We're currently paying for private health care, but today we found out that we can pay 60 Euros a month each to join the Spanish health system.

All good but my inbuilt caution is wondering if there's a qualifying period ? I can't see them allowing you to join, and the day after you tell them you have a serious illness.

Do you need to wait a wait a while ?

Anybody with experience or knowledge ?

We're in Lanzarote

TIA

Yep after a full year of residency you can indeed join the system via the Convenio Especial.
No catches its the Spanish version of the NHS.

Here in the Valencia region it can take a couple of months to get registered and the advice is not to cancel the private before you get the SIP card.
So as long as your private is paid monthly give its go (or keep both for a while)

Im not bothering, private for us is as cheap and in fact better as our local health centre has not got the best reputation.
We have friends that have done it and one who arrived just over a year ago is in the process now..
And as long as I can remain healthy until the UK picks up the cost when Im 67 (7 years) I will them get it.
The Convenio is about twice the cost if once you go past 65 and until you retire (don't know at what age you are now).
For me thats two expensive years, if on the convenio...

Cool, thanks

https://www.guidebookspain.com/guide...alth-care.html

I'm in Cantabria, and when I went to the office with my Conv Esp application form they were confused as, here, this scheme is for people like refugees, who have arrived here with nothing.

That is to say that you need people with experience and knowledge of the system in your communidad.

This will be the Universal Healthcare that is available to undocumented immigrants. As you say this is not the same as the convenio.

Thank you for the comment, however I still have the form which is headed "Solicitud de subscripcion de convenio especial (etc) real decreto 576/2013". The form is Cantabria-specific which makes me think the scheme is different in each community.

Ahh...it might well be the case then that there is no convenio for healthcare in that community. It certainly was the case a few years ago that it didn't exist everywhere.

I don't know if this link is any help if you open in chrome then click on 3 dots top right you should be able to translate it to English .
https://www.cantabria.es/web/atencio.../16401/3786529

Just like PHI Convenio Especial does not provide any subsidy for medicines making the cost completely down to the individual.

Medicines prescribed during a hospital stay and on discharge are normally free though.

Convenio is €60/mth up to age 65 and €157/mth thereafter

This from UK embassy Madrid
One-to-one healthcare Q&A on Wednesday, 25 May 2022*
If you have questions concerning your entitlement of access to healthcare in Spain, the Healthcare Team is offering you the opportunity to speak one-to-one with a member of the team.
To book your slot, please complete this form on the following link:


https://forms.office.com/pages/respo...BQUyQlQCN0PWcu


but you have to be quick - it fills up FAST

Bit of an old thread, but better than starting a new similar one!
He's 60 years old, Irish passport, been resident in Spain just over 2 years and no longer has the health insurance he needed to get there in the first place. He's on blood pressure pills, & reading the forum it looks like its not worth looking at Private as they would exclude anything related to blood pressure.
So I've been trying to unravel the Convenio Especial, this is for Galicia, & am stuck on 2 things.
Firstly they talk about having a "Padron thats less than three months old" - he has his residency thing which is valid for 5 years but this sounds like something different?
Seconfly they talk about having to get a letter to say that he is no longer eligible for NHS treatment. Anyone got any experience of this at all?

Thanks in advance!

The 3 month Padron is normal for many things. Just go to the town hall and they will give you a fresh one and probably charge you for the privilege!

The letter you refer to is often called the Newcastle Letter. The DWP or whatever they call themselves now will give you one.

Fantastic, thanks so much Fred! I've been going round in circles on google, knew I should have come here first!

How does one get a "residency thing" without a padron?

Applying for CE in Galacia

https://www.sergas.es/Tarxeta-sanita...2013?idioma=es