Cost of Health Insurance

Hello Mtiller,

My husband and I just moved to Spain from the US. We chose Costa Blanca a place called Altea. We chose it because it seems less touristic than Malaga, or the Coast of Granada and is less expensive than those places also. It is close to the sea which we wanted. Right now (summer), it is crowed every where in Spain that is close  to a beach, so it is a bit hectic, but we are fine, and it seems safe. There are a lot of English speaking radio stations, and realtors, but not everybody in banks, hospitals, supermarkets, etc speak English.

As per Health insurance we are using Sanitas, but it is a special plan that we got from our bank. We opened a bank account here and the manager recommended us to get the Sanitas special offer with the bank plan. The bank we have an account with is BBVA, maybe other banks have the same offers. The prices of course will depend on your age, but for instance we are paying around 120 euros per month for both of us.  I am in my mid forties and my husband mid 50's. The plan is very good, no copayments, covers practically everything, except medicines, but medicine is not as expensive as in the US, also, it doesn't cover prescription glasses. All the health insurances companies that we researched on didn't cover medicine or prescription glasses, so it seems to be a norm here.

I hope this helps. you can ask me any more questions if you have them.

Regards,
Claus

Hello,

The Spanish coasts are beautiful and good places to live. Outside the mayor cities is also my recommendation. I personally feel very safe in Spain and I have been in many parts of the country. Health insurance is an important matter and different for everybody. You could try working with a specialist. The company I work for has the knowledge off all things expat related. Maybe that´s option?

Regards, Lisanne

I would second the recommendation for Sanitas. Their cost was very low for my mother-in-law, who is in her 70s and therefore not covered by Medicare (it doesn't cover outside of the States).

Hello PapaLima,

When you mention that your mother-in-law uses Sanitas, can I assume she is not Spanish, and that she is covered with Sanitas (being on her 70´s ) here in Spain?

That is a good thing to know, because maybe my parents also come here to Spain and will need health insurance.

Thanks,
Claus

We are not great advocates of private health insurance - too many opt outs when you need it most, and can be very expensive for most retired expats. Some companies have a nasty habit of increasing premiums rapidly once they have you hooked and too old to go elsewhere. Best to go with the Spanish NHS; most regions in Spain offer special rates for expats, at around 60 each each month and covers provides full NHS entitlement. We have cause to use it a few times, and the support has been excellent. Be wary of the special private health deals from some of the major stores, which have too many opt outs to be reliable. As for which areas to locate - best to try different regions of Spain on vacation first; different areas suit different people.

with your trip pending you can get a quote from these guys as they are English Agents selling Spanish health insurance. Sorted me out very efficiently. Quote in 24 hours gave me 4 different levels of cover so if budget was consideration then i had a choice. They even had policy info in English and forms in english.  Anyway i went with their recommended Insurer and have had no problems with claims at all and my wife has been through the mill with medical issues over last 3 years  [link moderated]

Hi Frans, unfortunately they won't allow you to recommend on this forum they blanked it out, and it has to be done through the business forum. Thank you for your reply and could you post it on their business forum for me.
Kind regards
Dawn

Will do that tomorrow when back on my pc . There is a facebook page you can look at for them search on FB  Health Care Spain

Thank you for this helpful info. It's taken me awhile to reply due to our daughter (32) going on hospice & passing away in August. I haven't felt like doing much.
Now that so many negatives are happening in the US, we are researching again.
I am so thankful for your help!
Michele