Is Health Care still Free?

Some of you might have noticed recently that moves are afoot in the Spanish Health Service. Normally UK citizens are entitled to the same services as any Spanish citizen under a reciprocal agreement between the Spanish & UK Governments.

However, there is a mood growing within both the Spanish Health Service and various regional governments [to whom health-care is devolved], that the the should be clarified, read tightened, as to who does and does not qualify for it.

Currently, all EU citizens who are registered as resident in Spain, those working and paying taxes, and those over the age of retirement are able to benefit from the Spanish Health Service. But everyone else from now on will only be entitled to emergency treatment, under the auspices of the European Health Insurance Card. And from now on the Spanish Public Sector Union SiMAP has indicated that it's members are going to tighten up which ailments they consider emergencies and which not.

The meaning of this for Brits who wish to spend time in Spain, is that unless you wish to fully integrate yourself into Spanish society, you had better start thinking about taking out some form of International Health Insurance. As Spain is getting tough on 'freeloaders'.

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Living Abroad, Get Health Insurance

More and more British Citizens are deciding that they wish spend at least part of their lives abroad, reasons include, work, study, volunteering and retiral.

Among the more popular places to relocate are EU countries skirting the Mediterranean Sea, but there are also growing expatriate communities in Hong Kong, China, Australia, Canada, USA, Germany, India and Singapore.

Expatriate health insurance plans are increasingly important, as politicians across Europe seek to control runaway health budgets, by limiting what non-citizens can have.

If you are planning to move abroad, you may think that the reciprocal arrangements which exist between EU countries will protect you. And it may, but it can only be relied upon for emergency treatments. State healthcare abroad is often done on a system of Health Insurance, quite unlike the system which exists in the UK: it is common to charge for many treatments.

Some countries now insist that all expatriates have international health insurance, or buy the same cover as locals.

Holland is the latest country to require foreign nationals, whether working in the country or simply resident, to have cover. Everyone aged over 18, irrespective of medical history and age, must buy an insurance plan.

Particularly if you are keeping a home in the UK, you may think you do not need to buy health insurance as you can return to the UK for treatment. But, following a crackdown on medical tourism, Britons in the EU who spend less than six months a year in the UK are denied access to the National Health Service, except in emergencies. Britons living outside the EU are ineligible for NHS services if they are abroad more than three months a year.

There are lots of international health insurance plans to choose from. They range from those offering very wide cover with lots of extras, to fairly basic plans aimed at covering in-patient treatment only. There are huge differences in cover and price. The only way to find out what suits your needs and your budget is to get lots of quotes. There are packages, plans where you have a core cover and a variety of options, or top-up covers for the difference in what the country you move to pays for and what you get charged by medical services.

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