Spanish Healthcare

Healthcare is an important consideration when moving abroad. It’s vital to learn about how the Spanish healthcare system works, so when you need to visit a doctor or have an emergency you know what to do.

Public Health Care in Spain

Firstly, if you’re a European resident, apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) before you leave your home country. This enables you to free public health care in European Union countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Importantly, this card only applies if you’re on holiday or staying abroad for the short-term and cannot be used for private healthcare.

The GHIC is free, is valid for five years, and you can renew an existing GHIC card up to nine months before it expires.

To apply from the UK: Global Health Insurance Card.

How to register with a doctor in Spain

The Spanish healthcare system is controlled by regional authorities. The Catalan Public Health system is called CatSalut: Servei Català de la Salut. As in the UK, you need to register with a doctor before you can use the service. The national health surgery is called CAP (Centre d’Atenció Primària), and there’s a CAP in every neighbourhood.

Here’s a link to the CatSalut page that gives details of all the CAPs in Barcelona: ics.gencat.cat/ca/Ciutadania/ap/barcelona-ciutat/centres/

In order to register with a doctor you need a Spanish social security number, to be registered with your local town council (ayuntamiento), and show photo ID. Your registration paper from the town hall (empadronamiento) must be less than three months old, so you need to update that first. Once you have all your paperwork in place, simply go into your local surgery (CAP) and ask to be registered.

See details on how to register at your local ayuntamiento here.

I recommend that you use a gestor or ask a Spanish or Catalan speaking friend to help you get your social security number. If you don’t speak Spanish it can be very difficult.

Useful Phone Numbers

General emergency: 112.    Medical emergencies: 061.    Guàrdia Civil: 062

CatSalut: web.gencat.cat/en/

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Spanish public healthcare in Barcelona

Once you have all the necessary documentation, go to your local CAP and register. You will be given a provisional identification document document identificatiu provisional. The permanent health card: targeta sanitària individual (TSI) will be sent to you by post. This TSI is valid throughout Spain.

If you need more specialised treatment, the CAP doctor will refer you to other specialist departments. If you require emergency treatment at a hospital you will also be covered by your targeta sanitària individual.

• As a pensioner retiring to Spain, you’ll be eligible for a TSI and free prescriptions.
• When self-employed (autónomo), you have to make monthly payments to the social security system in order to qualify.
• If you’re employed in Spain, part of your wages are deducted to cover national health care.

If you need emergency medical care you will always receive it. However, if you failed to register with the Spanish healthcare system you may end up receiving a bill for your treatment.

Private hospitals must treat emergencies – whether you have private medical insurance or not. By showing your Spanish public health card you will be treated and not charged for a genuine emergency in a private hospital.

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Private health insurance in Spain

Private medical insurance is considerable cheaper in Spain than it is in the UK and the US. Here are some of the main companies in Spain that offer private medical insurance:

• Sanitas (part of Bupa): www.sanitas.es
• Cigna: www.cignaglobal.com
• Bupa: www.bupa-intl.com/for-you/country/healthplan-complete
• DKV: eng.dkvseguros.com
• Axa: www.axa.es
• Adeslas: segurcaixaadeslas.es

Most private medical insurances offer various levels of cover. You can choose to co-pay, meaning that your monthly premium is lower, but you pay a fee for each consultation. Some plans give a certain number of free consultations per year, so you pay a fee for a consultation only after you’ve reached that limit.

Premiums increase every year, and you have a one year contract, so you can’t cancel until the renewal date is reached. Some basic plans are really reasonable – they cover doctor visits and checkups such as blood tests and x-rays, but not operations or hospital stays.

Some insurance companies dictate that you use their own doctors and medical centres. Others let you choose your medical centre or doctor and they cover you for that treatment (usually this second option is part of a more comprehensive plan).

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Private Spanish healthcare for expats

Some private medical centres specialise in offering healthcare to expats, and if you have private medical insurance, and depending on the level of cover, you may be covered to use these centres on your health insurance plan. Doctors and staff speak a range of languages at these health centres.

Even if you don’t have private medical insurance, they can be a good option for simple procedures, tests or dental treatment, because you can usually be seen quickly. If you don’t speak Spanish, it takes the stress out of trying to make yourself understood at a time when your may be stressed anyway.

Full assistance Spanish healthcare service for foreign patients

Turo Parc Medical Centre

The Turo Parc Medical Centre is good example of a clinic with a focus for foreign visitors and expats to Barcelona. The staff there speak many different languages and you can have treatment whether you have health insurance or not.

The clinic has a specialist dental clinic and aesthetics clinic, as well as the very comprehensive health clinic. I’ve reviewed the Turo Park Medical Clinic in the directory part of this website: Turo Parc Medical Centre and Turo Parc Dental Clinic. I’ve also used the clinic myself for dental treatment, and am very happy to recommend it.

Plaça de Sant Gregori Taumaturg 5, 08021 Barcelona (Sant Gervasi)
turoparkmedical.com

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Medical Care Barcelona (MCB)

MCB positions itself as a comprehensive, patient-focused private healthcare provider based in Barcelona, with a clear emphasis on accessibility for English-speaking patients, expats, and visitors.

You can access care via home or hotel visits, clinic appointments as well as online video consultations. They also issue medical certificates, which is a practical addition for those needing documentation for work or travel.

They cover family medicine, paediatrics, dermatology, endocrinology, cardiology, oncology, psychiatry, rheumatology, ophthalmology, and pneumology. The multilingual setup of the website (the site supports 9 languages) shows the clinic is geared toward international patients.

MCB’s core selling point is convenience. The combination of home visits, online consultations and multi-lingual doctors and staff makes it a good choice for expats or visitors in Barcelona who need reliable, English-speaking medical care.

Torre Mapfre, Carrer Marina, 16-18, 08005 Barcelona (Port Olimpic)
medicalcarebarcelona.com