# Healthcare



## jeff4051 (Mar 28, 2016)

I will be moving to Torrevieja next year with my wife, I will be 62 on a civil service pension with my lump sum from work. Obviously I will not be entitled to free Health care until I retire??? What options will I have and the cost for the two of us?


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

jeff4051 said:


> I will be moving to Torrevieja next year with my wife, I will be 62 on a civil service pension with my lump sum from work. Obviously I will not be entitled to free Health care until I retire??? What options will I have and the cost for the two of us?


You are right, you would not be able to access free state healthcare until you reach UK state retirement age and are in receipt of your state pension, at which time you should be able to get an S1 form (and one for your wife as your dependent if she will reach state pension age later than you).

In the meantime, you will need to have private health insurance for at least the first year - this is one of the things you will need to show in order to register as foreign residents in Spain. Costs vary between different insurers and levels of cover (you will need a comprehensive policy which covers both primary healthcare and hospital treatment). My husband and I have private insurance and this year our premiums have gone up to €120 per month for the two of us (quite cheap as he is now over 65 but our company doesn't hike the premiums for over 65s as many do, but unfortunately they don't cover the Torrevieja area). You could look up the websites for Spanish health insurance companies like Sanitas, Mapfre, ASSA for example and get quotes from them.
If either of you have any pre-existing conditions that will complicate matters because they must be declared and will either make cover more expensive, or more likely the company will exclude those conditions from the policy.

After you have been officially resident in Spain for at least one year you have the option to pay into the state healthcare system via what is called the Convenio Especial. This currently costs €60 per month for those aged under 65 and €157 per month for those aged 65 or over.

In both cases you would normally also have to pay the full cost of any medications prescribed for you, most private healthcare insurance doesn't include these and nor does the Convenio Especial.


----------



## jeff4051 (Mar 28, 2016)

Thank you for the reply most informative


----------



## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

jeff4051 said:


> I will be moving to Torrevieja next year with my wife, I will be 62 on a civil service pension with my lump sum from work. Obviously I will not be entitled to free Health care until I retire??? What options will I have and the cost for the two of us?


Take a look at El Perpetuo Socorro, an Alicante-based health insurer. English speaking staff and very competitive prices. We've been with them for seven years and have no complaints. In our first year we were with Sanitas and they hiked our premium by 11% even though we hadn't made any claims. We also discovered that our policy automatically expired when we reached 65. This is the EPS web site:
El Perpetuo Socorro Seguros de Salud en Alicante


----------



## Jesnat (Mar 5, 2016)

We are also looking into cost of healthcare. I have a qoute from one large company but the policy comes with a Waiting Period. So, for example, Hospitalisation with surgery, has an 8 month waiting period. Meaning we wouldn't be covered for 8 months. The company say these waiting periods are the industry standard for a new policy. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks


----------



## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Jesnat said:


> We are also looking into cost of healthcare. I have a qoute from one large company but the policy comes with a Waiting Period. So, for example, Hospitalisation with surgery, has an 8 month waiting period. Meaning we wouldn't be covered for 8 months. The company say these waiting periods are the industry standard for a new policy. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks


Confirmed (although the actual period varies - for some it's 12 months).


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Jesnat said:


> We are also looking into cost of healthcare. I have a qoute from one large company but the policy comes with a Waiting Period. So, for example, Hospitalisation with surgery, has an 8 month waiting period. Meaning we wouldn't be covered for 8 months. The company say these waiting periods are the industry standard for a new policy. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks


Yes, it is standard. Normally GP visits and emergency treatment are covered immediately but there are waiting periods for every other kind of treatment or surgery. They vary according to the type of treatment, some will be 3 months, others 6 months or over, up to 12 months in the case of pregnancy and childbirth. After we took our policy out, my husband injured his shoulder in a fall and needed physiotherapy - the waiting period was 3 months and this happened 6 weeks short of the end of that period, so he had to pay. Not too bad as 10 sessions only cost €250 and the problem was completely cured, but that was just sod's law.


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Having to pay for medications could have implications running into thousand in serious cases like cancer etc. Are there any policies that cover everything?


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Isobella said:


> Having to pay for medications could have implications running into thousand in serious cases like cancer etc. Are there any policies that cover everything?


