Are you really Bullet Proof ? Don't play Spanish Roulette with your Health

Are you really bullet proof ?

Time and time again we speak to prospective clients seeking medical insurance for the simple reason that out of the blue they have had to shell out a lump of cash for an injury or illness.

This month we have spoken to a couple in their mid 60s, the wife was walking along texting in a Marbella cobbled alley when she tripped and suffered a fractured skull. The medical treatment was fast and efficient and the Hospital accepted the EHIC card. 

She was admitted into Hospital and spent 3 weeks on the ward.  Now 6 months on they tell me that after 90 days the EHIC treatment ended and she continues paying for physio twice a week and requiring ongoing Checks tests and neurology treatment. Cost to them has been 5.800,00€

Last month a Lady called because she had been in a car accident and it had cost her retired father 6.000,00€ for surgery a metal plate and steel pins.

Another enquiry from a man in his late 50s been diagnosed with prostrate cancer been through the treatment cost 9.000,00€ for Spanish Hospital.

All of these people are concerned about the future and want to put in place medical insurance.

However the first two examples can arrange a medical insurance policy but both will have exclusions. For the head trauma there will be no cover if anything arises deemed by a Medic to be connected to the injury ie brain clot, nausea dizziness

The Car accident case will not be insured for complications from the metal plate or the pinned bones.

The gentleman just recovered with Prostrate Cancer will be refused insurance completely and might be able to try for Medical Insurance again in 5 years if the all clear given.

There are many people walking around Spain with no access to State Health believing they are ok on their EHIC card a card that is valid for 90 days abroad and is designed for Emergency treatment when travelling in another EU country that you do not reside in.

Every month we provide quotations to people who have no Health Access and have been here for years without worrying about it. We understand that budget plays a big part in not going the Private Health Insurance route. However if you cannot insure yourself maybe look at getting the Children Insured as this is very low cost in Spain. If you don't insure yourself ,well maybe you can consider at least insuring your frailer partner.

Time ticks by and with age complications arise. A friend of mine recently told me he cannot afford private medical insurance and within 2 weeks went off an upgraded his 2 year old  sports car. Its all about priorities and surely your health should come first.

Article by

Francis Payne 

Tailor Made Healthcare Solutions Spain

enquiries@tailormadehealthcarespain.org

www.tailormadehealthcarespain.org

Which Medical Insurance do I need to apply for Residency in Spain ????

Which Medical Insurance do I need when applying for Residency in Spain

For QUICK QUOTE click here to go to our Tailor Made Healthcare Website

As an agent for Private Healthcare Insurance its a question we get asked daily. However the answer is not an easy one to provide due to the differing requirements in different towns and provinces across Spain. Every day we provide Private Medical Insurance Quotations to Expats who are looking to apply for Residency who hope to ensure that they are more secure in Spain by the time Brexit has happened.

In Spain there are various levels of Medical Insurance policy options. Often the cover is the same cover with 4 or even 6 options that enable you to take up Healthcare Insurance with lower premiums. These options are referred to as Copago. This means that you take out an insurance and go for medical treatment but part pay for the treatment. The higher the part payment the cheaper your policy becomes.

People who rarely use the Doctor may feel that they will save money by paying a high copago and if you are rarely going then premiums can be reduced by upto 60% in this way. The majority of British Expats we deal with are in early retirement and coming to an age where preventative screening is important and therefore knowing that they will use the Private Healthcare system take out a policy with a NO COPAGO option. Essentially they walk into the approved Medical Centre hand over their card with no payments to make.

So lets get back to finding a Health Insurance Policy that will get you approved for residency. The simplest answer we can give is to tell people that a policy with NO copago payments is the definite solution. However we are aware that people retiring have budgets and will need to save costs where possible. So what we have been doing is recording information from people who apply for Spanish residency using a Copago insurance and noting which areas and what levels of Copago get refused or approved. Based on this we have been able to suggest a route toward getting residency with a Copago Policy. We know that the highest Copago insurance often get refused as the Authorities feel that the contribution is simply too high. Our approach recently where budget is important factor for a client is to arrange a mid range Copago Healthcare Insurance application. We advise the client that they apply for the residency on this basis and then in the event they are refused that they recontact us and we upgrade the policy to the higher level. There is a policy where the copago part payments are extremely small between 2,50 and 3,75 that can save between 10 and 18 euros a month when compared to the Policy with zero copago.

Many of our clients have informed us that they were approved with a Copago Policy . Its frustrating for us not to be able to get a clear cut answer from the Authorities but it does seem that it also depends on how carefully they scrutinize the policy document. We have had several clients who have been told that the amount of Copago would not qualify them and it had to be a policy with no part payment and these clients have returned at a later date with a different officer attending them only to be passed using the same insurance policy.

So our suggestion is to take out a policy you feel you can afford as if refused you are always able to upgrade the insurance and obtain a second appointment and re-apply for your residencia in Spain.

Francis Payne (Mr)

Tailor Made Healthcare Solutions Spain, Bloque E, Portal 3, Puerto Sotogrande, Cadiz 11310, Spain. tel. 0034 956 790 320

WEB SITE LINK www.tailormadehealthcarespain.org Go to our web page click on QUICK QUOTE