Just thought I'd write in about our first experience with Sanitas. My son has had a fever the past four days. Nothing else much seems to be wrong with him, just a fever that we've been keeping under control with Tylenol.

Today I decided to call Sanitas, just to see if they thought we should have him checked out. It's a Saturday and I expected them to tell us to wait until Monday or go to an emergency room (that's what would have happened in the US).

Well, to my husband's surprise, they said they would send someone right out. I was sure that he had misunderstood... Never in my life has a doctor come for a housecall!

Well less than an hour later, the medico showed up. Checked my son out, did all that weird thumping of organs that they do. Told us there was nothing major to worry about and to keep doing what we were doing and went on his way.

I still can't believe that a doctor did a housecall on a Saturday.

Amazing, Mariposita!
I rejoice that your little boy seems OK, and I thank you for sharing the experience.
We are facing a future with Sanitas, or the other leading health insurer in Spain, and we've been wondering about the cost as well as quality of care.
Posts like yours are invaluable and reassuring. Is the insurance very expensive? Did you feel confident in the practicioner's qualifications?

Thanks
Rebekah

Compared to our HMO in the US (Blue Cross Blue Shield in DC), Sanitas is very, very cheap. For the three of us (two very healthy adults in early thirties and one healthy two year old) our insurance in the US cost over 700 dollars a month! It has gone up almost a hundred dollars a year for the past three years.

Still I would have to wait at least a month to make a non-emergency appointment with my doctor. And, of course, forget about weekend housecalls! Then again, my doctor sent me for an MRI once for a tiny bump that turned out to be absolutely nothing. I doubt that would happen here. I think they are much more conservative (sensible?) about these kinds of costly procedures. Now I've got some cool looking pictures of my bones that I'll have to do something artistic with someday--and I know without a doubt that the bump is nothing serious--but that kind of extravagance probably has something to do with why health insurance costs are skyrocketing in the US.

Here, Sanitas costs around 100 Euros a month for all three of us. It's a bit less if you pay six months or a year in advance. We haven't used it for anything major. I've heard from family here that it is good to have private insurance if you plan on having a baby...but that for certain things it isn't quite as good as the private system, though you'll get your problem addressed quicker. I think that you are probably covered either way, in that you could go to a public hospital or private specialist if you had an emergency or life threatening condition that the Sanitas doctors couldn't handle.

I thought Sanitas was a private insurer.
Perhaps you can explain to us what it is, as compared to the government-run network of hospitals and clinics?

Reb.

Hi

I am paying 139 Euro a month for three of us with Sanitas. Are you guys paying the same?

hey rebrites, "sanitas" is private, "insalud" is the "government-run network of hospitals and clinics?".

Cartman, it may depend on who you are referring to with "the 3 of us" since mariposita also pays for 3 and, as she wrote... "Sanitas costs around 100 Euros a month for all three of us."

saludos,
jer...

We have the Sanitas Classic Plan. For the three of us (32, 33 and 2 years old) it cost 665 Euros for six months. Paying in advance saves you a bit.

There's another plan that is a bit less expensive called the "basic" plan. And another more expensive plan that allows you to use Sanitas in other countries (Multi, I think) and as I remember is more like a PPO than an HMO.

This week I called Sanitas because I have had a pain in my heel for the past three months and I finally had enough time on my hands to think about it. They gave me the numbers of two podiatrists in my neighborhood and told me I could call them myself to make an appointment.

From what I can tell, Sanitas doesn't have the same concept of a "primary care physician" as we do in the US. In other words, if you have a specific problem, you can just call up a specialist in their plan and go to see them yourself. In the US, you would have to make an appointment with your assigned physician, wait to see them (a couple of weeks if it wasn't anything horrendous), get a referral, then make an appointment to see the specialist, etc. etc. We'll see how it works out... I'll report back.

Hey Mariposita and gang...

i haven't had my first experience with sanitas yet, but i did just have my first experience withe David Harris, the local english-speaking sanitas agent...he ROCKS!!!!

he is on vacation in Galicia and still responded to my inquiry in less than 24 hours, sent me the forms needed in english by courier, and included a returned self-addressed letter to his vacation address...not that is service. he also pledges to help out with any and all problems dealing iwth the spanish speaking admin or whatever. it doesn't cost more to go through him as he gets his fee from sanitas...his website is a bit confusing, but if you poke around you'll find the prices and details you need.

David Harris-Sanitas Guy

I totally agree with what Candela says, as I have on another post a few weeks ago, David Harris is AWESOME, he doesn't cost anything, and he is SO helpful and will continue to help you after you sign up and are all set. It was a very fast process going through him and he can steer you right to all the english speaking doctors and everything, no problem!!! Besos, Joy

I have Sanitas too (i'm from spain)
and I have the "Mundi" option, that option alow you to go to a non-sanitas doctor, if you want and the pay you back the 80% of hie fees, so for example I hade and twisted my ankle, and I went to the doctor, he gave me the basic thinks, but I play socce and I wanted to be good as soon as posible, so I went to a nother doctor (non from sanitas) and sanitas paid me back the 80% of his fees.

