Health Insurance for NLV

@mbatchelar  Hi Margaret,  I’m in the process too so, here’s what I’ve learned so far.  In January 2024, 4 days after landing in Barcelona my mother required a pace maker to our surprise.    Fortunately, I had bought travel insurance.  While speaking with the staff at the international hospital, they were concerned about which insurance I had.  So, you are extremely wise to be cautious.  My advice is to check out the orivate hospitals you would be using closest to your new home.  They often have a list of the insurance companies they except right on their website.  That made my decision easier.  Best wishes!

@mbatchelar

Welcome to the expat.com forum and good luck with your potential move to Spain!

I think it's worth separating the need for health insurance for visa purposes from the recommendability of having health insurance from a health perspective. Initially, the key requirement is that you have a health insurance policy, and it has a zero copago. Whether it's the best company/policy is a bit irrelevant at this point, and they'll all provide pretty decent cover if you do get sick.

Once you have your visa, you can look around for other policies with different companies and/or higher deductibles that suit your needs better. There are also ways to get into the public health system and avoid the need for expensive private policies. All of this is easier to do when you're in Spain.

We used ASISA and they were good and among the cheaper options. If you look at a comparison engine (Acierto, Rasteator) it will give you quotes from a long list of companies, so you can work your way through them. The TrustPilot score for ASISA is terrible, so you might be tempted to rule them out. But the web also says: "As one of Spain's oldest and most reputable insurance companies, Asisa stands as a significant player in the healthcare sector, catering to over 2.9 million policyholders."

Here's Rastreator's list (30-odd, you have plenty of choice)

https://www.rastreator.com/seguros-de-s … s-de-salud

You don't strictly have to get a Spanish policy. You could get a local policy with worldwide cover, as long as it has zero deductible (unlikely, or extremely expensive). You might be required to have the policy/cover certificate in Spanish (certified) too, which could be a bit of a hassle if the company doesn't provide English/Spanish docs.

@gwynj   Of the six or seven companies I just looked through for visa approval, the shortest termination of policy date was 8 months.  So, you can no longer cancel your policy as soon as you get your visa.  And coverage often only really begins after 6-8 months.  There are waiting periods for service.  They’ve taken a page from the Americans and are getting much more devious.

@Seaandsun4me

That's true, but in the scheme of things, 8 months (or the cost of the 8 months of cover) is not a big deal. The issue is that private health care is very expensive, especially with zero copago. So the less time you have such a policy, the better. You need it for your residence application, but once you're legally resident you can look for other options.

Exclusions, waiting periods and cancellation periods are not devious, in my opinion. They're just the nature of the beast. And immigration doesn't (as far as I know) check such issues. They check that you have cover in effect, that it has a sufficient overall financial limit, and that it has a zero copago.

You might be taking the search for a health insurance policy too seriously, as if it were something you're committed to for the next 5 years. It's merely a means to an end (residence), and once you have that you can find a better option.