Serious Expatriate Healthcare Rule Changes in France and Spain
Published on 24 September 2007
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In a dramatic about turn on the rules relating to the provision of free health care to early retirees in France, those expatriates living permanently in France and who have done so for in excess of two years and who are aged under 65 will automatically have their right to free health care terminated from September the 30th this year.
In fact, this is just one of a series of serious expatriate healthcare rule changes in France and Spain and beyond. Are you an expat concerned about your rights, or are you planning on moving to live, work or retire abroad and hoping for free care? You need to get informed about your healthcare entitlement up front and immediately to ensure you’re covered and that if you’re not, that you can pay for any treatment you may one day need…
Taking a look at the expatriate essentials regarding healthcare cover in France first – prior to the 30th of September this year and in a reciprocal arrangement with the UK, any Britons moving to retire to France were entitled to free healthcare and because France has such a superior national health system, the free service was a definite lure for thousands of early retiring Britons.
However, the new French premier Nicolas Sarkozy has decided to cut back as many draining social costs from the economy as possible and one way he is doing this is through the termination of free healthcare to early retirees. Up to 100,000 Britons are affected and many advise that they have been sent brutally abrupt letters informing them that from the start of the new healthcare economic year in October, they will no longer be entitled to healthcare on the French equivalent of the NHS.
Naturally because most of those affected have become residents in France, they are no longer entitled to free care on the NHS in the UK either as this is only available to those with the status of ‘ordinary resident’ - and so all this is creating a very worrying time for a large number of people.
In Spain the situation is similarly difficult for tens of thousands of Brits because new rules were enacted this year so that those under pensionable age have no automatic entitlement to anything other than free emergency cover…and in Greece it’s even worse, no citizens of any other European nation are allowed free health care…all anti the spirit of the EU but there’s nothing that complaining or worrying about it will do!
If you are affected or likely to become affected you need to get your own private health insurance in place – it really is as simple as that…
While we recommend Goodhealth for expatiate health insurance because they are specialist in expats and international citizens - and because they are now working in association with American Express and therefore providing a tonne of extra benefits to their clients - there are actually no end of private health insurance companies out there that you can get quotations from. Find out in advance of any relocation how much health insurance will cost you if you possibly can. If you really cannot afford the high premiums charged for all singing all dancing levels of superior cover, at least get basic health insurance in place – don’t risk it, it’s not worth it…a massive medical bill for emergency care could end your dreams of retiring to the sun.
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