I do recall someone on the forum saying they had a policy which covered medication, but I can't remember now who it was, nor which company. The only one I've ever seen was from Sanitas, but when I looked at the small print it was only up to a certain limit, certainly not thousands.

Our policy covers medication prescribed during hospital stays (and it does include chemotherapy) but there would certainly be lots of other things which wouldn't be covered and it could work out very expensive. That's why we were glad when we could also register with the state system after my OH became a pensioner. I got the same medication prescribed by my medico familiar in the state system and went from paying €28.50 every 28 days to paying €2.85, and that's only a minor example.


----------



## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

Lynn R said:


> I do recall someone on the forum saying they had a policy which covered medication, but I can't remember now who it was, nor which company. The only one I've ever seen was from Sanitas, but when I looked at the small print it was only up to a certain limit, certainly not thousands. Our policy covers medication prescribed during hospital stays (and it does include chemotherapy) but there would certainly be lots of other things which wouldn't be covered and it could work out very expensive. That's why we were glad when we could also register with the state system after my OH became a pensioner. I got the same medication prescribed by my medico familiar in the state system and went from paying &#128;28.50 every 28 days to paying &#128;2.85, and that's only a minor example.


 Sanitas has limits, yes, and only reimburses 50% up to those limits


----------



## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Jesnat said:


> We are also looking into cost of healthcare. I have a qoute from one large company but the policy comes with a Waiting Period. So, for example, Hospitalisation with surgery, has an 8 month waiting period. Meaning we wouldn't be covered for 8 months. The company say these waiting periods are the industry standard for a new policy. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks


When we changed from Sanitas to El Perpetuo Socorro the new company agreed, by negotiation, to waive all of the normal waiting periods and to give immediate coverage. It might be worth demanding this as part of the negotiation for taking out a new policy. This did, of course, exclude existing conditions.


----------



## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

This article might be of interest to anyone looking for private health insurance:
The couple being charged £12,000 a year by Bupa for health insurance | This is Money
Although this article is about health insurance in the UK it is worth remembering that Sanitas, the Spanish health insurer, is owned by BUPA. We were with Sanitas during our first year in Spain and they tried to increase our renewal premium by 11% even though we had not made any claims. Needless to say we cancelled and found an insurer that guaranteed to keep annual increases roughly in line with the official inflation figure (except for pre-determined age triggers) and over the last seven years they have, so far, honoured this pledge.


----------



## Elyles (Aug 30, 2012)

The Skipper said:


> This article might be of interest to anyone looking for private health insurance: The couple being charged £12,000 a year by Bupa for health insurance | This is Money Although this article is about health insurance in the UK it is worth remembering that Sanitas, the Spanish health insurer, is owned by BUPA. We were with Sanitas during our first year in Spain and they tried to increase our renewal premium by 11% even though we had not made any claims. Needless to say we cancelled and found an insurer that guaranteed to keep annual increases roughly in line with the official inflation figure (except for pre-determined age triggers) and over the last seven years they have, so far, honoured this pledge.


 Our increase was 22% with Sanitas.


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Like other insurances cheapest isn't always the best. Some don't give you a choice of clinics. A friend had to use one in Malaga and it was awful, state hospital there is far superior.


----------



## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Isobella said:


> Like other insurances cheapest isn't always the best. Some don't give you a choice of clinics. A friend had to use one in Malaga and it was awful, state hospital there is far superior.


That is certainly not the case with our insurer (El Perpetuo Socorro). We have a huge choice of hospitals, doctors and specialists and we have not had any problem with them when it comes to authorising treatment. We have an annual health check (as part of the cover) and the doctor picked up an unusual result with my wife's blood test last year. He ordered more detailed blood tests, an X-ray and an MRI scan which were all approved without question by the insurer. Thankfully nothing sinister was found but she is continuing to be monitored with six-monthly blood tests. Can't fault this particular company.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

We are happy with ours, too. Our annual increases have always been quite small (just €5 per month this year, sometimes less than that). We have a book which they publish every year (the cuadro medico) showing all the clinics and specialists for all the different areas of medicine which are approved for use. There are more in some areas than others, obviously, but certainly in Málaga there are quite a few. When I had to have a benign breast lump removed I had a choice of surgeons I could use (after having a biopsy), went for a consultation, he ordered pre-op checks which I had done locally, took them back to him on a Thursday afternoon and he said fine, can you come in on Monday to have the operation? I went to the Hospital Parque San Antonio in Málaga, it was very nice if you can say that about any hospital. Also had post surgical check-ups with him. Everything we have needed has always been approved without question, and very quickly. We don't have any excess on our policy, and no co-payments either. All bills go direct to the insurer so we don't have to pay out anything and claim it back later. Like The Skipper, our policy includes annual health check-ups, and it was through a standard cardiology check-up that my faulty heart valve was discovered.

