# when planning goes wrong!



## g4jnw (Oct 21, 2013)

We have been planning for a number of years to move to Spain or Gozo (Malta) but as our son lives on Gran Canaria we had been more and more looking at the islands, we were planning on visiting again in November and also taking a trip to El Hierro.
After returning from our last visit to Lanzarote in May I felt a twinge in my back, it turns out I've got a ruptured disc and have to have an operation. Im with the NHS here in the UK so no problem but I did get the choice of going to a private hospital (its an initiative at the moment to reduce waiting lists under the NHS) and as i was getting excellent care I happened to ask, if i was not NHS what would be the cost of the treatment - £15000 plus was the answer.

Its then bells started to ring, what if this had happened when we moved?
I rang a health insurance company (anonymously) and ask the cost of health insurance (I'm 63) and as we went through the questions he asked me about previous back problems, i had a disc removed 30 years ago, he said that any further disc operations would not be covered (i hadn't told him about my pending operation)

Then i looked at EU countries and health rules they all say under 65 i would need health insurance, I then spoke to someone in Malta and they told me about a reciprocal health agreement between Malta and the UK, where i would be entitled to free health care as I'm from the UK.

I can't find out if Spain & the Canaries have any agreement so thats the question I'm asking.

My wife is 10 years younger than me but i guess on turning 65 i would get free health care in the EU? BUT my wife would have this issue until retirement.

I wonder if this will scupper our plans to retire abroad as a bill of over £15000 would have bankrupted us.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

g4jnw said:


> We have been planning for a number of years to move to Spain or Gozo (Malta) but as our son lives on Gran Canaria we had been more and more looking at the islands, we were planning on visiting again in November and also taking a trip to El Hierro.
> After returning from our last visit to Lanzarote in May I felt a twinge in my back, it turns out I've got a ruptured disc and have to have an operation. Im with the NHS here in the UK so no problem but I did get the choice of going to a private hospital (its an initiative at the moment to reduce waiting lists under the NHS) and as i was getting excellent care I happened to ask, if i was not NHS what would be the cost of the treatment - £15000 plus was the answer.
> 
> Its then bells started to ring, what if this had happened when we moved?
> ...


You'll probably get loads of replies, but you could start off by looking at this
https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-in-spain
and also the FAQ's for Spain


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## g4jnw (Oct 21, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> You'll probably get loads of replies, but you could start off by looking at this
> https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-in-spain
> and also the FAQ's for Spain


I looked at this funnily enough when i had been told about insurance, then after speaking to someone in Malta about the same gov website and even ringing Newcastle to ask them about it, they (Newcastle Overseas health dept) were adamant that insurance would be needed, then i was sent a link about reciprocal agreements between Malta and the UK from our Malta friend. The rules still stand, they were there pre EU so they have never been repealed.

i guess reading the link again about spain and as we will be self sufficient from the point of view of living off a small pension and the sale of our house until i retire, the same does not apply to spain. I won't be working, my wife possibly will work part time but the state of employment its doubtful.

Of course this won't apply "If you registered as a resident in Spain before 24 April 2012, have an annual income of less than €100,000 and are not covered for healthcare though any other means, speak to your local INSS office to register for healthcare in Spain as a resident."

Doesn't look good for Spain or the Canaries then?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

g4jnw said:


> We have been planning for a number of years to move to Spain or Gozo (Malta) but as our son lives on Gran Canaria we had been more and more looking at the islands, we were planning on visiting again in November and also taking a trip to El Hierro.
> After returning from our last visit to Lanzarote in May I felt a twinge in my back, it turns out I've got a ruptured disc and have to have an operation. Im with the NHS here in the UK so no problem but I did get the choice of going to a private hospital (its an initiative at the moment to reduce waiting lists under the NHS) and as i was getting excellent care I happened to ask, if i was not NHS what would be the cost of the treatment - £15000 plus was the answer.
> 
> Its then bells started to ring, what if this had happened when we moved?
> ...


If you wait until you start receiving your UK state pension before you move to Spain, then not only can you get an S1 form from the DWP which will entitle you to state healthcare in Spain, but you can also get one for your wife as your dependant, although she will still be well under retirement age. Once she does reach retirement age, she will then have to request an S1 form in her own right.

Even with state healthcare, both of you will still need to pay 10% of the cost of any medication you may be prescribed. These costs are capped at €8 per month for anyone whose income is below €18,000 pa and €18 per month for those whose incomes are between €18,000 and €100,000.

