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HEALTH

The best private healthcare for foreigners in Spain

If you're planning on moving to Spain and are applying for certain visas, then you will need to get private healthcare as part of your residency application.

Published: 9 January 2023 16:40 CET
The best private healthcare for foreigners in Spain
Best private health insurance for foreigners in Spain. Photo: Accuray / Unsplash

Those wanting to move to Spain and applying for residency visas, such as the non-lucrative visa, will need to get private health coverage. You will also need private healthcare if you are not working in Spain and are not paying into the social security scheme, as you won’t be eligible for public healthcare.

Currently, public healthcare is offered in Spain to those earning state pensions from certain countries Spain has deals with, Spanish state pensions and those who pay social security, whether they are employed by a company or are self-employed.

Although Spain is considered to have a good public healthcare system, many residents in Spain choose to go private, even if they do have access to the public healthcare system, due to the affordability of private healthcare and the added benefits, such being able to see a specialist and shorter wait times.

According to data from UNESPA (the employers’ association for insurers), more than 11.5 million Spaniards have some type of private health insurance.

READ ALSO: Why people in Spain are facing longer waits to see a doctor 

Madrid is the region that has the most people with private health insurance (37 percent) and Cantabria has the least (8 percent).

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states that wait times for public healthcare in Spain are between 74 and 147 days for specialist surgeries such as cataracts, hip replacement and knee replacement.

If you have private healthcare, wait times are drastically reduced to just a few weeks. What’s more, you don’t have to wait for a referral from your GP to see a specialist; with most private health insurers in Spain, you can make an appointment with a particular specialist when you want to.

Recently the Spanish Association of Consumers and Users (OCU) released a study revealing the opinions of 6,451 people about their private health coverage in Spain.

Participants rated their insurance on covered treatments, medical staff, quality of services, customer service and authorisation of tests, as well as price, premiums and co-payments.

Taking all of these into account, the best value health company is ASC – Asistencia Sanitaria Colegial, followed by CIGNA and then Generali.

Those with the best coverage were ASC and Agrupación Mutua, while ASC and Generali were also rated highly for the quality of their healthcare services.  

Clients of AEGON and Sanitas insurance complained the most about rising premiums, but despite this, Sanitas came seventh out of the 16 companies listed. AEGON on the other hand came in at number 15.

READ ALSO: When, where and how to get the flu vaccine in Spain 

Top five health insurance companies in Spain

The top five private health insurance providers on the list were: 

ASC – Asistencia Sanitaria Colegial

The company offers three different health plans, from basic to comprehensive, plus one for frequent travellers. They also offer 24-hour emergency services 365 days a year, plus online services, direct specialist access, and no wait times.

CIGNA

CIGNA also offers three levels of coverage – full, blue or gold. You only have to add on co-payments for the full, while blue and gold also include dental care. Clients have direct access to medical specialists as well as psychologists.

Generali

Generali again has three levels of coverage, as well as extra insurance for those with serious illnesses, hospitalisation or who are pregnant. They have over 51,000 specialists in different fields and you can choose from coverage with or without co-payments.

FIATC

FIATC offers either full or basic coverage with or without co-payments, insurance where medical bills are reimbursed and dental coverage. As well as 24-hour home care, they offer complimentary health services such as prenatal service, gynaecology, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, psychology and nutritional services. Waiting times are also greatly reduced.

Agrupación Mutua

Agrupación Mutua offers six different types of health plans without waiting times that cover appointments, emergencies, tests, hospitalisation and more. Prices start from €17.49 a month for the most basic plan up to €66.82 per month for the most comprehensive.

The five insurance companies with the lowest satisfaction scores from customers were Divina Pastora, ASISA, ADESLAS Segurcaixa, AEGON and DKV.

Keep in mind that not all types of private health insurance will serve if you have to get it as a visa requirement. Most of the time you will have to get a plan without co-payments, which are typically the most comprehensive ones.

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For members

FOOD AND DRINK

How hard is it to eat gluten-free in Spain?

It can often be a challenge to move to another country or travel abroad when you have a gluten intolerance and it can be made even trickier if you don’t know the language. Here's what coeliacs need to know about living and travelling in Spain.

Published: 23 May 2024 09:59 CEST
How hard is it to eat gluten-free in Spain?

Studies indicate that around 0.7 percent of the EU population suffers from coeliac disease, but many cases go unreported. Many more people are gluten or wheat-intolerant rather than being classed as coeliac.

Luckily Spain is becoming more and more aware of different dietary needs and many people here suffer from the disease or are intolerant too.

