Private medicine in Spain

If you are not covered by state social security (for example, you reside illegally in Spain, do not pay taxes to the Social Insurance Fund, etc.), or state medicine does not suit you for one reason or another, you can take out private health insurance. Private health insurance offers a wide selection of doctors and medical institutions, eliminates the burden and allows you to make an appointment with specialists, bypassing the therapist. Insurance programs are presented in a wide assortment and differ in the degree of coverage, the presence or absence of restrictions and prohibitions on various types of medical services, insurance premiums, etc. In general, private insurance allows you to receive a wide variety of medical care, including specialist services, operations, hospitalization, special examinations and laboratory research.

In Spain, there are many medical insurance companies, the leaders among which are Adeslas, Asisa, Sanitas, Mapfre, Prevision Medica, Caser. The choice of company depends on your place of residence. Some companies are more common, i.e. have more medical centers and specialist doctors in one province, others in another. Depending on the type of insurance policy, you can get a larger or smaller range of free services, as well as discounts on paid services. A flexible pricing policy is applied to the policies themselves: there are discounts for family members, children, one-time promotions and special offers, as well as discounts for paying the annual cost immediately, without breaking down into quarters or months. It should be remembered that usually insurance does not cover old problems, and the size of the insurance premium depends primarily on the age of the insured.

Each insurance company, upon conclusion of the contract, provides the client with a brochure indicating the addresses, phone numbers and names of clinics and hospitals, as well as the names of doctors with private practice who work with this company and with whom contracts for customer service are signed. There is also the opportunity to receive medical care at any other medical institution that does not have a contractual relationship with this insurance company. Such a condition is negotiated and agreed in advance, and usually in the case of such an appeal, the client pays 100% of the cost of the examination or treatment, and the insurance company subsequently upon the fact of providing invoices and medical certificates describing the services provided, compensates up to 80% of the costs.

It should be noted that, if desired, you can use the services of both paid medicine in Spain and the state. For example, the entire prenatal period can be observed at a private doctor and choose a state hospital for childbirth.

In the absence of insurance, you can be serviced at your own expense in private health centers, specialized clinics and hospitals. Paid medicine in Spain involves treatment in a private clinic – this is a very expensive pleasure, especially if you need a complex examination or surgery. An ordinary consultation will cost from 50 euros and more, for tests you will have to pay from 15 to 200 euros, for a biopsy about 200 euros, computed tomography – up to 500 euros, complex operations will cost an average of 1000 to 25 000 euros. The cost of one day in a hospital may exceed 300 euros.

Paid medicine in Spain literally “bites” with its prices, so more than 99% of patients in private clinics are people who have private health insurance. In this case, they pay a minimum amount for each medical action, and the rest is paid by the insurance company, whose representatives closely monitor the validity of the appointment and implementation of any examinations, treatment, operations and other actions. The mentioned minimum amount is a kind of “insurance” of the insurance companies themselves from lovers to visit doctors for and without reason, as well as from clients with a “bouquet” of chronic diseases. Small fixed amounts will deter such customers from unreasonable appeals. For example, Caser imposes an obligation on the insured person to pay 14 euros for each visit to a specialist doctor, the same amount when calling a doctor at home, 8 euros for psychologist services, 1.50 euros for nursing services, 10 euros for various types of diagnostic tests, 35 euros for prenatal preparation, etc.

In Spain, private medical facilities (health centers, hospitals) are usually owned by one or more founders and differ in the volume and quality of care provided. Small consulting centers may have just a few specialists. There are frequent cases when doctors work simultaneously in private consultations and in the public medical sector.

Along with small centers, there are multidisciplinary private clinics equipped with the latest equipment, having their own emergency service, operating rooms, intensive care unit, inpatient unit, laboratory center, etc. In such clinics, a variety of specialist doctors, as well as junior medical personnel, work.

Private health insurance offers faster and better treatment and a greater level of comfort (comfortable wards and other options) compared to the public sector.

In Spain, there is no state dentistry. The only thing you can do for free at a state medical institution is to remove a bad tooth. Private dental clinics will have to be serviced at their own expense or using insurance. Usually, dental insurance is not included in the general insurance and is paid separately. It costs about 7-20 euros per month and covers up to 30-50% of the cost of treatment, as well as up to 100% of the cost of examination, x-rays, professional cleaning and other studies.

The level of dentistry in Spain is very high, Spanish doctors, like doctors from all developed countries of the world, use the latest modern developments. In Spain, experts from other countries also work. In any city you can meet German, Swedish, French clinics.

Cosmetic surgery belongs to the paid medicine sector in Spain but is not covered by medical insurance. All bills issued by cosmetic surgery institutions will have to be paid on their own. The price range for this type of service is significant. So, a facelift can cost 5,000 euros, and in the case of a specialist with a worldwide reputation, 10,000 euros. Mammoplasty costs on average from 5,000 to 7,000 euros, liposuction – from 2,500 to 8,000 euros, rhinoplasty – from 4,000 to 6,000 euros.

Spain is distinguished by an innovative approach to cosmetic surgery, it uses advanced technologies, and high-level specialists work. The country has a large selection of medical and clinical centers specializing in aesthetic cosmetology.

Many clinics provide a full package of services: consultations, cosmetic surgeries, postoperative care, placement in a hospital during treatment, and placement of relatives and friends at a nearby hotel.