Health Insurance

Contact a specialist as Pinera del Olmo.
There are a lot of insurances and other requirements (as the minimum amount of money) to know if you are applying for a non lucrative visa of Spain.

As you know, private health insurance gets more expensive based on age and prior medical history (and any optional coverage that you want, such as dental).

The other issue is deductible (= copago), as higher deductible = lower premiums. You should note that health insurance is a requirement for visa/residence applications. BUT, officially, it should have no deductible. However, I don't know how carefully they check the policy (it's a long document) as my partner's does have a deductible, but they accepted it anyway.

Similarly, if you are using your policy for immigration purposes, it's much easier if you get a Spanish policy, otherwise they'll require you to get a certified translation. (And easier for your life/treatment in Spain too, of course.)

My partner is a sprightly young thing, so hers is only 400 euros per year. Mine was nearly 1,000 euros. My guess is that for a late 60s couple, it could be in the ballpark of 150-250 euros per month, depending on cover/company/deductible. While lots cheaper than the USA, it's still a chunk of change, so it might be worth investigating if it will be possible (as legal Spanish residents) to contribute to the social security system here and qualify for state (good) health care.

If you have a bit of spare time, and you're eager to find out for sure, the two popular Spanish comparison sites are Rastreator and Acierto. So you can enter info for the two of you, and get quotes for Seguro de Salud (or Seguros Medicos). If I recall, they need a Spanish phone number and zip code when you search so grab these off the web to fill the boxes (as you probably don't have them yet), and just get your results by email.

There are many companies you can choose including ASISA, Sanitas, Adeslas, Aegon, Fiatc, DKV, and more. So you can also try using their websites directly to get a quote. Our policies were with ASISA, and they are a good option, and not crazy expensive. Their website is quite easy to get quotes from, and easy to understand (ASISA MOMENTO = copago alto, ASISA Activa = copago bajo, and ASISA Activa Plus = sin copago). These are national policies, so you don't need anything specific to Barcelona.

My husband and I moved to Spain 3 and a half years ago. We opened a bank account at Banco Sabadell. They offer health insurance, as well as insurance for cars and homes. It was very easy because we were able to do everything at one location, and Banco Sabadell specializes in helping ex-pats. They offer service in many languages.

gwyng above gives very good information. My husband and I are in our 60's and the policy for both of us is about 2,000 euros per year. But you have to have it to obtain a residency card. We have a deductible, but that didn't seem to matter, although the official list of residency requirements state there should be no deductible. I recommend no deductible for the first year. once you renew your card in year two, change to a small deductible.

I’m moving from NC to Valencia in June 2022.  Love to hear any advice you have as far as the red tape.

Thanks

gwynj - Your post was full of useful information; thank you.  Here in the US, private health insurance requires that you visit the doctors and hospitals designated by the insurance company (because they contract with the insurance company).  If you visit a doctor or hospital not on the list, coverage may be reduced and the co-pay increased.

Can you tell me how this works in Spain?  If I have a zero-deductible policy with Sanitas (or any of the ones mentioned), am I required to only use a doctor and/or hospital that is listed with them?  I don't want to get stuck in a situation where the nearest "authorized" doctor/hospital is hours away.

Thanks GWYNJ

In wait of answer from GWYNJ:

No all Private Health Companies require you to go to their " doctors" or " hospitals": a a a matter of factm, most of them have agreements with a variety of docors and hospitals which also work for different Insurance companies

Maria
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@Lewis De Payne

I think the Spanish system is similar, in that there are certain hospitals/doctors in their "network", or even specifically tied to the particular insurance company. I think that, for example, Sanitas and Asisa have many of their own clinics/hospitals.

I imagine you can go to other doctors, but it will cost more. I don't know the details on how restrictive it is, or how much more it costs. I didn't get sick yet. :-)

However, the main thing is that I don't think it will matter... there are lots of doctors/clinics/hospitals that you can go to. At least with the bigger insurance companies. So I very much doubt that you would be hours away from treatment, especially for accident/emergency situations. Maybe for scheduled elective surgeries they might be a bit more insistent, but that's to be expected.

Thank You for the info

Wow, how complicated everything is here! Why people don't warn about this...