Talk Quesada forum

Hi I am looking for advise and help re health insurance for our residentia . We are not of pensionable age for a year or two yet so need health insurance to be able to get our residentia. Any advice on who to get it from and idea of cost would be much appreciated

My husband and I arranged ours today with right move, next to Quesada butchers as we are not of pensionable age yet either but need it for our residencia appointment next week. It cost €124 per month for both of us and can be paid monthly through the bank. They are really helpful and friendly in there, all English ladies. For that price you have 7 free visits to the private doctor or hospital (then pay a tiny sum for future ones) and an app on your phone to control everything- one press of the button and the app calls an ambulance by picking up your exact location! Hope that helps.

We are not of pensionable age and have given upon the idea of residencia because of the hideous costs. Quotes between €1800 and €3000 euros a couple with no pre existing medical problems. Please be aware that not all policies are acceptable for residencia. There are specific requirements.

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Since I retired in the UK I replaced BUPA with Saga. We can see private specialists but any treatment should be done by the NHS unless they cannot do it within 4 weeks. Of course, if we go to a private specialist it will affect premiums going forward. Last year we paid £2000. This year £2400 and next year will probably be £2800 as we get older.
In Spain, if you get Residencia nowadays I presumed you would still have to have Spanish private medical cover. It would not be free for new residents. Is that correct?

Not sure if it’s Insurers or Spanish Authority but prices appear to have almost doubled from what I’m hearing. Your assumption is correct, it is not free to Residents unless you are a Pensioner.

Hi, We're under state retirement age too and in process of buying a property here. I was talking to Sun Lawyers about this yesterday and they said that the process is that for the first year of living here we would need private health insurance and the requirements for residency purposes is that there is full cover and no co-payments. Co-payments is where you make a small contribution to the cost of the treatment which is how companies are able to keep the costs down apparently. We've had a quote from ASSSA for 1773 euros per person per year (that's their Master level and includes a lot of cover which they say is the minimum for residency and they also have a higher level called Summum).

After the first year we would then be able to tap into the Spanish health system by paying about 65 euros per month until we reach state retirement age at which point, on having our state pensions paid into our Spanish bank account, it would be free as the reciprocal arrangement between Spain and the UK kicks in.

Hope that helps and good luck with it all.

CarolH wrote:Hi, We're under state retirement age too and in process of buying a property here. I was talking to Sun Lawyers about this yesterday and they said that the process is that for the first year of living here we would need private health insurance and the requirements for residency purposes is that there is full cover and no co-payments. Co-payments is where you make a small contribution to the cost of the treatment which is how companies are able to keep the costs down apparently. We've had a quote from ASSSA for 1773 euros per person per year (that's their Master level and includes a lot of cover which they say is the minimum for residency and they also have a higher level called Summum).

After the first year we would then be able to tap into the Spanish health system by paying about 65 euros per month until we reach state retirement age at which point, on having our state pensions paid into our Spanish bank account, it would be free as the reciprocal arrangement between Spain and the UK kicks in.

Hope that helps and good luck with it all.

Hi Carol,

Did ASSSA tell you that their Master cover was required for residency? We got our residencia last November with ASSSA standard cover: Eu 1704 for BOTH of us, not each (we were 56 and 59 respectively, with no pre-existing conditions).

I think the Spanish health system you're talking about is the "Convenio Especial", which is a system that runs alongside the State system, set up for foreigners to access state healthcare in Spain. If you decide to pay into the Convenio Especial, you are required to de-register in the UK and will no longer be able to receive NHS healthcare, other than if you have a valid EHIC which you would be able to use for emergencies if you were visiting the UK.

Kind regards,
Paul

Tootandploot wrote:We are not of pensionable age and have given upon the idea of residencia because of the hideous costs. Quotes between €1800 and €3000 euros a couple with no pre existing medical problems. Please be aware that not all policies are acceptable for residencia. There are specific requirements.

Are you living here permanently? If so, you become a fiscal resident by default after 183 days (6 months) in any one tax year anyway, so how are you going to access health care without formalising your status?

A friend of mine recently fell and broke their jaw - they were treated initially as an emergency, but have been refused further treatment because they haven't obtained their residency and don't have private health care. We were shocked, because we've been brought up used to NHS care being free and healthcare professionals worrying about the patient, not whether they have the ability to pay for their treatment, but it just isn't like that in Spain.

I think the health insurance companies are taking advantage by overstating what is required for residency - our ASSSA Standard cover cost half what CarolH has been quoted for their Master cover and we obtained our residency last November with no problem at all. I think it's worth shopping around to see if you can get a cheaper option - perhaps don't mention that you need it for residency?

Good luck!

Hi again Paul

Thanks very much for the advice and sorry for the huge delay in replying. We found a better deal with Caixa bank as they have a special offer on until the end of this month. So worth the shopping about!

Have a lovely weekend