HEALTH

[Elgin]

My Mum (Now no longer with us) had a couple of accidents whilst visiting us in Spain.  As a visitor she was using her EHIC.  There were no issues at all.  Indeed for the second accident she had a large gash on her forehead.  The doctor (Urgencias, Huercal-Overa) said he could stitch it up but it might leave a scar so if she wanted they could transport her up to Granada for a specialist plastic surgeon to do it.  That doesn't sound like (negative) discrimination to me!!!

PS my Mum was a regular "faller" at home as well but was never offered plastic surgery in the UK

[Tetley]

There may be more EU citizens working in UK. But as they are working they will be paying NI whereby qualifying legally. Same as here in Spain. You work here pay into system you get free treatment. That is not  claimed  back from UK.

this is correct,if you are working in both uk/sp nationals  pre brexit and registered correctly  you will be largely unaffected by brexit  subject to income and acquired rights TIE determinations or uk settled status confirmations  for eu/sp folks ,so health cover will remain as is for the working folks and the none working
ex pat folks or holidaying folks will be ....Boris & Dominic & uk  reliant on there new deal....as for the e111 one of my lads friends was presented with a 215e ankle sprain bill......6 months after the reffo....until it was pointed out the young lady....was still part of the EU,ie been scottish......

[felipe]

There may be more EU citizens working in UK. But as they are working they will be paying NI whereby qualifying legally. Same as here in Spain. You work here pay into system you get free treatment. That is not  claimed  back from UK.

[MAZ4929]

It is not so much about the Spanish being better organised than UK in claiming back healthcare costs.
There are a number of reasons for why there is a difference between what the UK pays and what is claims back.

OVERSEAS VISITORS ARE NOT CHARGED FOR EMERGENCY TREATMENT IN THE UK
Unlike Spain and other EU countries, overseas visitors in the UK are NOT charged for treatment that they receive in any Urgent Care Centre or A&E department.

They are only charged if they are given emergency treatment in any other department in the hospital. For example

• They are operated upon
• They are admitted to an inpatient ward
• If they are allocated an outpatient appointment. 

MORE EU CITIZENS WORKING IN THE UK
EU citizens working the UK are eligible under the EU directive governing freedom of movement, to receive the exact same entitlement as a UK citizen. This enables
them to have full access to the UK healthcare system without charge or need to have separate medical coverage. These costs cannot be claimed back by the UK government.

FRAUDULENT USE OF EHIC CARDS
There are many people who live permanently in Spain or other EU countries who should by rights hold medical coverage but instead fraudulently use a UK EHIC card for their medical treatment at considerable cost to the UK government.

[Optomist]

I agree with Cartron but i would also add to that its been well publicized for years that the NHS are well behind Spain in actually taking the information necessary to reclaim costs ,  it appears that hospitals in the UK treat first then forget to ask questions or do anything more after .

I think its wrong to blame the Spanish for being better organised and having a more rigorous system in place  after all money collected is for the benefit of its citizens and tax payers and everyone using the Health service .

I also dont understand the relationship between speaking fluent Spanish and being a health tourist , i would have thought it would be the other way around . Fluent Spanish speakers are more likely than not residents and taken the trouble to learn the language as they spend so much time here . If they were British they surly they wouldn't need to come here for treatment , as i understood it the the EHIC card is for urgent or emergency treatment only .

I hope your partner got the necessary treatment and it all turned out well for them , you made no mention of the treatment they received which would indicate it was at the very least equal if not better than they would have received in the UK .

[steveconway24]

Hi Emily
I think you went off at a tangent there.
Would you mind telling us about the discrimination you personally received ?
All I can get from your post is chat about about your level of Spanish, and a commendable level of English by the Spanish doctor.
What did I miss?

[Cartron]

Perhaps the EU citizens in the UK are in general young and are working  whereas the expats are generally  retired senior citizens and more prone to illness.
Then you have the masses of UK  tourists in Spain who seem to get hospitalised quite a lot for whatever reason.
Will be really interesting  to see what happens depending on which Brexit follows if any .
Personally I think the Spanish Health Service is fantastic.

[emily]

Recently I read several reports from ex pats about their experience in Spanish Hospitals where they were discriminated,  I thought it was sour grapes.   We have a holiday home in Spain,  my partner was an emergency patient and we have never  encountered discrimination like it, I speak Spanish, the female doctor decided we were medical tourists because I speak Spanish and she interrogated me as to how I speak good Spanish, I responded by saying I perhaps found it easier than most I was taught Latin, she asked my occupation prior to retirement, I replied solicitor, then she began communicating with my partner in English, he does speaks a little Spanish but is shy to use it as many of our Spanish friends are in using their English, Perhaps you will find the information below interesting   

The EHIC card entitles you to free  state medical care throughout Europe.
Cardholders should be treated like a resident of the country they are visiting. In exchange, citizens of other EU countries get NHS treatment in Britain. But Britain gets much less back than it pays in under the scheme.
Last year, for example, it gave £7.9 million to Greece, but only received £500,000 in return.
Spaniards got £247.3 million, but Britons received only £3.2 million in Spain.