My parents have been living in Spain for about six years now and are in there 70’s and have NO HEALTH COVERAGE!
My mom was just recently diagnosed with diabetes and ended up in a coma over the holidays and we all spent a huge amount for her care in the hospital.
There own private doctor in Spain told them it was under emergency care and should have not been billed?
My mom was told she did not give enough into her pension in the UK to be eligible for coverage in Spain??  My Dad is Canadian and receives only a Canadian pension and also is not covered. They refuse to move back to the UK or Canada!
Without them being covered I really don’t know how they can live there any longer ? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi did a quick check on google and found this…..

(from the web site of British Consulate Santa Cruz de Tenerife, http://www.eurosol.com/consul/#_Toc500052711)

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Treatment for UK Pensioners in Spain

41. Persons in receipt of a UK State pension and resident in Spain, are entitled to receive free medical treatment in Spain (including, of course, the Canary Islands) under the same conditions as a qualified Spanish State pensioner. Most entitled pensioners will have already been so notified by the DHSS and provided with a form E121. If you have not heard from the Department and wish to ascertain your own position, you should write to:-

The International Pension Centre
Tyneview Park
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE98 1BA
England

Persons wishing to settle in Spain after early retirement, i.e. before the normal UK pensionable age (60 for women, 65 for men), should, before travelling, consult their local DHSS office about their medical cover, possibly under form E106.

42. Once in possession of form E121 (and with your passport), you should register with the INSS (Instituto Nacional de Seguridad Social). Initial registration must be done at the main office in Santa Cruz: Calle General Guti?rrez No. 4. There are 36 Health Centres on the island of Tenerife, with many minor branches, all of which are able to handle the posterior procedure. Some of these can be found at:-

Adeje - Calle Manuel Bello Ramos,s/n, Tel: 922-711533
Arona - Avenida Penetraci?n, s/n, Edificio Valdes Centre, Los Cristianos, Tel: 922-7840
Puerto de la Cruz - Pol?gono El Tejar, Calle El Pozo, s/n, Tel: 922-389834
La Laguna - Avenida Trinidad 50, Tel: 922-315722
La Palma - Calle P?rez Gald?s 5, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Tel: 922-418027
La Gomera - Calle Ruiz de Padr?n 32, San Sebasti?n de La Gomera, Tel: 922-872005
El Hierro - Calle La Constituci?n 27, Valverde, Tel: 922-550525
43. For initial registration, you should go to the counter labelled “Convenios Internacionales”. Form E121 will be taken from you and you will be issued with a pensioner’s health card and explanatory notes (in Spanish). Unless you specify that you wish to be registered with a particular “Servicio Canario de Salud” (SCS) doctor at your nearest out-patients clinic (Centro de Salud), one will be assigned to you, as will other specialists and the address of the “Centro de Salud”. It should be noted that registration can only be effected with Spanish SCS doctors and not private practitioners.

General

44. It must be stressed that the above provisions only apply to Centros de Salud and Social Security Hospitals (such as those listed in Annex E). Anyone wishing to attend a private clinic should note that they will be personally responsible for any costs incurred. These clinics (see Annex E) are usually run on a commercial basis and can be very expensive.

45. It should be noted that the Spanish Social Security does not provide long-term or geriatric care in hospitals. If such care is required in Spain, private arrangements must be made.

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Info on the Malaga Consulate.

http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/en/our-offices-in-spain/consular-offices/malaga-consulate/

I had a friend who was born in the UK but had lived in Canada for years - then he retired to Spain and I am sure he has Spanish health cover.

If they are in the Valencian region recently things changed because they were covering everybody until the crisis then it changed - maybe your parents are caught up in this confusion.

Many agencies are offering help ie Age Concern, Red Cross, British Legion etc - get them to talk to someone locally who does know the current facts and legislation.

Nice posts Rob / .Smiler!

Thank you! anything helps!
trying my best to get them out of this mess.

Just to clarify my Mom was born British but then moved to Canada . She only worked in the UK for six years before they moved to Calpe,Spain.
She was told she could not get a UK pension because she worked a small amount of time in the UK.

If anybody knows anyone they could contact this would be helpful also if anybodys knows if there are any suppot groups for Diabetes in Alicante region?

http://www.fedesp.es/asociaciones2.htm