# Health and Moving to Portugal



## jasonjason2000 (Jul 23, 2020)

Hi i have been planning on moving to Portugal for the past 5 years but I recently had a heart attack at the age of 51, so i have underlying health conditions. I have applied for private health insurance and been refused , but they do not offer cover for underlying health conditions, , can anybody suggest where i go from here. I dont wont to rip-up all my plans, I am not sure what the requirements for public health cover are or even if I am entitled to them being a UK national. Hope some can help. 
Thanks Gary


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## RainbowMan (May 30, 2018)

As i understand it, if you move here (Portugal) and apply for residency, before the transition deadline of Dec 31st, you are entitled to health care here. You should check the full facts on the Gov.uk website.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-portugal


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## minusnothing (Oct 9, 2019)

If you have 'residency' then you are entitled to the free SNS (NHS) care.

I've also looked into it and there are insurance companies that will cover existing conditions after 1 year of subscriptions.


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## ChristineL (Jul 5, 2020)

You are entitled to health cover, but that is not the problem if you have an underlying condition. I recently suffered my second DVT, and, being a bit in the middle of nowhere, just didn’t know what to do as there are no A&E equivalents in my area. I ended up going to my local doctor (standing outside waiting for 15 minutes for the receptionist to let me in due to Covid restrictions), luckily being sent in straight away to see the doctor who spoke to me in Portuguese throughout even though I told him (in Portuguese) that my Portuguese was limited and could he speak slowly! He gave me a prescription for 12 injectable doses of heparin equivalent and a prescription for an ultrasound. I had no idea where to go. We drove round a couple of private hospitals but they didn’t want to know. I ended up sitting in my local pharmacy getting the injection, then going home. I managed to get a scan a week later because my landlady has a relative who agreed to do it. I tried to get a follow up appointment at a different local private hospital and was offered an appointment in October. 
This is the first time I have missed the NHS!
So, the moral of the tale is, try to live near a reasonably sized hospital with an emergency department, live in an area with an English speaking doctor and just be better at planning for an emergency than I have been!


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## dancebert (Jun 4, 2015)

minusnothing said:


> I've also looked into it and there are insurance companies that will cover existing conditions after 1 year of subscriptions.


IF your condition was covered when it first happened AND it has been continuously covered since then, the Allianze group policy for AFPOP members available through Medal covers what at the time you apply for insurance are pre-existing conditions.

https://www.medal.pt/en/health-insurance


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