so confused about healthcare & prescriptions for non-pensioners

bobaol-Nursing care as we know it is NOT given in Spain and it's more than tucking patients up and little extras as you describe.  Nurses in Spain could be better described as practitioners-they carry out the medical treatments, observations etc,  but they do NOT nurse. Imagine being seriously ill, unable to reach for a drink, feed yourself,  wipe your bottom or get to the bathroom for a wash, or change position to stop you getting pressure sores, and no one to help you.

If you are basically fit, had an op and quickly recover and are able to attend  to your  own care- fair enough, no problem, but when my husband was in hospital,   I saw an elderly ex pat who said he paid for a taxi so his frail wife could visit hi every day, and she wasn't capable of doing much for him. It's something to consider very carefully before you move here. There are many elderly people out here with several serious conditions, diabetes, heart problems, cancer-sometmes all of them.

As for being 75 degrees, don't be fooled- that's not the norm, -it's b****y cold here by the evening.

 Camposol, I guess ultimately were any of that to become a serious issue for us at some point, we would either return to the UK or maybe our now grown-up kids would come over and help out short-term.

And gotta say, though it may be cold in the evenings there, it's been about 9deg here for days, in the day, so anything more is a bonus ;)

Unless you  already have a house to escape back to, then returning to the Uk is not an option if you had to return quickly, due to the fact houses are not selling, unless at a great loss.

As for children coming from the UK to look after you, it's ok for a short time, but unless they are very fortunate, most couldn't take a lot of time off work, and for others childcare would be a problem.

I am not trying to put you off, but am merely realistic.  I have seen first hand the problems that occur with serious illness out here.

Stay healthy!

i agree with camposol

 "I think health is the biggest issue , apart from finances, when you consider moving to Spain".

Never a truer word - unless you are very wealthy and / or fluent in Spanish, I can't really understand why you would even consider moving to Spain under your circumstances. 

As far as I understand things, the right to health care under the national system is now being determined by the INSS (social security) rather than the autonomous regional health authorities. i.e you can no longer just pop along to a local clinic and ask to register with a GP. (Don't know how this affects the voluntary contribution system in Valencia though). First step is of course to be officially resident. The new requirements for residency (or whatever one wishes to call it) I understand include proof that you have access to health care (meaning private insurance). This seems to conflict with the fact that an S1 issued by Newcastle (assuming you are eligible for one) will cover you on the national system for up to two years anyway. But this is just one of many contradictions that the current administration has come up with recently. If you are not eligible for an S1 or when it's validity runs out, you could qualify based on low income, but you would have to have filed a tax return in Spain already to prove this status. 

Others here may have more recent first hand experience, but by the time I finish typing this the government may have come up some new muddled ruling anyway, such is the way of things here nowadays. Ill health is probably the top reason for expats returning to their country of origin; moving abroad with existing medical conditions and hoping to rely on free state health cover in a foreign language, IMHO, should be given some seriously serious thought before jumping in.

important point that not everyone will agree with, move to an area with loads of expats, yes it will feel "less Spanish" but when you need something you'll be soooo happy that you live in an area that caters to exapts, i.e. they speak English

I've just been through the process of registering on the Foreigners list (EX-18 form) and I can confirm that the S1 form was accepted in Almeria as proof of medical insurance, (I got one for my wife and myself as early retirees who has recently paid into UK system). The biggest problem was proof of income but they have finally after 2 months accepted our documents and tomorrow we should collect the certificates of "residencia" from Almeria.

Now, the next thing is to go to the INSS office in Huercal Overa and take the S1 forms and residence forms and everything else we can think of along with numerous copies and I assume we will be issued a Social Security number and handed back a stamped copy of the S1. There's a form I downloaded TA1 found  here  http://www.seg-social.es/prdi00/groups/public/documents/binario/365.pdf but I don't know if I need to take that or not. I also don't know whether we will get Tarjeta Sanitarias at teh same time but I guess we'll find out.

