All homework has been done but I have not been able to get an answer to one final important question.
We are both retired and in receipt of full UK pensions. My wife is diabetic and on insulin and a number of allied medications and the French health service honours an agreement between them and the NHS and provides all diabetes related medication free of charge.
Does the Spanish system provide a similar service, if not, how much can we expect to have to pay?


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

If you are in receipt of the UK state pension then you will be entitled to free healthcare in Spain and that includes free medication. My ex-partner was also a diabetic and in the UK was given one of those new insulin pumps instead of the traditional injections. He also had a number of other serious medical conditions which rendered him unable to work and therefore was also entitled to free prescriptions. 

He had no problems in getting everything that he needed from Spain. The insulin was via a normal prescription which was collected from the pharmacy and the accessories for the pump were ordered specially into the local hospital where he would collect them every three months. 

Furthermore, because of one of his health conditions he had been prescribed a very rare drug in the UK. Although this drug is not normally used in Spain – although every hospital carries a small supply for emergency use – the pharmacy in the actual hospital were exceptionally good in sourcing the drug from Germany and ordering it in special – all at no cost.

If I remember correctly, the first few months that we were here the NHS in the UK were supplying the equipment for the insulin pump and this was being delivered directly from the manufacturer but I distinctly recall this later changing and everything being supplied by the local hospital.

Do not take this as the gospel because here in Spain every single day the laws and rules seem to change and it certainly varies from local authority to local authority but in general I would have thought that being a UK pension providing you get all of the correct paperwork before coming to Spain you will receive excellent health care for the diabetes at no cost whatsoever. Do bear in mind that the Spanish health care system is stretched to the limit at the moment. My Spanish father-in-law is also diabetic and personally I don't believe they are monitoring him closely enough. Having said this he is a very poor controlled diabetic and does not keep on top of things. My experience with my ex-partner however was that the health care was excellent.

Don't expect everything to be as you have experienced in the UK – for example the hospitals outpatient departments tend to be a little bit more like a cattle market and for certain things like blood tests you have to turn up very early in the morning and take a number and wait. My ex-partner was also on anticoagulation treatment which required a blood test every two weeks and he had to arrive at the hospital at 5 AM in order to stand a chance of getting his blood test done when the clinic opened at 9 AM. On the whole however for routine appointments, standard of care and the cost of the medication which in your case should be free I cannot speak highly enough of the Spanish state healthcare system.

I hope this helps and wish you well with your endeavours. Finally, worth mentioning that I to in the Valencia region and although healthcare varies from autonomous region to autonomous region I am speaking from my experience of the same area that you are thinking of moving to. With this in mind, do also remember that there are a lot of changes being made to healthcare and even now some pensioners are being asked to make some contributions towards their healthcare so I would advise that you check the exact facts close to the time. Sadly in a country that is in as much crisis as Spain is impossible to know what will be the situation next week! My advice would be to speak to the British Consulate to get the most accurate and up-to-date information.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Steve, I think that you will find that your information is out of date.

Pensioners, AFAIK, have to pay (at least) 10% of the cost of prescriptions.

It may be that diabetics are a 'special case', I don't know.


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2012)

I have to pay 10% of the cost of both types of insulin that I need, also the blood test strips. There is a maximum amount of 18 Euros each month that I must pay, but 10% of the cost of all of my medications doesn't add up to that.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Steve, I think that you will find that your information is out of date.
> 
> Pensioners, AFAIK, have to pay (at least) 10% of the cost of prescriptions.
> 
> It may be that diabetics are a 'special case', I don't know.


