ISSUE 079 - Friday 1st February 2019
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EXPAT HEALTH SCARE BRITISH retirees living in the European Union have been officially warned by the UK government to investigate taking out private health insurance from the end of next month in case of a no-deal Brexit, despite a very different signal coming out of the Spanish government. The stern UK warning comes as growing numbers of people are taking out healthcare policies in Spain, with an increase of over a million policy holders since 2013. One in five households in Spain now have health insurance at an average cost of nearly 1,200 euros, with a rise of almost six per cent in customers over the last year, taking the total to around 12 million people. Experts say the big rises
by Alex Trelinski
are down to savage cuts made seven years ago to the public health system, resulting in longer waiting lists for operations. The UK government´s “advice” to retirees in the EU to look at going “private”was cast in stark terms, stating that those who had signed an “S1” form could be affected after March 29th. In contrast, the Spanish government has pledged that that nothing will change if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal at the end of March. The Madrid administration have posted that view on their official website and is set to pass a Royal Decree this month to ensure the rights of all British
citizens(including healthcare provision for retirees), remain roughly the same in a worst case scenario. Nevertheless, health
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insurance companies are targetting British expats across Spain and the rest of the EU, as the number of policies being issued reach new highs.