Then of course the S1 forms expier in 2014 so unless they slip up somehow I guess we'll have to take our private medical insurance until I am 65 in 2016. 

 This was sent to us by the British Legion in Orihuela on the Costa Blanca about obtaining health care here in Spain if you are not a pensioner.

Due to law changes in Spain, people should be eligible to register for healthcare on the basis of holding a residency certificate, as long as it was issued before 24^th April 2012.  This is on the condition that they are not eligible for healthcare through any other means e.g. as a state pensioner, and do not earn more than 100,000 euros annually.

They will need to contact the Overseas Healthcare Team in Newcastle (Tel: 0044 191 218 1999) to request a ‘legislation letter’ in Spanish, stating that they are not eligible for cover from the UK. They may also be asked to prove their UK income and should contact HMRC to ask for confirmation of  this.  The document below explains this process.

What to do if you need to provide evidence of your UK income when applying for foreign health care or social security benefits.

If you live abroad and apply for health care, social security benefits or permanent residence status, you may be asked to provide a record  of your recent UK taxable income.

Documents you can use as evidence of your UK taxable income include your latest:

·         Self assessment tax calculation (SA302),  or

·         PAYE (pay as you earn) calculation, if you receive one.

If you do not have either of these documents, or need confirmation that you had no U taxable income in a particular tax year in order to prove your income for a foreign authority, contact HMRC.

You can phone 0044 135 535 9022 from abroad and ask for written details of:

·         Your taxable income in the UK for a particular tax year, or

·         Confirmation that HMRC have no record of taxable income in the UK for a particular tax year. 

You must state that:

• You are living or working abroad; and you need proof of income, or lack  of it, for and overseas tax authority.

Alternatively you can make the request in writing to HMRC at:

Customer Operations

PAYE and Self Assessment

Lynx House

1 Northern Road

Cosham

Portmouth

PO6 3XA.

On the same wavw length, the follow should be of interest

British citizens in Spain are being urged to make correct use of European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) in a new campaign that has been launched by both the UK Government and Valencia Health Authority, but this will be the same over the whole of Spain. A campaign to explain how British citizens in Spain should use UK-issued European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs) has been launched by the UK Department of Health and the Valencia Health Authority.

The EHIC Campaign aims to greatly raise awareness among British citizens and Spanish healthcare staff in the Valencia Autonomous Community over the next 15 months. The innovative partnership between a UK government department and a Spanish regional authority has now been recognised by the European Union, which is funding the campaign.

Launching the campaign in Alicante, David Pennington, Head of the Department of Health’s International Healthcare team, said:

 
“Many British citizens living in Spain are confused about how to access state healthcare and many use their EHIC cards when they should be accessing healthcare in another way. This campaign explains who can use a UK-issued EHIC and what it’s for. It also tells people about other ways to access state healthcare in Spain, depending on their circumstances.”

What you should know about the UK European Health Insurance Card:-

The UK European Health Insurance Card should only be used to access medically-necessary state treatment during the course of a temporary stay in Spain. It does not provide access to all state treatment but for those in Spain on a temporary stay, it is the correct way to access state healthcare. 

However British citizens who live mainly in Spain should change the way they are registered, because for them the UK European Health Insurance Card is not the correct form of health cover. The new EHIC marketing and advertising campaign will explain how to do this. The campaign will also explain to the administrative staff of the Valencia Health Authority how the UK covers its citizens in Spainand how the UK reimburses Spain for the cost of medical care provided to British citizens. British citizens can find comprehensive information on the use of EHICs at www.healthcareinspain.eu.

An extensive radio and newspaper advertising campaign will further promote the correct use of EHICs, and leaflets will be distributed through health centres and at public events. 

Some two million British tourists visit the Valencia region every year and there are an estimated 300,000 British residents in the region, some 40% of the total in Spain. Although the campaign is centred on Valencia, much of the information is relevant to British citizens across Spain.

More details can be found on www.healthcareinspain.eu