# Healthcare



## luiji07 (Sep 9, 2015)

Hi
I have just moved to Spain from the UK and I am 3 months pregnant
I have a bank account with La Caixa with dental Insurance 
I do not have my NI number or padron but I do have a EHIC card

How do I get healthcare?
If I get private healthcare will it cover me for pregnancy?
If is there a fixed time the policy has to be in place before you are covered?
If 6 months then would it cover me for the birth?

To get NI number do I need private healthcare if not earning money in Spain?
If do how do I obtain, do I need to get a padron?

From what I have read so far this is the process:-
Padron 
Private insurance to obtain a NI number 
Ni number - (what docs do you need if not working ?)
Get a medical card - (not sure how ?)
Medical card covers you for medical treatment

So I have to have private healthcare anyway if it covers me or not to get NI?

Sorry for so many questions


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Well if you are a resident in spain then you cant use an EHIC card and if you dont pay into the spanish system by way of an employment contract or autonomo (self employment) then you're not entitled to Spanish healthcare. So you need private healthcare and really you will have to shop around to get a price to cover a pregnancy. 

An NI number is an English number. In Spain you do need an NIE number, but that doesnt entitle you to healthcare.

Thats the basics, others on here may know of other options.


Jo xxx


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## luiji07 (Sep 9, 2015)

Hi 
Sorry I meant NIE number


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## Costachick (Apr 22, 2016)

If you're not earning money here in Spain I'm assuming you have enough funds to support yourself..
To be seen at a private hospital you don't have to have health insurance, you can go and just pay for the appointments and then birth, room etc... Ask in the Caixa if they have any discounts for appointments in a private hospital near you..
I personally have private healthcare and use the Quiron in Malaga for everything.. 
My friend doesn't have healthcare but also uses Quiron, she gets discount for appointments and tests via a funeral insurance that she has.. 
Is there any way you could go back to the UK for the birth? I actually went back to to UK for both of my births, I got in touch with the midwifery section at my parents health center before going, to let them know and check it was ok. They were fine about it, took all my scans and notes and stuff and flew over 3 months before my due date, then flew back here once the passports were sorted. 
I am talking 20 and 14 years ago now so I'm not sure if it's that easy to get away with these days. 
Good luck !!!!!


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## luiji07 (Sep 9, 2015)

Hi
I work for a uk small family company and not sure if job move will be permanent 
Cannot afford to pay for all treatment without insurance 
Kind of stuck in limbo as to what I do 
More I read more confused I get 
My taxes and NI are still being paid in the uk


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## luiji07 (Sep 9, 2015)

Don't wAnt birth in uk as will mean like you said flying home for 3 months which is not possible


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## Costachick (Apr 22, 2016)

If I was you I would ask at the Caixa, they offer health insurance and you're already a client with them. Also check out MAPFRE and adeslas (go to an office and talk to person, rather than searching online)


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## luiji07 (Sep 9, 2015)

Im planning on going to la caixa tomorrow 
Should I just be upfront and tell them I am
Pregnant as others have suggested I don't then a month after getting insurance tell them 
That I have just found out but seems little risky to me


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

All private health insurance providers impose waiting periods for most kinds of treatment when you first take out a policy (apart from GP visits and emergency treatment). In the case of pregnancy and childbirth this is normally a 12 month waiting period - obviously that is to avoid people doing what has been suggested to you, ie taking out a policy and not declaring that the applicant is pregnant.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

As others have said, talk to your bank because sometimes group schemes exist which do cover some things with no waiting period... I changed to Sanitas with my partners work a few years ago and as its a group scheme they waive all waiting lists and indeed a friend got pregnant a very short time after joining the scheme and they covered everything but this is I think more as she was part of a group scheme with hundreds of members.

DO NOT try to hide the fact you are expecting. Not only will it simply not work but to be frank it equates to nothing more than insurance fraud and as well as backfiring on you it is illegal and even if you do get away with it there is a moral side to this in as much as insurance premiums for everyone are calculated on the amount that insurers have to pay out... whilst I mean every respect, I dont think its fair on other members of insurance companies to end up footing the bill for other people trying to dodge the rules.