Sanitas is an excellent, inexpensive private insurer. Since we're talking about private Spanish health insurance on this thread, I should throw in a plug for my family's private insurer: ADESLAS as we've always had a good experience with them and will be having a baby under their plan next February (my wife, not me ). I hope to report on that experience further along for our more pro-procreation leaning board faction.

Anyway, when my daughter sprained her ankle in the US a couple of years ago, Adeslas covered every penny of the bill even though we were outside of Spain. I was shocked that there wouldn't be some sort of co-pay or percentage payment involved, but there wasn't.

hey Tony, thanks fot the additional recommendation.

a few questions about your experience with adeslas...

1) if you don't mind telling, what do you pay for the 3 of you? (you, maria and ani). just curious as to how pricing compares to the 100(ish) euros/month. that mariposita is paying with sanitas.

2) do you have private insurance only because you travel to u.s.a.? would you use insalud (public health) which is "free" if you did not travel to u.s.a.?

just curious as to why people who qualify for sanitas need private insurance? (except for the dental of course which is a plus with private).

thanks in advance for answering my questions. as a future pap�-to-be (not just yet though), i am curious about these matters.

saludos,
jer...

quote:

originally posted by jer:
[qb]1) if you don't mind telling, what do you pay for the 3 of you? (you, maria and ani). just curious as to how pricing compares to the 100(ish) euros/month. that mariposita is paying with sanitas.[/qb]

I don't mind, but I'm not paying for three, but rather for 2 as my baby's godfather pays for her health insurance. Something he wanted to do. For Mari and myself, we pay a shade over 90� per month for BOTH of us. So, about 45� per month, per person for PPO equivalent coverage! (Put that in your HMO and smoke it! )

quote:

[qb]2) do you have private insurance only because you travel to u.s.a.? would you use insalud (public health) which is "free" if you did not travel to u.s.a.?[/qb]

Excellent question my friend and I think this shows a difference in mentality between us and our Spanish friends. I have private insurance because, you never know when something could happen and, for �45 per month, I like having the peace of mind of knowing that I can go straight to a private hospital and not have to go through some of seguridad social's less appealing aspects. That's not to knock, Spanish social security! I'm a big believer in the system here and it does much more good than not so good, but if I need surgery and don't want to wait on a waiting list for 4-5 months or more. Or if I'm a woman (which I'm not! :b: ) and I'm going to have a baby, it's nice to know I don't have to give birth in a room with 6 other mothers at the same time, but can rather do this in a private hospital with personalized attention, to me it's a no brainer!

To some people, this peace of mind isn't a big issue and they're fine with what they have, but it's nice to really have this choice and, compared with what it would cost me to have the same back home, it's totally worth it to me and my family.

quote:

[qb]thanks in advance for answering my questions. as a future pap�-to-be (not just yet though), i am curious about these matters.[/qb]

Not a problem buddy. I'd just ask that you name the little tyke after me. Nothing much!

:cheers:

Jer--
I'm not sure how accurate this info is, but Christian's cousin's wife told me that under the socialized medicine program, you don't have a lot of choice about how and where you give birth. She also mentioned that you may not have a lot of privacy. She had just signed up for Sanitas. Again, total hearsay.

If you do go the private insurance route, one thing to keep in mind is that Sanitas doesn't cover "birthing babies" until 10 months or so after you enroll. Slightly evil, but I guess that's their way of ensuring that folks don't sign up just for the pricey "birthing" privileges.

Not sure if they cram 10 screaming mamas-to-be in each room, but the "Maternidad" hospital on O'Donnell wins my vote based on style alone.

Sanitas Mundi plan is what we call a PPO in the US. Sanitas Classic is closer to an HMO. As I remember, Sanitas Classic will cover you in the US for trips abroad, but not long-term stays.


P.S. Congrats on the baby, TonyTorero!

Just thought I�d pipe in here too...

I also am covered by Adeslas in addition to Insalud.

My decision to take out private health insurance was pretty much what Tony stated as well as the travelling back and forth to the USA thing.

In addition to the health coverage, I also have Adesla�s dental insurance. I obsess about going to the dentist. So, it�s nice to have the coverage.

Mariposita, Adeslas has a similiar regulation about the birthing babies. Women must be subscribed to Adeslas 2 months (I think it�s two months) before they can get pregnant otherwise the pregnancy isn�t covered. Kind of like the "pre-existing condition" protection that most private insurers in the States have.

That said, I had a surgical procedure done a little over a year ago and went through the public health system. Apart from the waiting list (and a little pressure from �ngel always makes the system move faster ) I have to say that I had great care. I didn�t have a private room, I shared it with another woman. But that wasn�t an issue. The room wasn�t the Ritz, but all the basic needs were covered.

If I am not mistaken, Laidback�s wife just had her baby through the public system as well. Maybe he�ll pipe in here and offer his feedback!