# Health Care



## Gladders (Feb 10, 2009)

Hi

Can anyone give me advise on the cost of health care in Cyprus?
My husband and I are moving out next year and I take regular medication for a Thyroid disorder and blood pressure although I am hoping the bp. will right itself once out there.
What is the approximate cost of health care and is there a prescription charge or different charges for whatever the meds are?

thanks 
Sylvia


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Gladders said:


> Hi
> 
> Can anyone give me advise on the cost of health care in Cyprus?
> My husband and I are moving out next year and I take regular medication for a Thyroid disorder and blood pressure although I am hoping the bp. will right itself once out there.
> ...


Are you of pensionable age? If so you wiull come umder the state system If not dont forget to get an E106 before you leave the UK as it will entitle you to up to 2 years health care under the state system


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## Gladders (Feb 10, 2009)

Stravinsky said:


> Are you of pensionable age? If so you wiull come umder the state system If not dont forget to get an E106 before you leave the UK as it will entitle you to up to 2 years health care under the state system


Thank you for the reply. I am 54 so will go for the E106.
Thanks again
Sylvia


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Gladders said:


> Hi
> 
> Can anyone give me advise on the cost of health care in Cyprus?
> My husband and I are moving out next year and I take regular medication for a Thyroid disorder and blood pressure although I am hoping the bp. will right itself once out there.
> ...


Hi Sylvia,
As Stravinsky suggested, your best option is to ask the Pension Service for an E106 form if you are working or an E121 if you are receiving certain UK State Benefits or a pension. Depending on which form you qualify for you will either get 2 years (E106) medical cover or lifetime cover (E121).. This means you will receive the same treatment as Cypriot but the UK NHS will pay instead of the Cyprus Helath Service.. This may not be the same as you would get in England, for instance some of my medication was not available on the Cypriot Health Service however I have been given alternative medication and all I pay is €2 euros for treatment and medication every time I go to see a doctor or a dentist at the local hospital. The cost will vary according to your family income.

If you are visiting Cyprus on holiday and have a European Health Insurance card you can use this to get treatment at a state hospital too. 

You could see if you can get private health insurance but you might have a problem as you have pre-existing medical conditions. You would probably get cover...but at a price.


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## AbiGleichenhaus (Feb 24, 2009)

Health services are good in North Cyprus and there are good hospitals and medical facilities.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

AbiGleichenhaus said:


> Health services are good in North Cyprus and there are good hospitals and medical facilities.


Abi I am confused.
You answered a post offering to help someone with health care in peyia and now you talk about healthcare in North Cyprus.
So where exactly are you?


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## theresoon (Apr 11, 2008)

Abi I am confused too.

How can health services in North Cyprus be good if with any sort of emergency they bring the people to the south in Nicosia.


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## Trip (Feb 5, 2009)

BabsM said:


> Hi Sylvia,
> As Stravinsky suggested, your best option is to ask the Pension Service for an E106 form if you are working or an E121 if you are receiving certain UK State Benefits or a pension. Depending on which form you qualify for you will either get 2 years (E106) medical cover or lifetime cover (E121).. This means you will receive the same treatment as Cypriot but the UK NHS will pay instead of the Cyprus Helath Service.. This may not be the same as you would get in England, for instance some of my medication was not available on the Cypriot Health Service however I have been given alternative medication and all I pay is €2 euros for treatment and medication every time I go to see a doctor or a dentist at the local hospital. The cost will vary according to your family income.
> 
> If you are visiting Cyprus on holiday and have a European Health Insurance card you can use this to get treatment at a state hospital too.
> ...




Hey Babs

I have been reading this forum with great interest as my wife and I are giving Cyprus serious consideration to retire to. Would you be kind enough to clarify the medical situation in Cyprus for me. Both my Wife and myself will be of pensionable age by the time we are ready to move to Cyprus. We both have repeat prescriptions we need to consider. Am I reading this right that we would have to pay for our prescriptions.

Thanks to everybody for their useful input on this thread.

Regards Tripp


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Trip said:


> Hey Babs
> 
> I have been reading this forum with great interest as my wife and I are giving Cyprus serious consideration to retire to. Would you be kind enough to clarify the medical situation in Cyprus for me. Both my Wife and myself will be of pensionable age by the time we are ready to move to Cyprus. We both have repeat prescriptions we need to consider. Am I reading this right that we would have to pay for our prescriptions.
> 
> ...



hi Tripp.
Take a look at this info from the NHS regarding healthcare in Cyprus.
It should answer a lot of questions you may have.