The Federation of Celiac Associations of Spain (FACE) estimates that there are between 600,000 and 900,000 people who suffer from coeliac disease in the country.

Eating out

According to the Spanish tourist office Madrid, Barcelona and Asturias are the regions in Spain with the most restaurants serving gluten-free food. Many establishments in these places will list whether a dish contains gluten or not, with a wheat symbol, the letters gf or sg (sin gluten).

In fact, the Asturian village of Cangas del Narcea has been named as Spain’s first ever gluten-free destination, which also celebrates National Coeliac Day every year on May 27th. You can find out more about it here. 

Extremadura is also becoming a coeliac-friendly destination thanks to the Gluten-Free Extremadura project, which raises awareness and promotes establishments that have gluten-free menus.

Naked & Sated is a chain of gluten-free restaurants that have establishments in Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao, Málaga and Pozuelo de Alarcón. They serve gluten-free pizzas, burger buns, toast, cakes, and French galettes, among others.

The Association Coeliacs of Catalonia has a list of some of the best gluten-free restaurants in the region and The Association of Coeliacs of Madrid has the same. 

READ ALSO: ‘I pay €15 for a few potatoes’ – What it’s like being a vegetarian in Spain

Supermarkets

If you’re cooking for yourself, it’s very easy nowadays to find gluten-free food in the major supermarkets. National chains with good free-from sections include Mercadona, Carrefour, Alcampo and El Corte Inglés.

All these places sell everyday items such as gluten-free pasta, bread, pizza bases, crackers, biscuits, pastry, alternative flours and more.

The bad news is that gluten-free options in supermarkets are a lot more expensive than their wheat-based counterparts. The Federation of Coeliac Associations of Spain (FACE) prepared a ‘Price Report’ on specific gluten-free products and estimated that the difference in spending is an extra €1,087.72 per year.

The investigation also noted a significant increase in the price of gluten-free products of €167.57 when compared with 2023.

Spanish gluten-free food

Spaniards eat a lot of bread, that’s true, but when it comes to main dishes you’ll find that lots of Spanish food is naturally gluten-free anyway.

Paellas, meat and seafood stews, grilled fish, pisto (similar to ratatouille), and tortilla (Spanish omelette) are all made without gluten and the good news is that dishes rarely contain pastry – it’s more about the rice and the potatoes here. The main thing you’ll need to make sure is that the sauces aren’t thickened with flour.

A lot of tapas can be gluten-free too, including patatas bravas (potatoes with spicy tomato sauce) or aioli (garlic mayonnaise), pimientos de Padrón (fried green peppers), anchovies, ham and cheeses.

You can even eat a lot of the desserts that are not baked such as flan (like creme caramel), arroz con leche (rice pudding), ice cream and turrón (almond nougat). 

Some classic dishes you need to watch out for are gazpacho and salmorejo (cold tomato-based soups) which contain bread, and croquetas which have bechamel sauce and breadcrumbs.

Many beers are also gluten-free in Spain, simply ask for cerveza sin gluten when you order.

READ ALSO: The best vegan and vegetarian Spanish dishes

Vocabulary

While some people are intolerant to just wheat, others can’t eat anything containing any form of gluten, so it’s important to be aware of the vocab so you can ensure what you’re eating is safe for you.

The most important words and phrases to learn are sin gluten (gluten-free) Soy celiaco (I’m a ceoliac).

Wheat – Trigo
Barley – Cebada
Oats – Avena 
Rye – Centeno

Help for coeliacs who live in Spain

If you suffer from the disease and you live in Spain, there is actually financial aid that you can apply for in order to help with the extra cost of your shopping.

One option for aid is from the General Mutuality of State Civil Officials (MUFACE), which amounts to up to €400. Beneficiaries must be part of MUFACE and can apply for aid until December 31st, 2024. At the time of application, applicants must prove they suffer from the disease.  

There are also different regions that provide extra help for coeliacs. These include Ceuta, Melilla, Extremadura, the Basque Country, Navarra and the Canaries.

In Ceuta, depending on your family income, aid can go up to €400 per year. In Melilla, the maximum figure amounts to €780 per year per person and €1,500 per year per family unit.

The government of Extremadura and the Provincial Council of Cáceres, together with the Celiac Association of Extremadura (ACEX), provide food packages for low-income families.

The Basque Country, the Provincial Council of Vizcaya has allocated €100,000 annually in aid, which is €80 per applicant.

Navarra has allocated a total of €30,000 in aid, with a maximum of €90 per month.

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