I'm not sure about diabetics either - I do know that before the new rules though, a pensioner I know had to pay for testing strips as they weren't covered 

to the OP, the agreement is that UK pensioners get the same treatment as Spanish nationals

recently the rules changed & Spanish pensioners now have to pay 10% of prescription costs as snikpoh said - so that's what you would have to pay


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I could be slightly out of date with my information – my ex did leave Spain two years ago LOL I stand corrected! Having said that, if there is a Of €18 then I would still consider this to be reasonable for somebody who has a condition requiring rather expensive treatments such as diabetes. It certainly beats paying full price private prescriptions!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> If you are in receipt of the UK state pension then you will be entitled to free healthcare in Spain and that includes free medication. My ex-partner was also a diabetic and in the UK was given one of those new insulin pumps instead of the traditional injections. He also had a number of other serious medical conditions which rendered him unable to work and therefore was also entitled to free prescriptions.
> 
> He had no problems in getting everything that he needed from Spain. The insulin was via a normal prescription which was collected from the pharmacy and the accessories for the pump were ordered specially into the local hospital where he would collect them every three months.
> 
> ...


they do blood tests at our both of our local centros de salud - my daughter has regular tests there

it is true though that everyone is given an 8 am appointment, but of course, because it's hyper-local, they get through pretty quickly

also, they tend to know you personally, too

yesterday morning there was man who had to get in & out fast in order to take his son to school - so they let him in first - no-one minds


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## bg9208 (Feb 15, 2012)

Thank you all very much for your replies. As my wife is the registered owner of our campsite she has been paying significantly more than that through RSI and Assurance Malade as a self employed "MicroBIC" (The French do love their acronyms). Not needing those will be a great saving.
Valencia region up to 50-60K from the coast is our chosen hunting ground and would be interested in hearing from any living in the areas of Llia, Montroy, Oliva any advantages or, caveats or regrets about these areas


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Yes things do vary throughout Spain, in our village the medical centre can be accessed 24/7 for emergencies & of course normal hours for normal things.
Blood tests are started at 8am and any patients are gone by 9 the latest.
Need to see the nurse ?, simply ask who is last and wait your turn.
Mate has type 2 diabetes and they stopped giving him free test (things?) as Valencia had taken these off the list, but he is now a pensioner so maybe that has changed.

On a stay in the CDS (La Cala de Mijas) things were very different & frustrating !


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## Josephine Yang (Apr 25, 2013)

*Diabetic question*

Hi 

This is Josephine, and I have couple of questions about diabetes, really hope you can help me. I just wonder that we just need to pay 10% for any brand of test strips and glucose meters in Spain? How much or percentage does government offer pension for test strips in genera? Do you know which department in charge with this pension?
I would really appreciate! 




4tunate said:


> I have to pay 10% of the cost of both types of insulin that I need, also the blood test strips. There is a maximum amount of 18 Euros each month that I must pay, but 10% of the cost of all of my medications doesn't add up to that.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

*diabetic medication*

My husband is a diabetic on insulin.
He pays less than 10% 0n his diabetic medication, possibly because it is a chronic prescription and is very expensive, and diabetics may be a special case.
The meter for glucose monitoring was free, as are the strips and needles. The lancets are not free or prescribed. We order them from UK 400 a time £24 inc p&p.
The provision of diabetic products and medication varies from state to state. Due to the state of the economy things that are free at present may not be in the future!


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## Guest (Apr 25, 2013)

extranjero said:


> My husband is a diabetic on insulin.
> He pays less than 10% 0n his diabetic medication, possibly because it is a chronic prescription and is very expensive, and diabetics may be a special case.
> The meter for glucose monitoring was free, as are the strips and needles. The lancets are not free or prescribed. We order them from UK 400 a time £24 inc p&p.
> The provision of diabetic products and medication varies from state to state. Due to the state of the economy things that are free at present may not be in the future!


I use two kinds of insulin, Lantus and NovoRapid. I inject 4 times each day. I still have to pay 10% of the costs of the test strips and the insulin itself. I used to be able to get a box of 8mm needles from the local surgery free of charge but now I am restricted to a handful at a time, luckily the nurse, Enrique, has very large hands. My meter, Optium Xceed was given to me free of charge by a friendly pharmacist when I first came to Spain - they are however now on sale at the pharmacy - I don't know how much they cost.


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