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Hi,
I am thinking of moving to Spain, Villamartin area or Torrevieja, I have an Irish passport so can live their without any hassle, I am worried about my medications that I need here in England, is it easy to get GP apps and prescriptions like Omeprazole and statins?
Thanks guys
Er, yes, of course. Spain is far better for making appointments and you will be surprised at how good and efficient it all is.
If you are over retirement age in your own country and in receipt of a state pension, you can get an S1 certificate to transfer your healthcare to Spain. The amount you pay for prescriptions will depend on your earnings, under 18k a year gives you free prescriptions and earning over that you will pay 10% of the cost up to a maximum cap of about 18 euro a month.#
If you don't have an S1 you will need private health insurance and you pay the cost of your prescriptions. Omeprazole, for example, costs €23 so you will either get it free if your declared income is under 18k a year, €2.30 if over that up to 100k or the full amount if going private.
GP appointments in our town are either same day or next day but can be a week wait if the GP is away as they like you to see the same GP each time. Of course, if it's urgent you will be directed to a different GP who is standing in for yours.
You will need either the S1 or private medical insurance in order to register as an EU foreign citizen resident in Spain to allow you stay over 3 months.
Edited; Whoops, that 23 euro is Lansoprazole not Omeprazole which is around 4 or 5 euro only. You can also buy that over the counter for the same price without a prescription but you now need one for Lansoprazole.
Posted: Sat Feb 7, 2026 7:11am
Helpful member
The Omeprazol I get is €2.42 for 28 capsules of 20 mg.
Posted: Sat Feb 7, 2026 5:10pm
Helpful member
marcliff wrote on Fri Feb 6, 2026 9:18pm:
Er, yes, of course. Spain is far better for making appointments and you will be surprised at how good and efficient it all is.
If you are over retirement age in your own country and in receipt of a state pension, you can get an S1 certificate to transfer your healthcare to Spain. The amount you pay for prescriptions will depend on your earnings, under 18k a year gives you free prescriptions and earning over that you will...
Read more...
... pay 10% of the cost up to a maximum cap of about 18 euro a month.#
If you don't have an S1 you will need private health insurance and you pay the cost of your prescriptions. Omeprazole, for example, costs €23 so you will either get it free if your declared income is under 18k a year, €2.30 if over that up to 100k or the full amount if going private.
GP appointments in our town are either same day or next day but can be a week wait if the GP is away as they like you to see the same GP each time. Of course, if it's urgent you will be directed to a different GP who is standing in for yours.
You will need either the S1 or private medical insurance in order to register as an EU foreign citizen resident in Spain to allow you stay over 3 months.
Edited; Whoops, that 23 euro is Lansoprazole not Omeprazole which is around 4 or 5 euro only. You can also buy that over the counter for the same price without a prescription but you now need one for Lansoprazole.
I admit to being fed up of people parroting the €18K figure.
I've said this before - for anyone with earnings related income, like a pension, the qualifying limit isn't €18K - it's €20K.
The health service system looks at the 'Base imponible general y base imponible del ahorro' on your tax return, which is your taxable base.
That figure excludes the €2K allowance for just having earnings related income.
Feenix1950 wrote on Sat Feb 7, 2026 5:10pm:
I admit to being fed up of people parroting the €18K figure.
I've said this before - for anyone with earnings related income, like a pension, the qualifying limit isn't €18K - it's €20K.
Read more...
The health service system looks at the 'Base imponible general y base imponible del ahorro' on your tax return, which is your taxable base.
That figure excludes the €2K allowance for just having earnings related income.
Well if you're fed up don't bother. Bit pointless anyway.
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Posted: Sat Feb 7, 2026 8:51pm
Feenix1950 wrote on Sat Feb 7, 2026 7:11am:
The Omeprazol I get is €2.42 for 28 capsules of 20 mg.
Wow is that all, thats a great price for 28 capsules and is this behind the counter at a pharmacy?
Posted: Sun Feb 8, 2026 6:10am
Helpful member
Yes, it is.
The prices of medications are state controlled, so a chemist cannot charge more than the price set.
It's over the counter meds that aren't controlled, and common items like aspirin and paracetamol are expensive.
Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2026 5:22pm
Feenix1950 wrote on Sun Feb 8, 2026 6:10am:
Yes, it is.
The prices of medications are state controlled, so a chemist cannot charge more than the price set.
Read more...
It's over the counter meds that aren't controlled, and common items like aspirin and paracetamol are expensive.
Hi Feenix,
I am thinking of moving to the Villa Martin area or Torrevieja, which is the quietest area along with ex pats?
Do you drive? I wanted to know if it was easy to pick up the right hand driving?
Thank you
David
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2026 6:33am
Helpful member
The driving change was easy - it only needed a few days of concentration before it became automatic.
Learning how to cope with Spanish drivers was another matter altogether, and involved a lot of swearwords.
I can't help you with location, and it might attract more answers if you started a new thread on the topic.
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2026 1:45pm
Legendary helpful member
Feenix1950 wrote on Sun Feb 8, 2026 6:10am:
Yes, it is.
The prices of medications are state controlled, so a chemist cannot charge more than the price set.
Read more...
It's over the counter meds that aren't controlled, and common items like aspirin and paracetamol are expensive.
The last time I bought a packet of paracetamol, 500 mg, the price was less than a euro, so hardly profiteering!
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