Rachels2000

:scared:


Hello
Can anyone on here recommend a sensible private health care company for me?Is it better to use Spanish private health care companies to insure with as they are really expensive here(uk).Norwich Union want £60 per person a month and we are only 34 and 41.I was hoping to get cover for me and my hubby for £60 a month for both of us.We got a quote from Norwich Union today for £120 for both of us.Do you have private health cover in Spain or in uk?Can you give me any names of sensible priced companies.I do have private healthcare cover here in the Uk (me and my hubby) and it is £50 a month.So I was hoping when I move to Spain it would be the same or only slightly dearer.
Thanks
Rachel.

Mercedes

Can't you use your private health cover in Spain, I would have thought you would be able to since its in the EU, or doesn't it work like that?

coralsoft

Why would you want to use private health care when the health service is pretty good compared to the UK and you'll be in semi-retirement, so not too worried about choosing times to avoid missing work commitments?

You can use your health card E111 replacement to get service before you're fully resident.

We used Sanitas for the whole family until my wife switched her and the children out of the main plan (just kept the dental plan) a couple of years ago. I'm still in the main plan and the cost is about 80€/month for all of us (we have 5 children, so the dental add-on for wife and them is probably significant ). They've just opened a health centre 100m from our house, so it certainly can't be beaten for convenience and with a pharmacist, who also does glasses and has a chiropodist, 50m in the other direction, we're sorted for health.

PS. Is it just around Madrid, or does the whole of Spain have pharmacies every couple of hundred yards? Our village centre is tiny, but I can think of 4 within 5 mins walk of each other and I spotted another this afternoon, in a back street that I rarely go along.

Gill Stevens

Whereabouts will you be living? I have been led to believe by quite a lot of people plus articles I have read that if you are in the Alicante province, you will get health treatment free if you are not retirement age and not working. I believe that other provinces are not yet doing this, but if anyone knows any different...

I did speak to Newcastle Benefits agency who told me about Alicante province aswell.

We were going to get private medical insurance but have not counted this into our calculations now that we have found this out.

Unexpat

Do you have any references on these articles please? As far as I see it, you will only get free care if you are one of:

1. At, or above, state pensionable age (65 by 2010).
2. Paying Social Security contributions, whether self-employed, or otherwise.
3. Destitute (i.e. no savings, or income).
4. Registered unemployed (for which you will have had to have been previously employed and entered into the Social Security system).
5. A minor (i.e. below the age of 18).
6. Pregnant.
7. The spouse of any of 1, 2 or 4 above.

If you don't fall into the above then chances are that all you are entitled to is free emergency care and anything thereafter you (or your medical insurance, if you have it) will have to pay for.

j0197

Since we moved here we have been using National Nederlanden (Asisa). We were going to change over this year to Sanitas but it worked out abit more expensive and just thought I kind of know what im doing now and stayed with Asisa.

We pay about 280 euros for 2 people a quarter. Its quite good except unlike with Sanitas...it is all in spanish. So you need to know spanish or go through a Gestoria (third party). They are the only ones I think that do a no claims discount. However, paperwork can be slow and have noticed a lot more doctors dropping them because of this. Sanitas I have heard is very good. And when I talk to the doctors abou the companies, they also say Sanitas or also Medi...something.. Cant remeber the name.

The private care here is very different to in the uk...you go straight to the doctor you need when you need....you dont have to go to the nhs doc and then get referred. So the system is very good here.

Good luck

Mercedes

You don't have to be referred either in the UK to a doctor, when I had an operation the year before last, I went privately straight to the surgeon without any referral, only went on recommendation. I knew what was wrong with me and with a week of seeing him I was operated on. Flew in especially from Spain for the op. What you have to be careful in Spain is going private they will often do treatments that you may not need or keep you in longer so they can claim back from the insurance. The public health system is certainly much better than the NHS. Be careful with dentists over here though, I went to one in Malaga who was actually recommended and the dentist shouldnt be practicing, it cost me nearly 5 grand to get my teeth refixed on top of 2000 which I had already paid. The guy who runs it is a heavy weight in the profession and I couldn't get my dentist who was Danish to give me evidence, he was afraid that the Spanish would close him down and he is good.

Talking about insurances, becareful on car insurance as well, a friend of mine, had a nasty car crash and the spanish person's insurance company closed down rather than pay the compensation. I personally would go with someone like Norwich Union, mainly because I know they will pay out when the shit hits the fan, some of the others I'm not sure. I personally wouldn't go Spanish, just not too sure whether I totally trust them.

Gill Stevens

I spoke to Newcastle Benefits Office, but they could be incorrect. However, I got an article off the site www.ukgovabusesexpats.co.uk/articles. This was an extract from the Costa Blanca News 16.9.2004. It states that free health care for non-workers, non-retired in Castellon, Valencia and Alicante only apply. This instruction was from the Conselleria de Sanidad of the Valencian Autonomous Community and says to go to a health centre with passport, padron and residencia. Newcastle told me that providing you have worked for a certain length of time prior to going to live in Spain you are entitled to something like 18 months of free cover. Presumably then you would have the residencia and could go to the health centre. They are saying you should apply for a tarjeta sanitaria SIP at the centre. They would also require a document stating that the person is not entitled to health care in the UK anymore. This has been agreed in consultations with Medical Benefits at Newcastle.

Obviously this could all be wrong, but it sounds pretty official.

Unexpat

My interpretations lead me to conclude that free health care in the Comunidad Autónoma de Cataluña is for those on early retirement only (the definition of which I still would like to satisfy myself on at some stage) and has limited value insofar as when you step outside the boundaries of the CA, you will have no cover other than that, afforded under EU regulations and current Spanish law, for emergency treatment.

