I am moving to Spain in May, I am an Australian citizen with an EU passport. Like all Australian citizens I am able to see a doctor for regular things like colds, injections, check ups etc for a fee, which is then partially returned to you, or for concession card holders, bulk billed. I have never had health insurance, so I understand that if I ever needed an ambulance or an operation - well, I?d be in a bit of financial trouble.

I am wondering what my situation will be in Spain. A friend of mine recently had to pay 90 Euros to see a doctor just to get a prescription for an ear infection, and in order to get this money back she had to pay her insurance company a 200 euro excess!

So if I head on over, with an EU passport and no health insurance, can I just book in to see a doctor? And what sort of fees can I expect to pay?

Cheers,

Te

Hi teryndactyl

It depends. A private doctor visit can be anywhere from 50 - 130 eur depending on the clinic(a location in spain) and the specialty. An emergency room visit (at least here in Barcelona) is 44 eur.

If you are working and pay social security it’s 0 eur for a doctor visit. If you are planning to stay for an extended period I would suggest you take out a local insurance in a mutual like mapfree.

Cheers

It’s also dependent on your level of spoken Spanish - most state-employed doctors in our area won’t see you unless you arrange to be accompanied by an interpreter, so a lot of people I know who dont have insurance tend to pay 40 Eur to see a private english-speaking GP on most occasions, because when you’re ill you want to get seen promptly and without having loads to sort out first!

Maya

Hi guys, thanks for your replies.

I predict that I will probably get the flu the first month I arrive, so this is valuable info. If anyone ever tells you working with kids builds up your immune system, they’re lying.  I think I will end up having to see an English speaking doctor; luckily I’m moving to Madrid which is probably where they’re most easily found. It’s a relief to know that it’s not the norm to spend 90 euro for a regular appointment.

Cheers!

Te

We are ‘lucky’ in that we can see an Eng speaking Dr (and an excellent one at that!.. plus this includes a couple of ‘follow up vists’ for same probl).. for just Eu 40…
But he is only a GP and if you have to be referred to a specialist the amount hikes up!

We have a ‘Helvetia’ ‘Family Assurance Policy’ - which basically for just Eu 50 each pa pays for a funeral - PLUS
there is automatically included (after 60 days waiting period) a ‘discounted Dr scheme’... We did try to use the latter - but
it was not too straight forward (i.e Helvetia do not have too many English speakers!)... also the ‘discounted scheme’ could be as much as 60% off the full cost.. but that might have been over Eu 120 a consult to start with!

Good luck…