NLV Health Insurance for over age 75

Tough question. Im 80 years old,  the one  I use is DKV. A health Insurance  Company providing medical  insurance for ex pats in Spain. They are expensive  and their premiums increase with your age. They are a German Company and advertise throughout Spain. Locate your local private health Clinic who will give you details.  Good luck!

@rogerroberts22  Thank you!  i appreciate your input and i will look into the company you mentioned.  We are not in Spain at the moment so, local isn't an option at the moment.

@Seaandsun4me

For sure, you can get private health insurance for over 75. But like the US, it gets more expensive with age and pre-existing conditions. I'm not sure if it's easy to order online at your age. You might be required to visit a physical office and/or undertake some kind of examination.

We had policies with ASISA and they are good, and relatively inexpensive. You can also use a comparison engine to get a list of different companies and compare costs (e.g. rasterator, acierto). I think it's possible to get policies remotely.

You don't have to get a Spanish policy. You could get a USA policy with worldwide cover. But this might be very expensive. Many US policies have exclusions and deductibles so you'd have to be careful, as you need a policy with zero co-pago (which also adds significantly to the cost). You might also need policy and certificate documentation in Spanish which could be an extra hassle. Overall, it might be easier to figure out how to get a Spanish one.

Some policies have more flexible cancellation terms than others. You might have the option to cancel your policy after you've got your visa approved, and then replace it with a cheaper one with a larger deductible.

@gwynjIt     It seems   insurance has changed.  i cant get my mom covered with any of the mentioned brands.  or Sanitas, or Allianz.  Ugh, is this the thing that prevents our move??  I was quoted over €2300,00 per MONTH by  a broker for FMU Bronze Express.  what in the world is going on???

@Seaandsun4me

Any USA / worldwide policy will be extremely expensive. It's many years since I had such a policy, but even back then (younger, perfect health) it was around 3k per year, with a huge deductible. Some years later when I got a Spanish policy with zero deductible, it was about 700 euros. I suggest you should probably focus on the Spanish healthcare companies with Spain-only policies.

You are correct that health coverage is a big issue, especially for seniors. Even with a Spanish policy it won't be cheap. And this might be a bit of a shock if she's getting Medicare or similar in the USA.

You should bear in mind that the requirement for full health insurance (with zero deductible) is for immigration purposes only. Once you have your NLV (and your TIE) you can make other arrangements. As I mentioned, depending on your policy's T&Cs, you might get away with cancelling the policy after a few months.

Once you're a legal Spanish resident, there are ways into local social security and the (very good) state healthcare system. The worst case, as a non-EU citizen, is that you have to wait 5 years until you're a permanent resident. But this is if you don't work at all. If you get a job, or become officially self-employed (autonomo) then you can make contributions immediately. (Once you're in the system, they don't kick you out if you stop working a couple of months later.) I believe the Spanish system covers family members (spouse, children) but you'd have to check regarding elderly parents.

Even as a non-working ("economically inactive") non-EU citizen, there's an option before 5 years (maybe 1 or 2?) which is the Convenio Especial. This is a public alternative to expensive health insurance policies. I don't know much about it, other than it exists.

However you do it, it means there is a way into the public health system and you shouldn't be on the hook for these exorbitant private health policies for long. More importantly, Spanish public care is good and very inexpensive.

I'm not sure of the exact rules, but I think even someone without either public or private cover would get proper medical treatment if required. You might have to make a contribution, but I don't think you'll be turned away.

I don't have direct experience of the Spanish system, but I've done something equivalent elsewhere. I'm a legal resident in Spain and Bulgaria, and I did my social security registration in Bulgaria. I pay just under 20 euros per month per person (me & my missus) as "unemployed". This gets us free or nearly-free public health treatment (and subsidized private treatment). And they gave us EHICs which are valid elsewhere in the EU if we need (public) treatment abroad.

Many Americans find the European (or Candian) model hard to understand. Certainly you don't know what to expect or appreciate how wonderful it is. I've been the beneficiary of public health systems in UK, France, Germany, Spain, Cyprus, Bulgaria. It is a world away from the insane costs of the American system. I love the US and very much enjoyed living there... but I will NEVER return, principally because of this issue.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you can do immigration in separate steps which might make things more manageable. You can do NLVs for all family members initially. Or, you can go ahead on your own with just one NLV. Once you are in Spain and have your TIE, you're a legal Spanish resident, and you can bring in other family members through Family Reunification. In my case, I did the reunification for my partner some years ago, and I'm shortly going to do it again with my father (who just turned 96).

There some good info for senior healthcare here:

https://www.expatica.com/es/healthcare/ … in-286314/

Hi @Seaandsun4me,

I am looking at moving to Spain from the U.S. on a NLV.

I recently purchased private Spanish health insurance as part of the requirement for a NLV, and I did a ton of research before the purchase. I am 66 & have two pre-existing conditions that are stable but require yearly testing.

Only one of the 7 insurers I list below would cover my pre-existing conditions, and yes,

at a price of $3,000 USD a year, which I paid up front.

First, the Spanish consulate requires that the insurance company be widely accepted in Spain, therefore that eliminates U.S. policies like Cigna or Molina. Travel insurance won't be accepted.

The main Spanish insurers are Adeslas, CASER, Asssa, Asisa, DKV, Sanitas & Mapfre.

The policy cannot have deductibles, out of pocket expenses or exclusions, and must be in effect when you arrive in Spain, and good for one year. You will most certainly have to pay that one year up front.

I paid a hefty upfront price, but I cannot imagine requiring a lengthy ICU admission or even med-surg admission & being hit with a demand to pay cash up front, or worse, require air transport back to the states for medical care. My point is, its totally worth it.

If you want the name of the insurance company I went with, feel free to DM me, since I don't think I can state it in the forum.

Best of luck,

Can i apply pareja de hecho with tourist visa?and what IS the requirements to apply pareja de hecho? i m from Indonesia,I want to legal live in spain and i have a BF from Spain, Barcelona.I have plan to go there in September this year...He told me after pareja de hecho,i will get NIE..but i read in Google that one of requirement is NIE

@Seaandsun4me

hi there are you a UK resident drawing state pension?  if so you can use your S1 without requiring private Health Insurance, as UK have reciprocal agreement with Spain for this age group.   

The advice from seaandsun was great. I have an Irish passport, but anm a resident of the UK with a UK pension and NI number. first 10 minutes on this forum and have received a great lead. Thank you.

@rdruby699

hi   how do i DM you -? im not very tech savvy im afraid .

Im sure you could mention the company , others have  been named

regardz

    @rdruby699
hi   how do i DM you -? im not very tech savvy im afraid .
   

    -@normanhardwick

Hey there,

Click on @rdruby699 name/picture and it will bring up a new page, there it will say [Send Message]

I hope that helps.

SimCityAT

Expat Team