# What is Health Insurance like in Spain: Does it cover mental health?



## laurajuliethope (Apr 14, 2017)

Hello, 

I am from the US. I plan to move to Spain (Madrid) in October. I had a bipolar manic episode in August of 2016 (I was hospitalized for two weeks). Ever since then, I've been prescribed medication by a professional psychiatrist and I've been receiving therapy from a trained professional counselor. I haven't had to pay out-of-pocket for anything, in the last 8 months. What will it be like in Madrid? Will I have to pay for my own prescriptions? What about for therapy? Will I have to pay for either of these? or will my insurance cover it? 

Thanks guys 

-Juliet Hope


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

laurajuliethope said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am from the US. I plan to move to Spain (Madrid) in October. I had a bipolar manic episode in August of 2016 (I was hospitalized for two weeks). Ever since then, I've been prescribed medication by a professional psychiatrist and I've been receiving therapy from a trained professional counselor. I haven't had to pay out-of-pocket for anything, in the last 8 months. What will it be like in Madrid? Will I have to pay for my own prescriptions? What about for therapy? Will I have to pay for either of these? or will my insurance cover it?
> 
> ...


:welcome:

Can I assume you mean private health insurance?

It's very rare for that to cover any pre-existing conditions at all, so I would say that it wouldn't be covered.

You would also have to pay for all medications at full price, unless your policy has some medication cover.


If you are able to access the state healthcare system then you would be covered, though any counselling would of course be in Spanish.


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## Harry in Spain (Apr 13, 2017)

I'm currently in the process of relocating myself, but as a European citizen. 
In my case, Health Insurance is less complicated, I'm still paying for it in my country of origin. 
You should start looking into private insurance and the coverage of medication. 
I hope, as the months go by, you'll be able to sort things out and come to beautiful Spain. 
Best of luck to you.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Harry in Spain said:


> I'm currently in the process of relocating myself, but as a European citizen.
> In my case, Health Insurance is less complicated, I'm still paying for it in my country of origin.
> You should start looking into private insurance and the coverage of medication.
> I hope, as the months go by, you'll be able to sort things out and come to beautiful Spain.
> Best of luck to you.


Do you mean that you're paying SS contributions or private insurance?

It isn't necessarily a simple procedure to get either transferred to Spain.


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## Harry in Spain (Apr 13, 2017)

xabiachica said:


> Do you mean that you're paying SS contributions or private insurance?
> 
> It isn't necessarily a simple procedure to get either transferred to Spain.



I am paying my Seguridad Social contributions in my country of origin and will remain to do so. Any expenses I make will be covered by those contributions (which are pretty steep) and all in accordance with the EU regulations.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You need to check with your current insurance provider to see if they will cover or reimburse for treatment or prescriptions in a foreign country. (Some Blue Cross providers do have such provisions in some of their contracts.) However, you may need to have your prescriptions re-issued by a Spanish doctor.

Otherwise it will depend on the type of visa you have as to whether or not (and under what conditions) you can sign up for the Spanish system - or if you will need private insurance cover.
Cheers,
Bev


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Harry in Spain said:


> I am paying my Seguridad Social contributions in my country of origin and will remain to do so. Any expenses I make will be covered by those contributions (which are pretty steep) and all in accordance with the EU regulations.


Is that Ireland?

How does that work? From Britain they will in some circumstances issue a form S1 (which you register to gain access to the state health system) to a worker who has been temporarily sent to work in another EU country.

Is that how it works with Ireland?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Bevdeforges said:


> You need to check with your current insurance provider to see if they will cover or reimburse for treatment or prescriptions in a foreign country. (Some Blue Cross providers do have such provisions in some of their contracts.) However, you may need to have your prescriptions re-issued by a Spanish doctor.
> 
> Otherwise it will depend on the type of visa you have as to whether or not (and under what conditions) you can sign up for the Spanish system - or if you will need private insurance cover.
> Cheers,
> Bev


If she will be working here with a contract then she'll have access to the state healthcare system. Otherwise she'll need local health insurance in order to live here.

In theory she should be able to use 'foreign' insurance, as long as it is accepted by the extranjeria as being suitable. Usually they will insist on local insurance though - & that's almost certainly less expansive anyway.


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## Harry in Spain (Apr 13, 2017)

I get a sort of pension from which these healthcare charges are deducted. Once these charges are paid, they're valid throughout the European Union. 
Again, it's not a 'cheap' fix, these charges are pretty steep but I find myself more at ease knowing my healthcare situation is taken care of and my relocation will not affect my coverage.

One needs to contact the Spanish authorities and proper channels of course, but this is basically what it comes down to.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Harry in Spain said:


> I get a sort of pension from which these healthcare charges are deducted. Once these charges are paid, they're valid throughout the European Union.
> Again, it's not a 'cheap' fix, these charges are pretty steep but I find myself more at ease knowing my healthcare situation is taken care of and my relocation will not affect my coverage.
> 
> One needs to contact the Spanish authorities and proper channels of course, but this is basically what it comes down to.


If it's a state pension, they should issue you with an S1 form


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

As Xabiachica said, your condition would have to be declared as a pre-existing condition when applying for private health insurance in Spain, and either the company would exclude the condition from cover (which would render the policy pretty worthless to you) or they would increase the premiums substantially. Almost all policies do not cover the cost of any medicatioin you are prescribed anyway so you need to pay for those in addition to the insurance premiums. I remember one forum member some time ago who had a policy which did cover some of the cost of medications (50% if I remember rightly, and the medications had to be paid for and then the 50% claimed back from the insurance company).

There is also the complication of waiting times when you take out a new private health insurance policy. Normally only visits to a general practitioner and emergency treatment are covered immediately and there is a range of waiting periods for various kinds of other treatment (specialist visits, surgery, physiotherapy, etc) which vary between 3 and 12 months depending on the type of treatment. As far as my policy is concerned, the waiting time involved if psychiatric treatment was required is a full 12 months, I'm afraid. All insurance companies impose these waiting periods although they may vary in length between different companies. They are designed to avoid the companies having to pay out for expensive treatments when a policyholder has paid very little in premiums.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The problem for the OP (the originator of this thread) is that she is coming from the US, which has no "national" health care system and thus no reciprocity with Spain or any other EU government. There are only a few US insurers that will cover overseas care, but given the level of coverage she is talking about, it's certainly worthwhile to explore that avenue first - even if it is only a "transitional" cover.
Cheers,
Bev


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