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Tough question. Im 80 years old,  the one  I use is DKV. A health Insurance  Company providing medical  insurance for ex pats in Spain. They are expensive  and their premiums increase with your age. They are a German Company and advertise throughout Spain. Locate your local private health Clinic who will give you details.  Good luck!

@rogerroberts22  Thank you!  i appreciate your input and i will look into the company you mentioned.  We are not in Spain at the moment so, local isn’t an option at the moment.

@Seaandsun4me

For sure, you can get private health insurance for over 75. But like the US, it gets more expensive with age and pre-existing conditions. I'm not sure if it's easy to order online at your age. You might be required to visit a physical office and/or undertake some kind of examination.

We had policies with ASISA and they are good, and relatively inexpensive. You can also use a comparison engine to get a list of different companies and compare costs (e.g. rasterator, acierto). I think it's possible to get policies remotely.

You don't have to get a Spanish policy. You could get a USA policy with worldwide cover. But this might be very expensive. Many US policies have exclusions and deductibles so you'd have to be careful, as you need a policy with zero co-pago (which also adds significantly to the cost). You might also need policy and certificate documentation in Spanish which could be an extra hassle. Overall, it might be easier to figure out how to get a Spanish one.

Some policies have more flexible cancellation terms than others. You might have the option to cancel your policy after you've got your visa approved, and then replace it with a cheaper one with a larger deductible.

@gwynjIt     It seems   insurance has changed.  i cant get my mom covered with any of the mentioned brands.  or Sanitas, or Allianz.  Ugh, is this the thing that prevents our move??  I was quoted over €2300,00 per MONTH by  a broker for FMU Bronze Express.  what in the world is going on???

@Seaandsun4me

Any USA / worldwide policy will be extremely expensive. It's many years since I had such a policy, but even back then (younger, perfect health) it was around 3k per year, with a huge deductible. Some years later when I got a Spanish policy with zero deductible, it was about 700 euros. I suggest you should probably focus on the Spanish healthcare companies with Spain-only policies.

You are correct that health coverage is a big issue, especially for seniors. Even with a Spanish policy it won't be cheap. And this might be a bit of a shock if she's getting Medicare or similar in the USA.

You should bear in mind that the requirement for full health insurance (with zero deductible) is for immigration purposes only. Once you have your NLV (and your TIE) you can make other arrangements. As I mentioned, depending on your policy's T&Cs, you might get away with cancelling the policy after a few months.

Once you're a legal Spanish resident, there are ways into local social security and the (very good) state healthcare system. The worst case, as a non-EU citizen, is that you have to wait 5 years until you're a permanent resident. But this is if you don't work at all. If you get a job, or become officially self-employed (autonomo) then you can make contributions immediately. (Once you're in the system, they don't kick you out if you stop working a couple of months later.) I believe the Spanish system covers family members (spouse, children) but you'd have to check regarding elderly parents.

Even as a non-working ("economically inactive") non-EU citizen, there's an option before 5 years (maybe 1 or 2?) which is the Convenio Especial. This is a public alternative to expensive health insurance policies. I don't know much about it, other than it exists.

However you do it, it means there is a way into the public health system and you shouldn't be on the hook for these exorbitant private health policies for long. More importantly, Spanish public care is good and very inexpensive.

I'm not sure of the exact rules, but I think even someone without either public or private cover would get proper medical treatment if required. You might have to make a contribution, but I don't think you'll be turned away.

I don't have direct experience of the Spanish system, but I've done something equivalent elsewhere. I'm a legal resident in Spain and Bulgaria, and I did my social security registration in Bulgaria. I pay just under 20 euros per month per person (me & my missus) as "unemployed". This gets us free or nearly-free public health treatment (and subsidized private treatment). And they gave us EHICs which are valid elsewhere in the EU if we need (public) treatment abroad.

Many Americans find the European (or Candian) model hard to understand. Certainly you don't know what to expect or appreciate how wonderful it is. I've been the beneficiary of public health systems in UK, France, Germany, Spain, Cyprus, Bulgaria. It is a world away from the insane costs of the American system. I love the US and very much enjoyed living there... but I will NEVER return, principally because of this issue.

