Your Healthcare – Frequent visitors and second home owners
Who is this guide for?
This guide gives an overview of options for healthcare for English speakers who are regular visitors to Spain, such as second home owners. The guide is primarily aimed at UK citizens who visit Spain but much of the information will be equally applicable to people of other nationalities who visit here.
The following information will help you understand what you need to do to make sure you have access to the healthcare that best suits you and which meets other requirements.
This overview document is supported by more detailed resources available on this website.
Healthcare options for frequent visitors to Spain
Here we want to explore the various options you have regarding access to medical cover. Basically, there are three options for UK and other nationals:
- Access to emergency public healthcare using a GHIC or EHIC card (for UK and EU nationals)
- Travel insurance
- Spanish private health insurance
Using a GHIC or an EHIC card in Spain
Many tourists to Spain acquire a Global or European health insurance card which will allow them to access free emergency medical care in public healthcare facilities whilst in Spain.
The advantage is that the public health system in Spain is available in all areas of the country.
The disadvantage is that you cannot choose your doctor or hospital and they may not have English speaking staff to help you.
Travel insurance
When travelling outside of your home country, it is always advisable to have private travel insurance.
Amongst other things, this will cover, medical expenses when abroad due to illness or accident.
The advantages of having private travel insurance are that you can often choose which doctor and hospital you go to and you can choose healthcare services that can attend to you in your own language. However, some travel insurance companies are slow to authorise cover and you may be asked to pay up front and claim back when you return to your country. You will also usually be expected to pay an excess, and if you haven’t declared any pre-existing medical conditions your claim may be rejected.
Private Spanish health insurance
If you are a regular traveller to Spain and spend several months in the country each year, you might decide to look into the option of taking out private health insurance in Spain.
This gives you access to private doctors, specialists and hospital admissions with short if any waiting times and to services in your language. After the first few months you would also have access to non-emergency services – for a programmed surgery for example. You can choose the best specialist for your condition and have easy access to second and even third opinions.
Of course, this means paying a higher price than for travel insurance, but is usually much cheaper than buying private health insurance in the UK (and many other countries) and the Spanish health services are well known worldwide for their excellent reputation.
For a free quote for private health insurance in Spain and a one-to-one discussion with our advisor, contact health@ageinspain.org
Recent Info Guides
Can You Support Us?
Every year, we help over 30,000 people navigate life in Spain with confidence, providing free, accessible information guides. Our trusted Infoline offers compassionate, one-to-one support to more than 3,000 individuals annually.
None of this would be possible without the generosity of people like you. Your donation ensures we can continue to provide these vital services to those who need them most.