Law 16/2012 about accessing healthcare explained

New law April 2012: RD 16/2012 about accessing state healthcare

This divides people into two categories:

Those who were residents here BEFORE 2012 and those became residents AFTER April 2012.

1)      Resident BEFORE 04/2012, how can you access healthcare:

a.      Working (employee or autonomo)

b.     As a dependent: wife, husband or official and registered “pareja de hecho”. Children under 26 or over 26 with more than 65% disability, or “assimilated children”: children that you are taking care of (need a notarized paper)

c.    As a person of “low means”: here is the form

                                                               i.      Be a resident before April 2012

                                                             ii.      Income less than 100.000 euros/year

                                                            iii.      A letter from your country saying that you are not entitled to healthcare by them (from the UK you get it via the DWP, Newcastle at Overseas Healthcare Team 44 191 21 81999)

In this way almost all people that were residents before 04/12 will be able to get healthcare.

 Note: if you are receiving unemployment benefits, after these finishes, keep on registered as a “demandante de empleo”! in this way, you will still be eligible for state healthcare, but if you don’t, your healthcare will run out in 90 days.

2)      Those who were residents AFTER 04/2012, you can have access to healthcare by:

a)      If you are a pensioner, with an S1 form: you get the form from DWP in Newcastle at State Pension 44 191 21 87777

b)      Private insurance (remember few insurance companies cover people 70-74, and virtually none that I know off covers >75)

c)      Transferring your right to healthcare from your country to spain (in the case of the UK, this is usually temporary) via an S1 form

d)     Working as an employee or autonomo.

e)      As a dependent: wife, husband or official and registered “pareja de hecho”. Children under 26 or over 26 with more than 65% disability, or “assimilated children”: children that you are taking care of (need a notarized paper)

f)       A new government scheme via the RD 576/2013, that lets you buy into the state system: (convenio especial para asistencia sanitaria), these are the requirements:

    i.      Resident for ONE year

         ii.      Be in the padrón

         iii.      Not have access to state healthcare via other way

You'll have to pay

If younger than 65: 60 euros/month /person

If older than 65: 157 euros/month/person

This is priceless for people with: preexisting conditions and those who are refused coverage form the companies or older people who won’t be covered. I have not found a company to cover someone over 75 (with reasonable conditions) if you have please let me know.

If you know people that are planning to come here, let them know about the change in law, because many people still think that everyone is covered, and it’s not like that anymore.

There is an area of conflict: the new law clearly states that minors get free healthcare as any Spaniard, but, this is not being recognized in practice, specially to EU citizens (they want the EU country to pay), it is recognized more easily for non-EU citizens. It is NOT done in the Instituto de la seguridad social, but in the healthcare center directly, and they don’t give them a card.

If you know of any minor without healthcare because of this, please let us know, as they are NOT following the letter of the law.