Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

In 2001 I had an accident in Sorrento, Italy. Dealt with at the local hospital, head stitched and kept in for 3 days due to concussion. Althought this town seems to absolutely depend on tourism no one in the hospital spoke English, I was not surprised because these workers were not involved with tourism but with health. They asked for my passport, my EHIC, my insurance certificate and also asked me to sign to say that any shortfall would be met by me. I was fully covered by my holiday insurance so did not incur any bills for the ambulance, medical care, MRI´s or hospital stay, however I had to have my stitches removed by a doctor in the private sector before leaving the town and had to pay her charges immediately but I was able to claim this back from the insurance company when I returned to the UK.

Rosemary

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

Of course every one should have travel insurance, but do people realise that insurance firms will not give you any cover if you are awaiting any investigation or result. Once you have a result and/or diagnosis they will cover you, for an increased charge.If you choose not to inform the company of this or any existing conditions,when applying for insurance, should anything happen on your holiday your insurance will be null and void.Also, if you have been approved for insurance and afterwards something happens and you have an operation, a new diagnosis, or are waiting for an investigation to be performed, or the results from blood tests, again,your insurance will be null and void.
Many people, when booking their flight, tick the box for cheap insurance;do they think to inform the company of any existing conditions?many do not, so the insurance is useless.

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

hello
how much would be a good Spanish insurance policy for a single person,
40+ ? around EUR 400 a year ? with dentals.
what is the cost also for having access to the Andalucian supposed to be free public health service ?


thank you

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

The public health service was never "supposed to be free" in Spain. It is only for those who contribute to it, and always has been

In reality 99.9% of Spaniards are covered, but it is not a birth right of Spaniards or of any other nationality in Spain

You cannot use the public heath service in Spain unless you pay social security payments. And you can only pay social security payments if you are working legally. Pensioners from other EU countries are exempt

This is how almost all national health systems work in Europe. The UK being the exception

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

so if either you pay yr income tax in Spain or are employed there, you can
pay for social security and thus have access to free health care and if anything else is not covered by the ss, then you private Spanish health insurance will cover the difference. correct?

rgds

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

No, just being a tax payer in Spain does not entitle you to health care.

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

Not entirely

If you pay annual income tax in Spain you are still not covered. You need to pay monthly social security contributions. You can only pay these if you are employed or self-employed (the minimum amount is 260 euros per month).

If you are working for a living then you must pay social security contributions

If you choose not to work for a living and are under retirement age, then you must pay for your own health provision, either through an insurance policy or paying cash when needed

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

as far as i know, if autonomo, it's capped at 250-260euros a month.
no matter what yr income is.
and yes i meant to have the "right" to pay for ss if you are employed
or self employed. that's all.
and on top of it, very very wise to have your own Spanish(and European)
private health insurance. I read it's about EUR 400-500 for a single person, per year.

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

It might depend somewhat on your age, but my OH and I currently pay €106 per month for private health insurance for the two of us (aged 57 and 63), if that's any use as a guide.

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

thanks. that's what I found too, about EUR 800-1200 a year for a couple in their fifties.
rgds

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

That's not completely true

250-260 euros is the minimum monthly social security payment and entitles you to the minimum state pension (of around 600 euros per month). This is meant for people who earn less than 10k euros per year.

If you earn over around 35k euros per year then the social security payment will be around 700 euros per month. That is the maximum amount and entitles you to the maximum state pension (of around 2,500 euros per month).

The complication is that the self-employed (autonomos) can choose the level of their social security payments (between 250-700 euros per month). So most opt for the minimum payment. This of course means they will get a low pension.

As for health insurance, thats completely up to you. Most Spaniards I know just pay cash when they need to see a consultant urgently or "jump the queue". For anything urgent or difficult you would normally better off with the state service anyway, even with the many cuts

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

hi
ok so you have to pay 250 euros but you don't have to pay ever more even you make more than EUR 10K a year.
anyway a good fiscal counselor is always advised.
on hcare, ok, understood. we'll take a private health insurance anyway.
Spain is said to have quality medical services.
thanks again.

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

You post is a bit misleading.

You make it sound that all one has to do is pay 700 euros to be entitled to 2500 a month, but you have forgotton to mention that the pension is based not only on the amount of the monthly contribution, but also the length of time the worker has been paying.

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

just to throw a spanner in the works - there have been two changes in the past few weeks

new registrations for autónomo now only have to pay 50€ a month - it's for a limited time (12/18 months I think) & after that time you have to start paying the full rate


also - a 'buy in to state healthcare' scheme has now been introduced - it's about 60€ a month per person, & is aimed at those who have no other way of accessing state healthcare

the main difference between this & private health insurance, is that there are no exclusions

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

thanks lynxa. good news. i suppose you can pay that EUR60 a month and pay a private health insurance, to be super fully covered.

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

yes that's right - but I had just come back & was about to edit my post to say that I'd forgotten to add that you can't 'buy in' until you have been a registered resident for a year

so you'd still have to make other arrangements for that first year of residency

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

Yes, I think the minimum amount of time you need to have been contributing has just gone up from 25 years to 35 years

I dont think that is misleading though, all state pension systems work that way

If you have worked across different EU countries then normally you get paid out in the country you were last working in. So if you worked 25 years in the UK and the last 10 years in Spain, then you would get a pension according to Spanish rules

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

Is this new law across the whole of Spain?

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

yep!

http://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2013-8190

Re: Healthcare in Spain
 

I have just returned from holiday to spain - i always carry my health card with me and know of the scams where people are taken by ambulance to private hospitals so its a case of being aware that these things happen. I think remembering this is very important, especially if, like me, you hire a car.
Wonderful weather for October, was in and around Almeria, it got to around 32 degrees...................