# Health Insurance



## nearly (Jul 28, 2015)

Hi All,
Just wondered if anyone could tell me how the Health Insurance option works in Spain.
I know i have read if your Self Employed or not working then you cant get State Health Care.

How much on average as a ball part figure is Health Insurance each month ?


Thanks
Neil


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Depends on age mostly. Also, if you have a pre existing condition (for private healthcare) although many have the right to pick and chose and SAY there is no pre existing condition clause, there is. We just dumped Sanitas due to tremendous premium increases. Mÿ wife turned 65 and we were hit with a 30% increase for her and I was charged 22% more and this was our second year with them.we engaged the Convenio Especial, a program that literally buys into the Spanish care system for 60€ a month for me and 157€ a month for my wife. Even when mine goes up to 157€ next year, we will pay a lower cost than private care. But, to qualify for this program there are basic simple conditions to be met. Additionally, we shopped around for other private policies and my wife was noted as uninsurable due to preexisting conditions. Now one can pay 500€ a month and get a premium policy with few limitations. It is interesting to note that if one spends 500,000€ on a casa, they qualify for full state healthcare. Unfortunately we spent less than a third of that and it doesn't matter that we will spend much more than that living here for the rest of our lives.


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## nearly (Jul 28, 2015)

Hi Elyes,
Thank You so much for your reply.

Im 30 and agree that if you are going to be putting in money into the economy surely they should take that into account.

I dont have any pre existing conditions, so do you think maybe if i budgeted roughly 100 Euros for myself as a happy medium ?

Thanks
Neil


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## Keithtoon (May 7, 2015)

hi,
hope these links help....
https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-in-spain
/SNIP/

~keith


ps.. or this...
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...ng-spain/820658-help-advice-moving-spain.html


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

At your age you should be fine. Get some on line quotes. Shouldn't your Brittish healthcare cross over? At least with an EHIC?


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## nearly (Jul 28, 2015)

Well thats also something i wasnt sure of. If was to be living in Spain i didnt think the EHIC would cover for long period of time.
British Healthcare would be taken away from us as soon as we hand over our residency.

Do you know any good comparison sites for spanish health insurance. Do confused.com and the british compare sites apply for insurance over there ?

Thanks


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Elyles said:


> Shouldn't your Brittish healthcare cross over? At least with an EHIC?


EHIC cards are only for use whilst a tourist, not for people who are living in another European country permanently.

The UK Government used to give people below retirement age what is called an S1 form (whereby we could register with the Spanish state health system and the UK Government would pay Spain for our healthcare for up to 2 years provided we had paid enough National Insurance contributions). That was stopped last year and now only people who are receiving UK state pensions can have their healthcare in Spain paid for by the UK Government.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

nearly said:


> Hi All,
> Just wondered if anyone could tell me how the Health Insurance option works in Spain.
> I know i have read if your Self Employed or not working then you cant get State Health Care.
> 
> ...


If you are self-employed, then your SS payments entitle you and your family to FULL state health care.

If you are NOT working and/or an early retiree, then you have to go private for at least the first year.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

nearly said:


> Well thats also something i wasnt sure of. If was to be living in Spain i didnt think the EHIC would cover for long period of time.
> British Healthcare would be taken away
> 
> us as soon as we hand over our residency.
> ...


You are right, the EHIC card is only for tourists.

This is a Spanish comparison site for health insurance (although you will need to be able to understand Spanish in order to use it):-

Seguros de salud comparativa

If you can't negotiate your way around the site at least you can see the names of some Spanish insurance companies on there, and if you do a Google search for their own websites you may be able to change the language to English on at least some of them.

I am pretty sure the UK comparison sites would be no good for Spanish insurane companies, and if you ask for a quote from a company such as BUPA international the figures will horrify you. I believe the Spanish authorities insist on the health insurance being with a Spanish company (and with no co-payments involved) for registering as a resident anyway.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Sanitas has an English translation


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## nearly (Jul 28, 2015)

Thats great, i will take a look and see what i can get from the sites. Really appreciate all your help.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

But, you have to pay 250€ a month


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Someone I know joined Sanitas two years ago and was paying around €60/month. He was in his fifties and the policy had no exclusions. The private companies always put the premiums up by more than inflation each year, and be aware you need to cancel a policy at least two months before it expires or it is automatically renewed and you will be liable for another year's premiums.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

At his age any policy would be a good option. In our case Sanitas jacked up our rates 30% in two years due to being close to 65. They never fully answered complaints but avoided them. Also, the quality of some of their providers here is below par. Our rates rose to over 250€ each per month in two years. Now around 300€.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Elyles said:


> But, you have to pay 250€ a month


If you are self employed (I think that's what you're refering to?)
I actually pay more.
However, at the moment if you're new to self employmant you have some months of reduced payments 
Guide to Spain's autonomo system
> _New autonomos that have not been registered as autonomo in the past five years may alternatively apply for a discount of 80% for six months, followed by 50% for six months, followed by 30% for three months. For those below the age of 30 (men) or 35 (women) the 30% discount is also extended for a further 15 months._


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

It kind of makes me want to be self employed now


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## lorort (Dec 24, 2015)

Elyles,
Do you know if I can buy into Spanish state healthcare with pre existing medical condition through Convenio Especial after living there for one year?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

lorort said:


> Elyles,
> Do you know if I can buy into Spanish state healthcare with pre existing medical condition through Convenio Especial after living there for one year?


If you're in an area where the convenio especial has been introduced, yes. After being a registered resident for 12 months, you can join & pre-existing conditions are covered.


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

As usual, xabiachica is right. Most communities have Convenio Especial though. Lorot, check with your local Social Security office. Very few expats take advantage of the Convenio Especial. Your local office can lead you in the right direction.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Elyles said:


> As usual, xabiachica is right. Most communities have Convenio Especial though. Lorot, check with your local Social Security office. Very few expats take advantage of the Convenio Especial. Your local office can lead you in the right direction.


it doesn't seem to have been especially well-publicised, does it?


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## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Doesn't make sense to publicize it. It was probably a political favor?


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