My brother in the UK has just had to have a spinal operation. He has private medical insurance with BUPA through his employer. They said the fee charged by the particular surgeon he saw was higher than the limit they were prepared to pay, so he would either have to use a cheaper one or pay the additional cost himself. He had confidence in the surgeon so ended up paying a thousand pounds of the cost himself. That isn't my idea of private medical insurance, really.


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> My brother in the UK has just had to have a spinal operation. He has private medical insurance with BUPA through his employer. They said the fee charged by the particular surgeon he saw was higher than the limit they were prepared to pay, so he would either have to use a cheaper one or pay the additional cost himself. He had confidence in the surgeon so ended up paying a thousand pounds of the cost himself. That isn't my idea of private medical insurance, really.


Mine neither! As you said though, in Spain if they are on the list you can use them. Some insurers also allow you to choose other doctors not on their list and they pay a % but unless you have some very specific reason for this I dont see the point in paying extra for this type of policy.

Another thing about most insurers is that you dont have to be referred.. you can see who you want when you want. I was told I needed my tonsils out urgently by en ENT surgeon and I really was not convinced that I really did so I did some googling to find a highly renowned ENT surgeon in the province, checked and Sanitas worked with him and I simply called for an appointment and saw him in a few days (and he said I didn't need the op!) But that ability to get second opinions and choose who you see really has great value in my opinion.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

xicoalc said:


> Mine neither! As you said though, in Spain if they are on the list you can use them. Some insurers also allow you to choose other doctors not on their list and they pay a % but unless you have some very specific reason for this I dont see the point in paying extra for this type of policy.
> 
> Another thing about most insurers is that you dont have to be referred.. you can see who you want when you want. I was told I needed my tonsils out urgently by en ENT surgeon and I really was not convinced that I really did so I did some googling to find a highly renowned ENT surgeon in the province, checked and Sanitas worked with him and I simply called for an appointment and saw him in a few days (and he said I didn't need the op!) But that ability to get second opinions and choose who you see really has great value in my opinion.


Yes I agree. I too can make an appointment with a specialist without having to wait for a referral from a GP.

The really ironic thing about my brother's situation was that the surgeon was working in one of BUPA's own hospitals!


----------



## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> Yes I agree. I too can make an appointment with a specialist without having to wait for a referral from a GP.
> 
> The really ironic thing about my brother's situation was that the surgeon was working in one of BUPA's own hospitals!


That really takes the biscuit. I think though in general the private healthcare sector in Spain is worlds apart from the UK. Going back a number of years I had Bupa in the UK which I never used but I recall that the procedure was always that if you are sick you see the NHS GP and then IF he says you need a specialist thats when Bupa kicks in. At least in Spain you pays your money and you gets your card and then you go and see who you want when you want ... really in general its a very good system over here. I have a bit of a skin problem at the moment (nothing serious jeje) but it is nice to be able to research online a good dr and find that my insurers work with her and just make an appointment and go without having to go to a GP first!


----------



## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

xicoalc said:


> That really takes the biscuit. I think though in general the private healthcare sector in Spain is worlds apart from the UK. Going back a number of years I had Bupa in the UK which I never used but I recall that the procedure was always that if you are sick you see the NHS GP and then IF he says you need a specialist thats when Bupa kicks in. At least in Spain you pays your money and you gets your card and then you go and see who you want when you want ... really in general its a very good system over here. I have a bit of a skin problem at the moment (nothing serious jeje) but it is nice to be able to research online a good dr and find that my insurers work with her and just make an appointment and go without having to go to a GP first!


True but your GP is always willing to oblige. Not that I am saying they get kick backs or anything dubious


----------