It is a real problem now for anyone who has pre-existing conditions to move to Spain if they are below state retirement age and are not going to be working and paying social security contributions, because they need to have private heath insurance in place before they can register as resident. If anyone is foolish enough to take a chance and move here with no insurance, believing that they can manage without registering as resident, then as you have said they run the risk of facing enormous financial implications should the worst happen.


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## g4jnw (Oct 21, 2013)

Lynn R said:


> If you wait until you start receiving your UK state pension before you move to Spain, then not only can you get an S1 form from the DWP which will entitle you to state healthcare in Spain, but you can also get one for your wife as your dependant, although she will still be well under retirement age. Once she does reach retirement age, she will then have to request an S1 form in her own right.
> 
> Even with state healthcare, both of you will still need to pay 10% of the cost of any medication you may be prescribed. These costs are capped at €8 per month for anyone whose income is below €18,000 pa and €18 per month for those whose incomes are between €18,000 and €100,000.
> 
> It is a real problem now for anyone who has pre-existing conditions to move to Spain if they are below state retirement age and are not going to be working and paying social security contributions, because they need to have private heath insurance in place before they can register as resident. If anyone is foolish enough to take a chance and move here with no insurance, believing that they can manage without registering as resident, then as you have said they run the risk of facing enormous financial implications should the worst happen.


Thats really good news, I didn't know she could get one as a dependant, am only 18 months off retirement age and the house will probably take that long to sell as we are in rural cumbria, you have made my day thanks


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## deefitz (Apr 19, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> It is a real problem now for anyone who has pre-existing conditions to move to Spain if they are below state retirement age and are not going to be working and paying social security contributions, because they need to have private heath insurance in place before they can register as resident.
> 
> If anyone is foolish enough to take a chance and move here with no insurance, believing that they can manage without registering as resident, then as you have said they run the risk of facing enormous financial implications should the worst happen.


Chicken and egg issue? You need insurance to register as resident? Don't you need to be resident to get Spanish health insurance?

How does a UK resident take out Spanish health insurance _before_ arriving in Spain?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

deefitz said:


> Chicken and egg issue? You need insurance to register as resident? Don't you need to be resident to get Spanish health insurance?
> 
> How does a UK resident take out Spanish health insurance _before_ arriving in Spain?


You need a Spanish address to be able to get Spanish health insurance. You need to register as a resident within 90 days. So it is possible to arrange Spanish health insurance in advance as long as you make it one of the first things you do after arriving. Lots of people have apparently managed it.


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## deefitz (Apr 19, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> You need a Spanish address to be able to get Spanish health insurance. You need to register as a resident within 90 days. So it is possible to arrange Spanish health insurance in advance as long as you make it one of the first things you do after arriving. Lots of people have apparently managed it.


OK, so to clarify, it's not done "in advance of arriving" (I don't have an address yet) but it is done very soon after arrival. I will do that thank you


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Not everyone gets a state pension at 65, so those who will not receive their pension until they are 67 will not automatically get free health care, and over 65 will pay a lot more into the convenio especial


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## g4jnw (Oct 21, 2013)

extranjero said:


> Not everyone gets a state pension at 65, so those who will not receive their pension until they are 67 will not automatically get free health care, and over 65 will pay a lot more into the convenio especial


Yes true they don't I'm lucky to fall into the group that gets it at 65 forgot that yes my wife will be 67 when she gets it so actually she will retire 12 years after me not 10 as i said earlier.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

El Hierro welcomes visitors, photos of the island on the link below.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

extranjero said:


> Not everyone gets a state pension at 65, so those who will not receive their pension until they are 67 will not automatically get free health care, and over 65 will pay a lot more into the convenio especial


That's why I wrote "if you wait until you are receiving your UK state pension before you move to Spain" and not "if you wait until you are 65".


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## g4jnw (Oct 21, 2013)

Hepa said:


> El Hierro welcomes visitors, photos of the island on the link below.


If we do make it in November, its already booked and paid for, to gran canaria (my operation and recovery dependant) then the plan is to fly there and stay for a couple of days, have you any links for a b&b near the coast, would have to look at hiring a car while were there too.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

g4jnw said:


> If we do make it in November, its already booked and paid for, to gran canaria (my operation and recovery dependant) then the plan is to fly there and stay for a couple of days, have you any links for a b&b near the coast, would have to look at hiring a car while were there too.


When we first arrived we always went self catering and stayed in Boomerang Apartments 1, in El Tamaduste. Bed and Breakfast might be a problem, unless you try the Parador Hotel. Both next to the Ocean.

2 days might not be long enough, however you can always return 

Apartments Boomerang I

Parador de El Hierro | Paradores de Turismo

We also used Autos Bamir for hire cars AUTOS BAMIR | rent a car en El Hierro | VIAJE A CANARIAS


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