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Your Health on the Costa Blanca |
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 What ever your state of Health - Spanish Healthcare provision should be one of your considerations if moving to the Costa Blanca. The Spanish Health service is one of the best and most modern in Europe.
The UK media have recently high-lighted a Healthcare 'Black-Hole' for British Citizens who now live on the Costa Blanca. Free Healthcare is available to all in most of the Costa Blanca. Read the facts about being a Permanent Resident on the Costa Blanca and getting free Healthcare.
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Temporary Residents and Healthcare in Spain |
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Temporary (Non-Resident) visitors receive emergency medical treatment on production of the new European Health Insurance Card which is being introduced throughout Europe. (You are a non-resident or temporary visitor if you spend less that 183 days in Spain in any one calendar year)
You must obtain the relevant card in your home country before you travel to Spain. You can apply for your card and get more information on the NHS Website HERE. All public hospitals provide emergency services on a 24hr basis. Within each administrative region of Spain there is at least one large public hospital equipped with the most advanced technology to provide highly specialised services. |
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Permanent Residents and Healthcare in Spain |
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Non-Spanish residents in Spain (from other EU countries) receive free NHS medical treatment once they reach retirement age, or if they are working and paying into the Spanish Social Security system. There are important exceptions however.  Murcia - In certain areas such as Murcia, those who have not yet reached retirement age can get up to 2 years free health treatment in Spain, but then have to buy private health cover until they reach 65.
NB: once resident in Spain, you are no longer eligible for treatment on the NHS in Britain, and if you fall ill during the initial two-year period allowed in Spain, you risk not being able to buy medical cover and thus fall into a "black-hole" where you cannot get free healthcare in Spain or the UK and possibly cannot buy a private policy as you have a pre-existing condition. There are signs that legislation will be introduced in Murcia to ensure free healthcare for all. Nevertheless our advice to anybody beneath retirement age planning to become a resident in Murcia is to take out private cover beforehand. Valencia - In other areas such as Valencia, successful petitioning of the regional government has led to free health care being provided for all its residents. |
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Dentists |
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There are no National Health Dentists in Spain - they are private and so any dental treatment has to be paid for. Some, but not all, private health insurance policies include dentistry work. You can find a list of dentist (dentistas) in local directories and there are many dentists around with plenty of local advertising on the Costa Blanca. Chemists Chemists in Spain are called 'Farmacia', recognisable by the green flashing cross displayed outside or within the store window. Farmacias can supply all your prescription and over-the-counter drug needs. Farmacias work on a rota basis for out of hours opening and the current rota, 'Farmacias del Guardia' is displayed outside the farmacias as well as being published in the local newspapers. 
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Healthcare in Spain
