EOS MAIL BOX

jeffsears said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 9:10 AM

If the EU will treat EU residents for free why does Spain charge EU residents. To get "free" healthcare you have to be a pensioner (healthcare then paid by UK) or work and pay social charges. Otherwise you have to pay for private care. The EHIC only covers you for emergency care. The UK should adopt the same system which should be applied to everybody.

mjef said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 10:03 AM

somewhat off subject but essentially the same comment as above....on every front, the UK lags behind every other European OR NON EU country because it cannot get its act together to EMPLOY people to put up the same 'barriers' to free money/services/homes/health and even gives free translation & promotes legal services to immigrants of any nation!

GeoffB said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 10:12 AM

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is that under the current reciprocal agreement EHIC care is recharged to the country of origin so if treatment to a UK resident is incurred by Spain, they reclaim the cost from the NHS. The U.K. Should do the same if the NHS provides care to a Spanish citizen but the NHS is abysmally poor at recharging so the NHS loses out. It fares even worse with treatment of non-EU citizens thus making it possible for health tourism to flourish for virtually anyone as the NHS doesn't want to discriminate and act as part of the border control service. When non-EU patients are recharged they often flee the UK to avoid paying the bill, hence the nickname the international health service.
If a UK expat gets residency in Spain, they are accepted into their health system but they also must pay Spanish taxes, SUMA etc so also become part of the population. Spain obviously believe the system works and continue to encourage people to move there.
The NHS from the information above would seem to benefit greatly from leaving the EU as we are currently providing free healthcare to any EU resident who requests it, even for non-emergency care. A soft touch and people know it.

anthomo16 said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 10:25 AM

then why has the EU said that the NHS will be farmed out for privatisation ? this is one apparently amongst many. I love Spain and if I have to pay more for my extended stays there I will gladly. I truly believe it is time to exit from the EU. Merkel wields the big stick and the rest of us follow - she has made a mess of the immigration situation in Germany and she wants us to do the same.spending millions of our money on her say so that together with the open border policy and the fact that in October millions of Turks will have access to ram freely across the EU making their way to England.

richard52 said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 10:41 AM

Ref GeoffB comment. One point I must add, is if you are an early retiree ex-pat, you will not receive free health care even if you become a Spanish Resident. Free cover (paid for by UK) only kicks in after you become a pensioner. Prior to that, as a resident, you can apply for a 'Convenio Especial' which costs €60 per month (in Valencian area). This will give you almost the same health cover as a Spanish citizen.

Smiffie said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 12:52 PM

We bought a Aifos flat (I know) in 2002 so our plan is to move out to Spain, so being in the EU would be better for me in the long run especially as we plan to move out in about 2 years and it will take up to 3 years to move away from the EU if we vote OUT on the 23rd. So my head says vote IN, but I am British and NOT European and I am voting OUT because I think it is the best thing for the UK in the long run even if it'll hurt me later. (maybe).

My Friend is living on one of the islands now and told me recently that he has to pay for everything medical including dental ( something you wouldn't fly home for) so I believe we pay for med's while we are in the EU and will pay for med's if we were out of the EU, so where's the benefits of staying in ?.

I have read the above because I want to be informed, but after watching the Brexit movie I will always be out.

PLEASE watch this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTMxfAkxfQ0

BCNLocal said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 3:23 PM

I have been receiving totally free healthcare here in Barcelona since September 2003 — I was not then, and am not now, a pensioner. I was not then working, I am working now. I have a CatSalut tarjeta, an N.I.E. and a Social Security number. I make a minimal contribution toward the cost of prescribed medications. (And the prescription information tells me exactly how much money I am saving.) I do pay for dental care, which is considerably cheaper than that in the UK, and I had once to pay for the services of a podologist — 25€ (not covered by the public health system unless you have certain conditions such as diabetes) and I pay for glasses.
No idea what a Convenio Especial is as I have never been asked for one. Not sure where you get your information from, but it is certainly NOT the case in Catalunya that free healthcare for UK subjects 'only kicks in after you become a pensioner'.
The best hospital here is funded by a complex mix of national, regional and local government sources and income from insurance companies via private patients — other hospitals in the city depend wholly on regional government and income from insurance companies.
I think it more accurate to describe public health systems here in Spain as Regional Health Systems — and, as such, open to local political interference.Some of those regions are more apt to construct barriers to accessing public health services and attempt to exclude certain groups.

richard52 said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 4:38 PM

I can only assume that Catalunya operates in a different way to Valencia region, where to receive free treatment at Health Clinic or Hospital, you need to have a SIP card. Which as far as I am aware, are only available to Pensioners, people in employment or paying into the system through the 'Convenio Especial'. At one time you were able to receive free treatment for the first 12-18 months of being here (paid for by UK) on presenting form (S11 I think it was), when this expired as a Retired, non-working, ex-pat, you either join the Spanish System (regional) or take out Private Insurance.

pedro123 said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 5:17 PM

Great Britain needs to get its identity back , stop paying 350 million pounds a week into the EU , the government needs to wake up and stop being a soft touch to the rest of the world .

pedro123 said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 5:19 PM

Forgot to say IM OUT

dustyjack said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 6:27 PM

We Brits in Valencia, if we are not OAPs, have to pay for care under the Spanish State Health System - not that we are complaining. This appears to be a piece of propaganda on behalf of the "IN" brigade. I shall be voting OUT and am very tempted to cancel my membership of this site.

hbennett said:
Sunday, June 12, 2016 @ 12:19 PM

I am a pensioner & when in Spain I have received free medical treatment using my European health insurance card issued in the UK.I plan to become resident in Spain sometime in the future & will be voting remain as apart from the health issue if we leave it's possible that pensions will no longer be index linked as applies to people living in Commonwealth countries.It has also already been shown that if we leave the pound will devalue against the euro which is not good for anyone travelling or living in the EU.

DJF42 said:
Sunday, June 12, 2016 @ 6:20 PM

Hi he net,
There are only 4 commonwealth countries where pensions are not index linked, NZ, Aus, Can, & SA.
It is hardly likely that the state pension rules will change the same as any others that are in place. Fined tuned maybe, so that they are less onerous but not rescinded.
I do dispair about all the "economical with the truth" statements from the "ins".
I am convinced that they do not want the work required to change and it will close the easy unelected path to well paid positions in Brussels and elsewhere when they retire, the old school tie etc.

bilco said:
Monday, June 13, 2016 @ 11:50 AM

Considering that only a very small percentage of UK residents make use of the Spanish medical services each year the costs to Spain (as implied in your blog data) really demonstrate just how much the British tourists contribute to the Spanish economy each year. This is in effect a direct transfer of UK earned funds directly to Spain and must amount to very much more than the medical costs for emergency treatment of British citizens and even that cost is eventually refunded to Spain anyway. I think Spain has no cause to complain regarding this matter.