# Canadian with pre-existing health conditions



## jpperry57 (Dec 28, 2010)

Hi,

I'm a new member of this forum. I'm Canadian, 53 years old, with diabetes and depression. I'll be retiring with my husband within 2 years, and I'm thinking about Spain as a permanent home. Can anyone offer some suggestions as health insurance? Which companies, if any, offer private health insurance to non EU retirees with pre-existing conditions? Can I buy in to the Spanish public health-care system? If I choose not to buy health insurance at all, what is the out of pocket cost of doctor's visits and hospital beds? We have universal health care in Canada: Can I "transfer" my health care coverage to Spain? Thanks to anyone who can help me with these questions.


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2010)

jpperry57 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm a new member of this forum. I'm Canadian, 53 years old, with diabetes and depression. I'll be retiring with my husband within 2 years, and I'm thinking about Spain as a permanent home. Can anyone offer some suggestions as health insurance? Which companies, if any, offer private health insurance to non EU retirees with pre-existing conditions? Can I buy in to the Spanish public health-care system? If I choose not to buy health insurance at all, what is the out of pocket cost of doctor's visits and hospital beds? We have universal health care in Canada: Can I "transfer" my health care coverage to Spain? Thanks to anyone who can help me with these questions.


Before even worrying about health care, do you have a "ticket" into Spain? That is, are you or your spouse EU citizens? Will you be able to meet the visa requirements to live here? If so - great! ¡Bienvenidos!

I'm not sure how the pre-existing conditions bit works here in Spain. However, I've had very good luck with my Mapfre health insurance. I don't think there's any sort of health coverage "transfer" between countries for *residents* (I specify because there might be for *visitors*). 

PLEASE don't make the mistake of travelling anywhere without insurance. I thought I could get by the three months I was visiting home this summer, and ended up with a nasty dog bite and hospital bill - I'm still not sure which was more painful. And for the uninsured in Spain, it's a similar story. My point is, you NEVER know when something could happen. Don't make this mistake, especially when private insurance in Spain is relatively cheap. (At 25 years old, I pay around 50 eur a month.)



EDIT: I just thought about this as I re-read your post and the comment about universal health care in Canada. If the private plan you choose works like mine does, you'll be 100% paid for if you go to the clinics they recommend. However, I don't think you have access to the state system. (Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong!) There's two systems in Spain: public and private. Public tends to have the same "problems" we see in Canada. Namely, waitlists. Private, while much quicker, doesn't necessarily have the same facilities/equipment as the public system. So, many Spanish take advantage of both systems, depending on what is ailing them. It's the famous "two-tier health care."


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jpperry57 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm a new member of this forum. I'm Canadian, 53 years old, with diabetes and depression. I'll be retiring with my husband within 2 years, and I'm thinking about Spain as a permanent home. Can anyone offer some suggestions as health insurance? Which companies, if any, offer private health insurance to non EU retirees with pre-existing conditions? Can I buy in to the Spanish public health-care system? If I choose not to buy health insurance at all, what is the out of pocket cost of doctor's visits and hospital beds? We have universal health care in Canada: Can I "transfer" my health care coverage to Spain? Thanks to anyone who can help me with these questions.


Hello and welcome. My husband and I are covered by the EU reciprocal health cover, but in addition we are members of a "Centro Medico", a private clinic with its own general doctors and specialists. This costs 9 euros a month for both of us and we can visit the doctor at any time, the same day, without charge. If we want to see a specialist it costs 20 euros for the first visit and 16 thereafter. There is no problem with pre-existing conditions, but you would have to pay full price for prescriptions. You might find it cheaper to get these on the internet.

If you can´t find an insurance policy that covers pre-existing conditions, it might be an option for you to get emergency cover via an insurance company, and join a Centro Medico as described above for your day-to.day needs.

We are about the same age as you and were quoted 1500 euros a year for private insurance with Sanitas (this was before we discovered we didn´t need it).

Hope that´s useful - best of luck!


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## jpperry57 (Dec 28, 2010)

halydia said:


> Before even worrying about health care, do you have a "ticket" into Spain? That is, are you or your spouse EU citizens? Will you be able to meet the visa requirements to live here? If so - great! ¡Bienvenidos!
> 
> I'm not sure how the pre-existing conditions bit works here in Spain. However, I've had very good luck with my Mapfre health insurance. I don't think there's any sort of health coverage "transfer" between countries for *residents* (I specify because there might be for *visitors*).
> 
> ...



Thank you for your response. Yes, it is a good idea to be cautious!


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## jpperry57 (Dec 28, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Hello and welcome. My husband and I are covered by the EU reciprocal health cover, but in addition we are members of a "Centro Medico", a private clinic with its own general doctors and specialists. This costs 9 euros a month for both of us and we can visit the doctor at any time, the same day, without charge. If we want to see a specialist it costs 20 euros for the first visit and 16 thereafter. There is no problem with pre-existing conditions, but you would have to pay full price for prescriptions. You might find it cheaper to get these on the internet.
> 
> If you can´t find an insurance policy that covers pre-existing conditions, it might be an option for you to get emergency cover via an insurance company, and join a Centro Medico as described above for your day-to.day needs.
> 
> ...


Your suggestion sound very practical, and very reasonable. Thank you very much!


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