Medical Insurance

[trevdale]

Can anyone advise me on medical insurance for brits living permanently in GC please?

[mary]

There are a few companies here for medical insurance.
DKV - quite popular with Brits. Not all medications are covered, can only use their doctors and premiums go quite high as you get older.
Mapfre - similar to above. Not used by as many places as DKV
BUPA - clients seem most satisfied with this company and you can use it in the uk as well, if you go for the correct policy.

Those are some names to be going on with. You need to look around and find out what each would cost you as an individual.
Make sure you declare everything as all insurers will wriggle on payments if given half a chance.

[Owen]

Can anyone advise me on medical insurance for brits living permanently in GC please?

Mary will be the expert on this but a little info I have .....

Once you are employed and paying the equivalent of national insurance, you get a social security card and can then get a medical card from the public health centers. You're then entitled to national health treatment in the public hospitals and local clinics/health centers.

There are various companies offering private health cover. I have one with a company called Aegon Salud that's around 60 euros a month which covers me for pretty much everything you could think of including dental plus when I travel I'm covered abroad. In my area one of the local clinics/hospitals is Clinica Roca in San Agustin which is one of the best private hospitals of its kind.

[vecino]

From my experience living here, MAPFRE seems to offer the widest cover if something awful happens - dialysis, transplants etc. The cheaper version of the policy gives you a book with doctors and specialists you can go and see in the Canaries (which is pretty comprehensive and includes the best clinics and hospitals). Drug costs are not covered outside hospital. There is emergency cover in the UK if you're taken ill there, and they will fly you back here if necessary. It's about the same cost as Owen's policy.

As with all these things it's down to the small print, and pre-existing conditions aren't covered. So you need to look at a number of policies. BUPA was incredibly expensive and didn't cover the things you were most likely to need.

I tend to use the Clinica Scandinavica or the clinic under the Buenos Aires in Playa del Ingles if I need to see a doctor - there's no language problem, and they don't charge a registration fee when you first go there. In general, spanish doctors tend to be well-trained and businesslike.

When you first move here, if you have a full National Insurance stamp, you will get cover under the Spanish health service for about a year or so (you'll need the right paperwork from the UK).

From recent experience with an elderly relative who moved here, if you're seriously ill, the local state health service is - assuming you don't get a complete idiot of a GP, which can happen here just as it can in the UK - absolutely fantastic, and everything you could hope for. Much, much better than in Britain, and they don't write elderly people off but treat them with real respect.

[mary]

Generally i advise people to use their EHC (used to be E111) but you have to remember that this can only be used within the NHS and at 'centro de salud's'. Sometimes language can be a problem and you may have to wait to be seen.

Or see a Gp at one of the many private clinics on the island. There are lots to choose from and you should find one that suits you.
An appointment at one of these is not going to cost as much as a months payment for private health care and if you have a spanish health card or EHC (in the short term) you can use that for bigger things. But remember that you cant be flown back to the UK if you are using the NHS

At our clinic, the first consultation is slightly more expensive than subsequent ones as we like to spend more time with you and establish your past medical history etc. We then have a record of you which may help in diagnoses at a later date.

[maxine]

Hi there the form is a EHIC you can get it from this sight

www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAdviceForTravellers/fs/en

maxine:packed:

[roxy]

Generally i advise people to use their EHC (used to be E111) but you have to remember that this can only be used within the NHS and at 'centro de salud's'. Sometimes language can be a problem and you may have to wait to be seen

I thought EHIC was for travellers and not residents?

[Stephen]

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), has replaced the E111 form. All current E111 forms are no longer valid.
As of September 1st this year you have been able to apply for the new card, either from a Post office or by online application.
You can apply for an EHIC for your spouse/partner and any children up to the age of 16 (or 19 if they are in full-time education) at the same time as applying for your own. If you are a foster parent or guardian (including boarding school teaching staff), you can apply on behalf of any children you are looking after. You must be over 16 to apply as a main applicant.
If you go to work in another EEA country for up to a year, and HM Revenue and Customs confirms that you must continue paying compulsory UK national insurance (NI) contributions, you are entitled to a UK-issued European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This includes any dependants that go with you. If you are already abroad, you'll need to apply for an EHIC by post and send a photocopy of your E-form (i.e. E101, E102 or E106) as well as your completed EHIC application form. You can get an application form from the EHIC Applications service.
If you become self-employed or go to work in another EEA country or Switzerland for a foreign employer, you may be required to pay insurance contributions to that country's social security scheme. If so, you will need to get an EHIC from the country you're working in to cover you for any visits you make to other countries. If you currently hold a UK-issued EHIC, you should return it to the EHIC Enquiries service.

[mary]

In answer to Roxy -The EHIC is for short term visitors only but as we have alot of 'floating residents' or swallows - come to the island for a few months a year - then they are able to use a EHIC

[roxy]

Oh ok mary thanks, so that advice wont apply to trevdale who originally asked the question then.

[mary]

Actually it was an addition to Vecino's comment

[Owen]

I found the brochure for my health insurance so it's attached here.