Prescriptions charges

Although the answers given to Rose are correct for those residing in Spain (either after 90 consecutive days or if spending 183 days or more in Spain per year), I think they may have missed the point that Rose says she is a non-resident.

So I am assuming that she has a holiday home here and spends less than the time required for registration, but is doing the right thing by paying non-resident tax.

In that case her question is reasonable.

I agree that one cannot expect the same rules to apply in Spain as they do in the UK, and that, just because you have paid into one system you cannot automatically expect the same level of treatment from another system.

But this is a question for those who are non-residents to consider.

Having said that, I always assumed that non-residents, pensioners or not, paid the full amount for prescriptions anyway, but perhaps not so?

Summer 70-It is not clear at all whether Rose is a resident.Plenty of ex pats live here permanently and continue to pay income tax in U K- they are wrong, but many refuse to pay tax here;now the prescriptions scare has led to a surge of requests to be registered inSpain, and that is good news, as they moan about the services provided, yet they haven't been contributing. It's taken a major change in the healthcare to flush  non payers out.

I agree with Camposol and am confused about Rose's status.  She appears to have edited her original post on the subject but I understood her to say that she was 'registered for National Health care' here which I took to mean that she was a resident opting to pay her tax in UK which as Camposol says is actually not a legal option.  

I did not know that it was possible to get properly into the health care system in Spain without being resident.  If you are non-resident you are entitled only to emergency care via the EHIC and would need to obtain all the medicines you need on an on-going basis from UK between trips to Spain.

Perhaps Rose will tell us, if she lives here or not, I got the inpression too that she does.

Jane B=tax residency and residency  which should go hand in hand,are two different things to most ex pats. although by being a resident here one is legally obliged to pay tax here. I wish Spain had insisted that, in order to get on the Spanish healthcare system you had to prove you were registered to pay income tax in Spain-that would weed a few out! Many have got away with waving their residency cards at the notary, when, in fact they should have been waving a tax certificate! At least they appear to be tightening up now, even if it was an economic crisis that forced them to do it. Why can't people see that not paying tax here could prove to be a huge disadvantage, especially in times of death, house selling etc.

 Camposol and John both being entirely correct.

But I have no idea how someone gets into the health care system here without an E106 or if retired an E121, both of which involve renouncing your right to NHS care other than for emergencies.

Oh I agree with everyone saying that if you live here as a resident and are signed on with the health service, you should be payng tax here, or at least submitting a tax return.

I was just opening up the debate to include non-residents (and of course, I arrived here after Rose editted her post).

As I said, I had always assumed that a non-resident would pay the full amount for prescriptions, whether a pensioner or not.
In that case, it would negate Rose's argument that, as a non-resident, she should still be treated as a pensioner for prescriptions whether she was in the UK or in Spain.

 I am sure that is the case, summer 70.  The only way to get free or subsidised prescriptions for non-emergencies is to be a resident.   If you are of working age and paying into the SS system you get them subsidised, if you are  a pensioner then prior to last Sunday they were free.  

In certain comunidades (Valencia and others?) they have also let non pensioners into the system but I understand that is changing.

In Andalucia they have never been allowed in other than while the E106 was valid (maximum of 2 years after leaving UK).

Most of the confusion seems to arise, as implied by John and Camposol, by people interpreting the concepts of resident and tax resident as optional statuses - the one follows the other, by law.

What about the black hole of people who have only become residents this year and won't complete a residents tax return until next year, how is the hacienda going to know our income?  We aren't trying to fool anyone, we will pay non residents tax for this year and start paying residents tax next year.

 Good point Val.

Perhaps your gestor can help?   I assume you have an E106 or an E121?  

Yes, we have E121's.  I think we will have to do as you say. 

 If you are on a repeat prescription (in Andalucia they do these via your health card) if you take it to the Farmacia they should be able to tell you what your position is.

Slightly off topic, but an interesting point comes to mind about all this.
Those who retire early to Spain and have a few years to go before their retirement are advised to take out private health cover, as even an S1 will only cover them until it runs out, leaving a gap between having state health care paid for by the UK and the time when, as a state pensioner, they can claim state health care in Spain.

However, we then have this proposed legislation:
http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/06/14/inenglish/1339677237_391907.html (El Pais in  English - Ministry Backtracks On Healthcare Entitlement Restrictions.

If this goes through, those residents earning under 100k a year (as declared on their tax returns) will now have access to state health care.

And this begs a question.
Someone under state pension age will need to take out private health cover to sign on the foreigners register, or show an S1 (and thus prove they will not be a burden on the state).  And they will they need to keep paying for this private health cover until their first tax returns have been submitted and verified.

In theory, once a person has proved their income and health care coverage to apply for residencia (or in the case of EU citizens, to sign on the foreigners register), and has submitted a tax return which shows they earn less than 100k per year, they could (in theory of course) recieve state health care, thus negating their need for private health insurance.

Anything wrong with that theory?

It was just a testing out an idea I think some may have considered.

On the same 'off thread' line.

When I came to Spain aged 48 I was on Invalidity Benefit.  I got my E121 and was immediately on Spanish 'National Health'.

This may still apply.

deleted by me, it was duplicated !!!!

Val- nothing is stopping you registering on the Spanish tax system now, even though you may not have paid tax. You may still be able to make a tax return and claim it back from UK.  Your accountant may produce written evedence of your income which you can show the chemist.See a qualified tax accountant, not some person who advertises that they "do tax" , or a gestor who may only deal with Spanish uncomplicated tax matters.Not many Spanish accountants understand the concerns of ex pats, and some treat English pensions in the same way as the Spanish ones which can make a difference with your tax bill. I cannot stress this enough.

Summer70-your theory about receiving  free healthcare seems too good to me!

ok