Waiting periods exist to ensure that people don't simply take out cover when they need help (and then in all likelihood stop paying when they no longer need it). They exist to ensure that people who do need help get it but that only genuine policyholders are taking money from the company and frankly this works and is the reason that the private healthcare system is amongst the most enviable in the world in terms of quality of care but also cost for insurance. In the USA for example people often pay hundreds and hundreds each month for the same level of cover that you can get in Spain for 50 euros!

You used to be able to get Spanish healthcare based on past or current UK NI contributions but unless you are a pensioner this is not the case now. 

If you are unable to get private cover, not entitled to state healthcare and cannot afford to pay for your childbirth then maybe you have to grit your teeth and go back to the UK, at least for a while.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Mother serious point to consider is that although you could approach a private hospital and ask for a package this would I would have thought be a price based on all going well. It must be considered that should there be any complications or perhaps a routine birth turns a bit complicated and needs surgery or intensive care (hopefully not but you never know) then these things get very expensive... so even if you negotiate a package deal so to speak, make sure you ask what if....


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

luiji07 said:


> Im planning on going to la caixa tomorrow
> Should I just be upfront and tell them I am
> Pregnant as others have suggested I don't then a month after getting insurance tell them
> That I have just found out but seems little risky to me


It wouldn't be difficult for them to find out - especially if their were any problems and it's fraud

So don't do that 

Jo xxx

Sent from my D5803 using Expat Forum


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## luiji07 (Sep 9, 2015)

Thanks for your messages 
I don't want to hide anything from any insurance company so would not go down this route 
I just keep getting such conflicting information 

does anyone have any recommendations for a tax specialist in Barcelona who can advise re my tax situation and paying into a state healthcare ?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

luiji07 said:


> Thanks for your messages
> I don't want to hide anything from any insurance company so would not go down this route
> I just keep getting such conflicting information
> 
> does anyone have any recommendations for a tax specialist in Barcelona who can advise re my tax situation and paying into a state healthcare ?


There is information here about paying into the state healthcare system via the convenio especial in Cataluña, what documentation you need, etc


Formalización del convenio de prestación de asistencia sanitaria para personas que no estén aseguradas ni sean beneficiarias del Sistema Nacional de Salud. Generalitat de Cataluña

However, you said in your OP that you have just moved to Spain. One of the criteria for accessing the convenio especial is that you have to have been registered as a resident in Spain for at least one year before applying, so unfortunately it does not sound as if you could go down that route.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

luiji07 said:


> Thanks for your messages
> I don't want to hide anything from any insurance company so would not go down this route
> I just keep getting such conflicting information
> 
> does anyone have any recommendations for a tax specialist in Barcelona who can advise re my tax situation and paying into a state healthcare ?


I would look into becoming self-employed here & invoicing the UK company.

That way you would be entitled to access state healthcare.

As Lynn says, you won't be able to 'buy in' as such, until you have been a registered resident for 12 months.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> I would look into becoming self-employed here & invoicing the UK company.
> 
> That way you would be entitled to access state healthcare.
> 
> As Lynn says, you won't be able to 'buy in' as such, until you have been a registered resident for 12 months.


Thats actually a very good idea. Your UK employers are paying tax and NI for you which is not doing you any good as you now live in Spain. If you were self employed in Spain the cost to your UK employers would be less meaning they could perhaps reach a deal over paying you a little more to cover the additional cost you have for social security in Spain. Whilst you would not be contributing in the UK towards your pension etc you would be in Spain and I believe you can transfer contributions between EU countries later to close up and gaps in contributions. Also you would get state health care in Spain from the moment you become self employed.

The only possible issue I can see is that I think there is (or certainly was) a part of being autonomo that means that if you only have one client you are seen to be employed and not self employed (put in place to stop less scrupulous spanish employers taking on staff for jobs such as bar work and dodging their contributions) but even if this is the case if your only client was in Spain perhaps this does not apply if they are overseas.

Definately a good idea and one worth talking to a good Gestor about to see where you stand! Could solve all your problems instantly!

Oh and now I believe autonomo contributions not count towards paro entitlement so after a couple of years if you did loose your work you may be entitled also to spanish unemployment benefit!


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