health care

Hello Everyone,

Could anyone give me information regarding health care. Myself and my husband are both aged 60 and due to the UK goverment changing policy we will not now get our state pension till we are 66/67.

We have recently retired and are considering moving to Spain in the next 18 months. Obviously we will need private heath care and i have seen something called Convenio Especial ?. My husband has had a heart attack and has high blood pressure , I have irregular heartbeat and also have high blood pressure, meaning we would both require monthly prescriptions.

As I understand it at the moment British pensioners receive free health care ( will this change after brexit).

So in the meantime we need healthcare to cover all prescriptions and any future medical bills.

Would this be very expensive. Any information would be very much appreciated as I have searched the internet and cannot seem to find the right answers.

Nobody knows for sure what will happen after Brexit and heart tablets are expensive. Suppose it depends what ones but a friend of mine was paying 150 a month 12 years ago

Unfortunately you will not be eligible for Spanish public healthcare at present as you are not State pensioners. Only State Pensioners can obtain the relevant 'S1' form from the UK Authorities that gives you access to Spanish healthcare. As a Married couple it would only require one of you to be in of the State Pension age as the spouse would be covered as a 'dependent' of the State Pensioner. But you are both some way off from State Pension Age. That means to obtain residency here you would need to take out private health insurance, which might be quite costly given the pre-existing conditions. I am sure some Forum folk can give you contacts for private health insurers that meet the residency requirements to get a quote ( some may be able to give you a rough idea of cost but obviously that is going to vary with the health conditions included. )
My understanding of the Convenio Especial is that you may be eligible for this after you have been formally resident in Spain for one full year and involves making a monthly payment each into the system ( I think it is around 60-70 euros). That would give you access to Spanish Health care. But you won't be granted Residency in the first place unless you can show the Health Care cover so private insurance for the first year looks like your only option.

There have been some legislative changes surrounding the Convenio Especial but as far as I know it still operates. I am not sure if it covers prescription costs.

I would suggest exploring quotes for health insurance so you can see what you might have to pay for a year.... I am sure others on the forum will chip in with advice on insurrs to talk to...

That's the current situation. Post Brexit, who knows, but it won't get any better than that. Also just be prepared that if you are not moving until next year ( and a no deal Brexit happens) you are likely to be treated as third country nationals and have to show quite a high income ( much higher than at present ) to be allowed to stay. Not encouraging news, I know, but better to be aware now.

Convenio Especial does not cover costs of medicines. It's €60/mth for under 65's and €157 for over.

Some private insurers will cover some pre-existing conditions, you need to shop around but be prepared to pay handsomely for the privilege!

brian8thjune

Maybe not what you want to hear right now but it would probably be better waiting for a while until certain things are clarified.
The UK / EU thing for one as none of us yet knows what will happen after the split. Both countries had agreed, in principal, to continue treating citizens as usual for a period of up to 20 months after the leaving date. The man Boris has thrown this into confusion by stating medical staff in UK should be prepared to charge EU citizens coming to UK as from the day after the leaving date. As the other countries, Spain included, had agreed if UK agreed to a reciprocal arrangement this may all be up in the air.

Apart from that, Spain has no government at the moment. It has been going along as a very weak minority government for some time but it now looks as if the socialists can't form a coalition (again) and we may be in for yet another General Election here. The socialists promised to reverse the previous Conservative government's ruling on healthcare and to re-introduce the universal, and free, healthcare for all.
As there is no government, this has not yet been ratified so has not yet been introduced except that illegal immigrants (those with no other access to healthcare) are allowed to be treated.
Private healthcare, especially heart problems, could be horrendously high especially after we may or may not lose access to the EHIC system. (blood pressure tablets are extremely cheap and I bought some for a friend who had forgotten hers, they cost €2.98 for a month's supply from the pharmacy).

As said, we don't know yet how things will pan out so I iterate the advice on not making any early plans.

Marcliff is right about the price of blood pressure tablets but make sure you ask for ‘generic’ or ‘Mas Barrata or you could end up paying 3 times the amount. It’s like the difference in the U.K. between eg, nurofen and generic ibuprofen for aches and pains.

Thank you for all the advice. We think we may be better off delaying things for a while and just having long holidays as we are covered with our travel insurance. It really has got complicated with all this brexit business.

it might be worth getting some quotes for private medical cover you don't need to take them up

Can some one advise if we need to register as new patients at medical centres also anyone recommend a health insurance company