Health advice

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:56pm

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Hi, my wife and I are moving to the area in 2 months and renting a friends house for 6 months before buying. Can anyone tell me if we can still use the EHIC card for medical reasons whilst renting as we will no longer have an address in the UK as we have sold up? Also, any advice about obtaining regular prescriptions, cheapest and best health insurance, and registering under the autonomo system will be truly appreciated. The more I read, the more confused I become! Thanks.

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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 4:03am

jimtaylor

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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 4:03am

As British citizens, your EHICs are issued by the UK, irrespective of you being resident in Spain.

They can only be used for emergency medical treatment.

If you're not in receipt of UK state retirement pensions, then you can't get S1 forms from DWP, and so can't transfer to the Spanish health system.

You can't buy into the health system until you've been resident here for twelve months.

I can't advise on private health insurers, but make sure any policy you take out is one acceptable to the authorities for residencia purposes.

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:43pm

donkey

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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:43pm

Thanks for that Jim.

I've also read somewhere that you can pay into the Spanish Health System for 60 euros a month if under 60 years old. Do you know if that is true?

Tim.

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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:59pm

jimtaylor

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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 1:59pm

Hi Tim

Yes, you can buy into the Valencian Convenio Especial system once you've been resident here for a year, and you're correct about €60 a month, but it's if you're under 65, not 60. Once you're 65 or over, it goes up a lot to €157.

However you need to pay for prescriptions. For most people this isn't as painful as it sounds, as prescribed medicines are a lot cheaper than they would be in the UK.

One thing I forgot to mention is that if you're employed or self-employed here, and paying into the social security system, then you're entitled to health cover.