Healthcare in Cyprus


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## Trip (Feb 5, 2009)

Thanks for the quick response Babs, having read through some of the procedures you have to go through to get registered, the queue's, I'm afraid I don't have patience for that !!. I'm thinking the private route will be better for my sanity )

Regards Tripp


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Trip said:


> Thanks for the quick response Babs, having read through some of the procedures you have to go through to get registered, the queue's, I'm afraid I don't have patience for that !!. I'm thinking the private route will be better for my sanity )
> 
> Regards Tripp


If you are going to be in the paphos area we know a lovely Romanian lady who is married to a cyriot who will take care of registering at the general etc for you. She will do your social insurance registrations, residents cards and everything. 
Oh by the way my name is Veronica not babs lol.


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Trip said:


> Hey Babs
> 
> I have been reading this forum with great interest as my wife and I are giving Cyprus serious consideration to retire to. Would you be kind enough to clarify the medical situation in Cyprus for me. Both my Wife and myself will be of pensionable age by the time we are ready to move to Cyprus. We both have repeat prescriptions we need to consider. Am I reading this right that we would have to pay for our prescriptions.
> 
> ...


Hi Tripp,

If you use the Cypriot NHS route and are of pensionable age you would not have to pay for the prescriptions, just the appointment with the doctor (2€ each time). 

Similarly you can use your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC was the old E111) and just pay the €2. But once you have registered for residency (you are legally required to do that within three or four months of your arrival) then you are no longer officially resident in the UK and the card is no longer valid. Should you continue to use the card as I have heard some do, then you are breaking UK Law.

If you see a private doctor then you would pay for the appointment and the prescription. If you are on repeat prescriptions your would have to see a doctor to get the prescription but then may be able to just go to a pharmacy for your repeats. It depends on what your prescription is. With a private prescription you can get most of the medication that you can get in England, there are just a few things that are not available here. But you should think seriously about the wisdom of just going private. It can be very expensive. Many people in other European Countries have got into trouble financially when they have developed serious conditions that require a lot of medical intervention.

You could look at the cost of private medical insurance but as pensioners requiring regular medication then I would guess it would be expensive. Some companies will not cover pre-existing conditions.


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## Trip (Feb 5, 2009)

Sorry Veronica, I obviously didn't read it right did I !! Thank you for your response.


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## Trip (Feb 5, 2009)

BabsM said:


> Hi Tripp,
> 
> If you use the Cypriot NHS route and are of pensionable age you would not have to pay for the prescriptions, just the appointment with the doctor (2€ each time).
> 
> ...


Thank you Babs, your advice has given me something to think about.

Regards Tripp


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

Trip said:


> having read through some of the procedures you have to go through to get registered, the queue's, I'm afraid I don't have patience for that !!. I'm thinking the private route will be better for my sanity )
> 
> Regards Tripp


Just as a passing comment, yes the queueing can be irritating but I found sitting on the phone for half an hour trying to get to see my doctorin England irritating and inconvenient too especially when you got told 'sorry there are no appointments left ring again tomorrow". Or that you could make an appointment and then wait an hour because the clinic was running late. Here I queue but I know at the end that I will get to see a doctor. 

we only recently discovered that there is a small cottage hospital in Kofinou and in addition a doctor comes to our village once a week so there is no need to visit the bigger hospitals in Larnaca unless you need to see a specialist or further investigations.

Also, time runs differently over here. Life is more relaxed and somehow I don't get as stressed about queueing and waiting because I have time to do it.


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## yummymummy150 (Sep 8, 2007)

Dont be put off by cyprus health care , My hubby waited 2 hrs(take a book ) reg, saw GP surogen
Was told had henia, see you in 2 weeks for bloods, ecg ect, 4 days later op.All went well 3 days in. back for staples out week later in and out in 10 mins .
Tricia


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

yummymummy150 said:


> Dont be put off by cyprus health care , My hubby waited 2 hrs(take a book ) reg, saw GP surogen
> Was told had henia, see you in 2 weeks for bloods, ecg ect, 4 days later op.All went well 3 days in. back for staples out week later in and out in 10 mins .
> Tricia


Hi Tricia, 
I'm glad to hear all went well. 

