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Hi
Myself and my husband are moving to spain at the end of the year or early 2021.
My husband will be 55 and me 39. We would like some advice about the health care system. I am under the impression we will have to pay for healthcare as we won't be working. We will be living off our rental properties in the UK.
Can you advise of how we go about getting health care and what our options are please? And a rough cost.
Thank you in advance. Any advice would be appreciated
Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 6:07pm
Super helpful member
Be careful - you would be living off income generated outside Spain, plus you would have to declare the value of all your assets worldwide and pay tax on them as well as Spanish income tax. If your assets (and it does not take many properties to reach this) are worth over 700k Euros (I think the sum is) you would also be liable for Spanish wealth tax. Health insurance could be the least of your financial considerations.
Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 9:46pm
Helpful member
If you plan to gain Spanish Residency (essential to stay in Spain for >90 days at a time), you will need private health insurance. In time this will become your ONLY source of healthcare.
So it is not just about cost. It is about difficulty/convenience in accessing the service, as well as the standard of the service.
My wife and I happen to have our health insurance with DKV. My wife became seriously ill last year, and DKV have been absolutely fantastic.
BUT we have had to travel to obtain treatment and tests, mostly to the Quiron Hospital in Murcia. We have also used (I think) 9 other medical facilities in Murcia, Elche and Torrevieja.
This seems to be quite normal. We have met numerous other people "doing the rounds" - each having different insurers.
Into the detail .... insurers may quote the various clinics and hospitals that they use, but in reality, they pick and choose exactly what services they contract for at which hospital. So if your insurer's brochure says that they use (say) Quiron or IMED hospitals/clinics, the city you have to go to depends on the medical service you need.
We use a GP in our village (not the health centre) and she acts as the gateway into the DKV system - and she is very good at it.
Our local GP works with DKV (which may be why our local insurance broker recommended DKV). So it seems that the most important thing is to have an insurer who works with your local GP.
These are the questions to ask your insurance broker. I think you should start with your local GP. Choose one who speaks English, then choose an insurer that works with that GP.
It seems to me that the different insurers are not far apart in price, for equivalent coverage. My wife is 62. I am 60. Our combined annual cost is 1760 Euros (but my wife incurred a 600 Euro "excess" last year, bringing the total to 2360 Euros). I would expect your costs to be lower.
Some people talk about moving on to the Convenio Especial after a year (i.e. paying into the Spanish NHS), but the costs are similar.
Posted: Thu May 14, 2020 8:51am
Will60 wrote on Wed May 13, 2020 9:46pm:
If you plan to gain Spanish Residency (essential to stay in Spain for >90 days at a time), you will need private health insurance. In time this will become your ONLY source of healthcare.
So it is not just about cost. It is about difficulty/convenience in accessing the service, as well as the standard of the service....
Read more...
...
My wife and I happen to have our health insurance with DKV. My wife became seriously ill last year, and DKV have been absolutely fantastic.
BUT we have had to travel to obtain treatment and tests, mostly to the Quiron Hospital in Murcia. We have also used (I think) 9 other medical facilities in Murcia, Elche and Torrevieja.
This seems to be quite normal. We have met numerous other people "doing the rounds" - each having different insurers.
Into the detail .... insurers may quote the various clinics and hospitals that they use, but in reality, they pick and choose exactly what services they contract for at which hospital. So if your insurer's brochure says that they use (say) Quiron or IMED hospitals/clinics, the city you have to go to depends on the medical service you need.
We use a GP in our village (not the health centre) and she acts as the gateway into the DKV system - and she is very good at it.
Our local GP works with DKV (which may be why our local insurance broker recommended DKV). So it seems that the most important thing is to have an insurer who works with your local GP.
These are the questions to ask your insurance broker. I think you should start with your local GP. Choose one who speaks English, then choose an insurer that works with that GP.
It seems to me that the different insurers are not far apart in price, for equivalent coverage. My wife is 62. I am 60. Our combined annual cost is 1760 Euros (but my wife incurred a 600 Euro "excess" last year, bringing the total to 2360 Euros). I would expect your costs to be lower.
Some people talk about moving on to the Convenio Especial after a year (i.e. paying into the Spanish NHS), but the costs are similar.
Thanks so much. Really helpful
PeterC wrote on Wed May 13, 2020 6:07pm:
Be careful - you would be living off income generated outside Spain, plus you would have to declare the value of all your assets worldwide and pay tax on them as well as Spanish income tax. If your assets (and it does not take many properties to reach this) are worth over 700k Euros (I think the ...
Read more...
...sum is) you would also be liable for Spanish wealth tax. Health insurance could be the least of your financial considerations.
And it's worth checking the new post-Brexit situation on minimum income required. In general, it appears that anyone moving to Spain permanently post-Brexit (or at least post-Brexit negotiations) will need to prove a minimum income of £26k for the first person and an additional £6k for each other family member. I've tried to confirm this, but it's not very clear...
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2020 1:48pm
RichT wrote on Thu May 14, 2020 1:16pm:
And it's worth checking the new post-Brexit situation on minimum income required. In general, it appears that anyone moving to Spain permanently post-Brexit (or at least post-Brexit negotiations) will need to prove a minimum income of £26k for the first person and an additional £6k for each oth...
Read more...
...er family member. I've tried to confirm this, but it's not very clear...
Oh no I hope it's not that much. Any updates would be great. Thanks for the advice
Leanne2604 wrote on Thu May 14, 2020 1:48pm:
Oh no I hope it's not that much. Any updates would be great. Thanks for the advice
I believe that, unless negotiated otherwise, the rule will be the same as per other non-EU people who want to take up residence in Spain - which is 25,560 euros for the first perosn and 6,390 euros for family members.
However, I believe that if you can move before end-December, you may still be governed by the existing rules, which are something like 6,000 euros per person.
I'm no expert, so suggest you try to get expert advice - Jim of Jim's Guides on here appears very knowledgable...
Hope this helps!
Posted: Thu May 14, 2020 2:21pm
RichT wrote on Thu May 14, 2020 2:02pm:
I believe that, unless negotiated otherwise, the rule will be the same as per other non-EU people who want to take up residence in Spain - which is 25,560 euros for the first perosn and 6,390 euros for family members.
However, I believe that if you can move before end-December, you may still be governed by the existing rules, which are something like 6,000 euros per person....
Read more...
...
I'm no expert, so suggest you try to get expert advice - Jim of Jim's Guides on here appears very knowledgable...
Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for the advice. Appreciated
Posted: Wed May 20, 2020 7:44pm
Helpful member
Leanne2604 wrote on Thu May 14, 2020 1:48pm:
Oh no I hope it's not that much. Any updates would be great. Thanks for the advice
We had intended buying and taking up residence. We had employed an abogardo. When we ask the question about how much income is needed to obtain residency she told us that there is no legally set amount. Each district tends to set their own minimum. In Mercia she had gained residency for an ex-pat who only had an income of £450 p.m.! That was in January 2020. So check with a local lawyer.
Posted: Wed May 20, 2020 7:59pm
Anne2019 wrote on Wed May 20, 2020 7:44pm:
We had intended buying and taking up residence. We had employed an abogardo. When we ask the question about how much income is needed to obtain residency she told us that there is no legally set amount. Each district tends to set their own minimum. In Mercia she had gained...
Read more...
... residency for an ex-pat who only had an income of £450 p.m.! That was in January 2020. So check with a local lawyer.
Thank you really good to know
Thanks again
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