Ultimately the principles I quoted in my previous post must still stand, by common sense. I would go so far as to say that anyone on invalidity benefit, or similarly incapacitated and recognised by the State as such would also be looked after by the system.

However, if you don't fall into any of the categories that would be covered by the system, then you are very much going to be on your own and would need to weigh up whether to pay social security (NI) contributions as a "self-employed" person, or take out private health insurance - after all there is no such thing as a free lunch in this life.

Monthly self-employed SS contributions run at €230 to €260, if I'm not mistaken. Private health insurance can probably be obtained at far less cost, but then again your SS contributions are going to count towards a Spanish State Pension one day. You may be better taking out the Private Health insurance and investing your pot yourself, of course.

Unexpat

Frankly I think third-hand quotes like this should be substantiated, or better still not posted. They are kind of ridiculous when you think about it.

I guess all Spanish people are pretty stupid to have taken out their car insurance and trusted companies based in their own country and run by their own people. They should obviously have taken their policies out only with English firms. Ok, sarcasm off. Apologies, but that little urban-legend anecdote did bug me a fair bit.

All countries have cowboys (some more than most maybe, but we're talking about a member state of the EU here) and all countries have companies that fold due to a combination of unfortunate circumstances, rather than cowboy management. And whilst we're on the subject not all large insurance companies are "safe bets", either, as history shows. Do the research and go with your findings.

Unexpat

Just had a look at the Sanitas website. They have a plan called "Sanitas Health Plan", billed as "the only health insurance in Spain for foreigners". Just out of interest I priced it up for myself and my wife and then compared it with their "Sanitas Multi" plan (both plans with dental cover).

The latter is about half the price (€150 pm) of the former (€280 pm) and I can't for the life of me figure out why. My best guess is that the former includes re-patriation options - but that's a guess without reading the fine print.

j0197

With the cheapest form of sanitas, you have to pay a charge of about 20euros per visit each time you go to see a doctor.

So depending on how oftern you need to go to the doctors, it could be cheap, it could be expensive!

Nige

SANITAS has just opened a 'state of the art' hospital in the northern suburbs of MADRID http://www.hospitalmoraleja.com/
There is an interesting article written by The Telegraph correspondent saying that this place could attract patients from all over Spain.
http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/global...C-exp_27012006
At the end of his article he states;
Brokers say Spanish insurers such as Sanitas, Aresa and Asssa are good value at around a third of the price of international schemes, so there is no point buying international cover if you spend most of your time in Spain.

One disadvantage is that Spanish schemes tend to have low benefit ceilings and often restrict treatment to certain locations, which can be inconvenient.

Bupa claims strong sales for its Health Plan, aimed specifically at expats in Iberia. The scheme, which is cheaper than full international insurance, covers policyholders in Spain and their home state, which in practice is likely to be Britain or another north European country.

Mitzyboy

I've seen so much posted on various forums about healthcare in Spain and everyone seems to have different idea of what the situation is.

This guy was a DSS employee and has comments about the type of E form that people are going to Spain with, caliming that the E111 is in fact the wrong from if you are going to live there. I hope this helps:

Good morning all,
Well, I have searched my documents, and blow me I have found the original form, [My copy]. When I got my health card I would have chucked it away, but kept it to remind me of my doctors name.
The form is issued by "Servicio Andaluz de salud" and is headed "BDU: SOLICITUD DE USO MULTIPLE.
[It does not have a no.]
It then has the usual stuff, name address passport etc.
at the bottom it has a "clave no." [key no.] and the name of our doctor, that we chose.
It was then signed by the receptionist, and stamped with a Junta de Andalucia consejeria de salud stamp. Thats it really.
Now then. A lot of you are turning up in Spain with E111. These are the wrong forms, as they are for tourism.
You should apply to Newcastle, [DSS head office] and ask for the relevant cert.
The 1st is if you are of non pensionable age, and is called form E106. This cert is based on your national ins. contributions in the previous 2 yrs.
If you are up to date, you will get a cert. to take to your health centre.
[We lived in France before Spain, and had the cert then.]
If you are of retirement age, if my memory serves me correctly, the cert is E121?
These certs are valid for up to 2 yrs.
Before you all go poo pooing this info, please believe me I know. How? I worked for the DSS.
Now all this info is 5 yrs. old, as I have been out of the uk for 6.
However check with Newcastle. I know rules and regs change regularly, however do try, ITS FREE.
Yes i know I'm going to get a load of stuff saying, "well the E111 was good enough for us", however if you want the RIGHT cover, again, contact Newcastle.You will get a longer cover LEGALLY.

Unexpat

E111 is now known as EHIC (http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAnd...59&chk=YKnlf9), but he is right; if you're going with the intention of residing in the country (i.e. you have no abode in the UK), then you cannot use EHIC.

This link, though slightly out of date appears to corroborate what he has said: http://www.globalestates.co.uk/E121.htm and is consistent with what I thought the position was, with the additional information on the E106 form, which is of interest to me.

A little more digging and I found an E106 form at http://www.shb.ie/forms/e106.pdf although reading the notes adds a little more confusion. If you're unemployed, apparently you can't use this form, but members of your family (your dependants) can. Damn, there is just no end to this it would seem

In my position, I'm unemployed (my contract ended two months ago), I'm about to finally make the permanent move to Spain and I have a contract lined-up once in Spain, but in between it would appear I'm not a tourist and not entitled to get anything back on the substantial contributions I paid into the NI system over 30+ years (should I need it)? Nice. Guess it's time to talk to DHS Overseas Benefits Department, Medical Benefits Centre, Room TC001, Tyneview Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England NE98 1BA.