Best regards
BabsM


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## yummymummy150 (Sep 8, 2007)

BabsM said:


> Hi Tricia,
> I'm glad to hear all went well.
> 
> Best regards
> BabsM


Thanks Babs he on the mend slowed him down for a bit but doing ok .
Tricia


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## Trip (Feb 5, 2009)

BabsM said:


> Just as a passing comment, yes the queueing can be irritating but I found sitting on the phone for half an hour trying to get to see my doctorin England irritating and inconvenient too especially when you got told 'sorry there are no appointments left ring again tomorrow". Or that you could make an appointment and then wait an hour because the clinic was running late. Here I queue but I know at the end that I will get to see a doctor.
> 
> we only recently discovered that there is a small cottage hospital in Kofinou and in addition a doctor comes to our village once a week so there is no need to visit the bigger hospitals in Larnaca unless you need to see a specialist or further investigations.
> 
> Also, time runs differently over here. Life is more relaxed and somehow I don't get as stressed about queueing and waiting because I have time to do it.


Hi Babs

I was reminded the other day that the wait in surgeries here can be a long one, so I am aware that things are not that special at home !! My wife has the patience for form filling and getting it all together. So I have no doubt we will make the effort to go down that route. 

Regards Tripp


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## Trip (Feb 5, 2009)

yummymummy150 said:


> Dont be put off by cyprus health care , My hubby waited 2 hrs(take a book ) reg, saw GP surogen
> Was told had henia, see you in 2 weeks for bloods, ecg ect, 4 days later op.All went well 3 days in. back for staples out week later in and out in 10 mins .
> Tricia



Thanks for your response Tricia, it's encouraging to know that your Husband's situation turned out successfully. 
Confidence on Health Care in Cyprus is increasing here !!


Regards, Tripp.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Tricia, I am glad everything went well for Doug.

Tripp, a neighbour of mine recently had a triple heart bypass here. He was sent to Nicosia for the op as they specialise in heart surgery there and he could not praise the hospital and the care he recieved enough.
He said he was in so quickly he was amazed, unlike the UK where you have to wait for months. As he is a pensioner he didnt have to pay anything.

I cannot fault the health care system over here.


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## Trip (Feb 5, 2009)

Veronica said:


> If you are going to be in the paphos area we know a lovely Romanian lady who is married to a cyriot who will take care of registering at the general etc for you. She will do your social insurance registrations, residents cards and everything.
> Oh by the way my name is Veronica not babs lol.


Hi Veronica

I have saved your response in my notes, this is very useful to know. Thankyou.

Regards, Tripp.


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## sandra46 (Apr 21, 2009)

Hi, we're new here too, and retired. we got a quote for health insurance. they never asked for our medical details, just our ages, and came up with a preposterous Euro 5000+ for 1 years cover. we are registering with a private doctor, but having seen your site, Healthcare in Cyprus, we're going to try and track down a state doctor.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

sandra46 said:


> Hi, we're new here too, and retired. we got a quote for health insurance. they never asked for our medical details, just our ages, and came up with a preposterous Euro 5000+ for 1 years cover. we are registering with a private doctor, but having seen your site, Healthcare in Cyprus, we're going to try and track down a state doctor.


5000 euros is as you say preposterous.
We were quoted a similar amount by a British company in paphos but we then went to a company called interlife and for 2,400 per year which includes worldwide cover and treatment in other countries if they have specialists which are not available here.
However we will only use the private cover if we really need to as we do have an excess of 800euros.
It's just a comfort to know its there if we need it.


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## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

sandra46 said:


> Hi, we're new here too, and retired. we got a quote for health insurance. they never asked for our medical details, just our ages, and came up with a preposterous Euro 5000+ for 1 years cover. we are registering with a private doctor, but having seen your site, Healthcare in Cyprus, we're going to try and track down a state doctor.


I don't know where you will be living but as a first step register at your nearest hospital. Sometimes there are small cottage hospitals that you can use too such as at Kofinou and we only discovered recently that in some villages a doctor from the local hospital holds regular clinics. If you tell us where you will living someone might be able to give more specific information.


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## sandra46 (Apr 21, 2009)

BabsM said:


> I don't know where you will be living but as a first step register at your nearest hospital. Sometimes there are small cottage hospitals that you can use too such as at Kofinou and we only discovered recently that in some villages a doctor from the local hospital holds regular clinics. If you tell us where you will living someone might be able to give more specific information.


thanks for that. we are in Tala. someone has told us you can get state doctors and dentists at the hospital.


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