Anyone have any experience filing medical insurance claims from Spain to American insurance companies? If you get hurt or sick and need a doctor, how exactly does that work. I presume you pay out of pocket and then file it with your own insurance company at home. My company told me I'd have to save the receipts and convert it to $ and send it to them for coverage.

Advice? Suggestions? Horror Stories?

This seems to be a subject of great importance that no one has adressed on any message boards I've seen yet.

I had the same questions when I travelled last October for 3 weeks--part of which was on a bicycle tour (so I was sincerely interested). I have the large and impersonal Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance, which actually was quite helpful. I am sure it depends on the company, however BC/BS gave me a card with telephone numbers in the capitals of Europe where I could find information on providers that accepted payment from them. Now, if there were any charges in excess of what BC/BS chooses to pay,I was expected to pay them at that time. Emergency services are generally covered and if you have the time to make a couple phone calls, I was assured that the majority of facilities in Madrid would accept my coverage. All that said, I did not have to use it so they well could have been blowing smoke up my ...

Hi Guys, jer here.

While this can be a complicated matter it does not have to be if you do some research.

I found this website for TravelGuard at www.travelguard.com which looks interesting for short term travel insurance abroad.

If you are planning to spend a good amount of time in Spain however, you may want to look into what "Sanitas" has to offer at www.sanitas.es .

When I was studying here years ago for a year I was covered under my Dad's health insurance plan which was very good (he is a police officer) and I was paid back very quickly whenever I had to pay the Doc's bill after the visit. All I had to do was send the bills back home to my dad and he was reimbursed.

Also check out BUPA International at www.bupa-intl.com , anothe big health care provider for people living abroad.

Once more:

* www.travelguard.com

* www.sanitas.es

* www.bupa-intl.com

Saludos,
jer...

I will be in spain for 10 months starting this september. the topic of health insurance is stressing me out. i know i can either get a us-based traveler's insurance plan, or get a plan from a spanish company once there. but i am also wondering whether this are needed at all?! i know that spain has universal health care (for legal citizens, which i won't be at first) but can i also slip by using their system? will faramacias help me for most things i would want to go to a doctor for? if i break an arm or have another emergency, could i just go to a spanish emergency room without too much hassel/debt? i'm wondering if i could use the spanish health system and save paying about 700 dollars for a complete plan. if the answer is yes, what happens when i need to go to a real doctor?

thanks so much for your help! this is something that's been on my (and my parents'!) mind for a while.

-Rebecca

Hey binkx, while it is never a good idea to be without medical insurance, especially when you are in a strange land (my god! I sound like my mother and father ), Spain's national health service usually dsoes not charge foreigners for medical assistance at all. Technically, if you need an emergency room, they can charge you but they usually do not.

I have a friend here who has been residing illegally in Spain for almost 2 years. He is American and whenever he needs to go to the doctor, he is not charged.

So, the reality of it is that you could do it without insurance. If I were you I would look for a plan that covers major medical problems and leave the little stuff up to the very civilized national health that we know and love here in Spain Also, as you say above, pharmacies are VERY knowledgable here and can recommend medicines that may avoid a docs visit alltogether.

Meication is also MUCH more inexpensive here than it is in the U.S.A. and you can get a lot of thing here over the counter that you would need a prescription for Sateside.

LONG LIVE OVER THE COUNTER ANTIBIOTICS

Saludos,
jer...

p.s. I wonder what Rocinante (started this thread) decided to do and how it went . I know Rocinante is in Spain by now but we have not heard any news for a long time And I just know Rocinante is not one of those members who just joins the board to get info and then never gives anything back to the community

Well, Jer, speaking as someone old enough to BE your mother, I see that wisdom comes with age
I have to deal with medical issues quite a lot due to being in charge of my disabled brother, and the situation in the States STINKS! He's both mentally ill and an alcoholic(hence disabled) and HE CAN'T AFFORD the meds to keep him reasonably sane!!

I heard the other day that 41 million Americans have NO medical insurance--and that that is equal to the entire population of 23 states plus DC!(NPR)

As teachers, we had excellent insurance: 50 cent Rx---hate us if you will,but remember that teachers never catch up in salary to similarly educated professionals. My husband retires after 34 years with a "highest gross" of 68K(which includes beaucoup hours of driver education overtime) while my kid's friend who is about your age makes over 90K
managing a Red Lobster!! In short, teachers need the good insurance, as how else could we survive(we tend to be exposed to all of the ailments, too, ya know!)

So hip hooray for European "socialism" that cares for the health of the populace and visitors alike! Did I happen to mention that my mom had emergency surgery in Ireland and it cost her a tiny fraction of what it would have at home? All she saw of Ireland was Limerick County Hospital for two whole weeks!

And, lest you think talking about Ireland is WAY off the board: there have been strong ties between the two countries for centuries, due to shared religious beliefs. When Irish Catholics weren't allowed to educate their children, they sent them to Spain; when the Armada set out to fight the British, it was to liberate the Irish(too bad about what is referred to as "a Protestant wind"!)

Congrats on having reached the 500 member mark!