# Health care difficulties



## joolieskoolie (Feb 20, 2010)

Hi there! 
My husband and I are pre-retirement age and living in Greece. We do not work having a small private income from UK. 

We had an E106 when we came but this has expired and we have just been informed that we do not qualify for a renewal ( despite having worked for the last 20 - 30 years in UK, paying NI contributions). We registered with IKA when we arrived in Greece but the date in our IKA books expired in Jan 2010 also. Fortunately we are both in good health at the moment (touch wood) without any pre-existing medical conditions.

Can anyone explain to me what our options are? 
Can we pay into the Greek Social Security system and if so how much would it be? Can we apply for an EHIC card from Greece? 
Does anyone know of good value Health Insurance?

Help would be appreciated!


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## scoobie (May 25, 2009)

Hi
Pretty sure you can not pay into the Greek system unless you work. Everyone in Greece needs an AMKA number now for any treatment which you get from the KEP offices, take in your passport and tax number. Not sure how an E111 holds up anymore but you used to be able to see an IKA doctor with them and get free treatment. It is best to ask the KEP for info.


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## joolieskoolie (Feb 20, 2010)

scoobie said:


> Hi
> Pretty sure you can not pay into the Greek system unless you work. Everyone in Greece needs an AMKA number now for any treatment which you get from the KEP offices, take in your passport and tax number. Not sure how an E111 holds up anymore but you used to be able to see an IKA doctor with them and get free treatment. It is best to ask the KEP for info.


Thanks for that - we will get the AMKA sorted. UK are now reviewing our E106 as they said they had no record of our contributions - we have provided them with P60 and last payslips so hope to get an extension. Looks like we might have to look for health insurance after that or get a job!


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## tpebop (Nov 2, 2009)

Fairly sure you have to reside in the UK to have EHIC.


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## joolieskoolie (Feb 20, 2010)

tpebop said:


> Fairly sure you have to reside in the UK to have EHIC.


It's all very confusing! The latest letter I've had from pensions service states that I can get an EHIC to cover me in EU countries if I'm there temporarily and that I can get this from UK. Still doesn't help me here though.


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## priggipisa (Mar 8, 2010)

Hi  My Mom was born in Greece, but lived in the US for 40 years and receives Social Security from the US not Greece. However, was able to pay into IKA for health insurance and pays about 45-50Euros per month. I'm currently not aware of other health insurance, moved back to Greece about 8 years ago-but you did mention you had IKA maybe for now, at least until you have more time to search for better options, maybe you can just buy into IKA.


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## joolieskoolie (Feb 20, 2010)

priggipisa said:


> Hi  My Mom was born in Greece, but lived in the US for 40 years and receives Social Security from the US not Greece. However, was able to pay into IKA for health insurance and pays about 45-50Euros per month. I'm currently not aware of other health insurance, moved back to Greece about 8 years ago-but you did mention you had IKA maybe for now, at least until you have more time to search for better options, maybe you can just buy into IKA.


Hi there! We went to the KEP office to get our AMKA numbers - this just confirms we are not working in Greece so are not entitled to IKA unless our E106 is updated ( still waiting for this!). I did ask about voluntary contributions and was told we had to be working to do this. However, if you have a minimum of 2 hectares of land ( which we don't) you can register the land with the tax office, pay tax on produce and then you can pay contributions to IKA. This will entitle you to a pension as well as health care. This might help someone else - but not us! Thanks for info though!


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## priggipisa (Mar 8, 2010)

joolieskoolie said:


> Hi there! We went to the KEP office to get our AMKA numbers - this just confirms we are not working in Greece so are not entitled to IKA unless our E106 is updated ( still waiting for this!). I did ask about voluntary contributions and was told we had to be working to do this. However, if you have a minimum of 2 hectares of land ( which we don't) you can register the land with the tax office, pay tax on produce and then you can pay contributions to IKA. This will entitle you to a pension as well as health care. This might help someone else - but not us! Thanks for info though!



Hi  Sorry that didn't help. It just dawned on me that maybe my Mom pays into the system simply because she's a Greek citizen or that prior to move to the US my Dad had a store, and maybe my Mom was on record & had paid into system back then. Good luck I know all the red tape here can be quite frustrating, getting my Mom IKA was no walk in the park and she is a citizen.


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