The other thing to bear in mind is that you can do immigration in separate steps which might make things more manageable. You can do NLVs for all family members initially. Or, you can go ahead on your own with just one NLV. Once you are in Spain and have your TIE, you're a legal Spanish resident, and you can bring in other family members through Family Reunification. In my case, I did the reunification for my partner some years ago, and I'm shortly going to do it again with my father (who just turned 96).

There some good info for senior healthcare here:

Hi @Seaandsun4me,

I am looking at moving to Spain from the U.S. on a NLV.

I recently purchased private Spanish health insurance as part of the requirement for a NLV, and I did a ton of research before the purchase. I am 66 & have two pre-existing conditions that are stable but require yearly testing.

Only one of the 7 insurers I list below would cover my pre-existing conditions, and yes,

at a price of $3,000 USD a year, which I paid up front.

First, the Spanish consulate requires that the insurance company be widely accepted in Spain, therefore that eliminates U.S. policies like Cigna or Molina. Travel insurance won’t be accepted.

The main Spanish insurers are Adeslas, CASER, Asssa, Asisa, DKV, Sanitas & Mapfre.

The policy cannot have deductibles, out of pocket expenses or exclusions, and must be in effect when you arrive in Spain, and good for one year. You will most certainly have to pay that one year up front.

I paid a hefty upfront price, but I cannot imagine requiring a lengthy ICU admission or even med-surg admission & being hit with a demand to pay cash up front, or worse, require air transport back to the states for medical care. My point is, its totally worth it.

If you want the name of the insurance company I went with, feel free to DM me, since I don’t think I can state it in the forum.

Best of luck,

Can i apply pareja de hecho with tourist visa?and what IS the requirements to apply pareja de hecho? i m from Indonesia,I want to legal live in spain and i have a BF from Spain, Barcelona.I have plan to go there in September this year...He told me after pareja de hecho,i will get NIE..but i read in Google that one of requirement is NIE

@Seaandsun4me

hi there are you a UK resident drawing state pension?  if so you can use your S1 without requiring private Health Insurance, as UK have reciprocal agreement with Spain for this age group.   

The advice from seaandsun was great. I have an Irish passport, but anm a resident of the UK with a UK pension and NI number. first 10 minutes on this forum and have received a great lead. Thank you.

@rdruby699

hi   how do i DM you -? im not very tech savvy im afraid .

Im sure you could mention the company , others have  been named

regardz

    @rdruby699
hi   how do i DM you -? im not very tech savvy im afraid .
   

    -@normanhardwick

Hey there,

Click on @rdruby699 name/picture and it will bring up a new page, there it will say [Send Message]

I hope that helps.

SimCityAT

Expat Team

Hi Norman,

I sent you a private message with name of the private Spanish insurer I went with,

in addition to the names of several other main insurers in Spain.

Also, make sure the insurer you choose is accepted in the region of Spain you

plan on being in—some insurers have more of a presence in certain regions.

Good luck

@Ratchetsmum No such luck. We’re American.  I’m really scared this will prevent our move.

@Ratchetsmum No such luck. We’re American. I’m really scared this will prevent our move. - @Seaandsun4me

I really feel you're overstating the difficulty of this issue. I am very confident that there are several Spanish private healthcare companies who will provide a policy, even if your mother is 75+. You might find it easier if you visit Spain and/or speak to an insurance broker.

To reiterate, such a private policy is only needed for ONE YEAR. After a year of legal residence, you can join the Convenio Especial. The current cost is 157 euros for over 65s REGARDLESS of preexisting conditions. That's 1,900 euros per year.

Additionally, you should consider getting your own NLV (and then TIE) first. This should be pretty straightforward. As a legal resident, and with a place to live, you will find it much easier to later apply for Family Reunification. Apart from anything else, when you're in living in Spain it will be easy for you to walk to your local insurance broker and get a policy arranged for your mother.

I mentioned that I was doing this myself. My father has been living with me since April, and he got his residence permit (as my family member) in May. I did this in Bulgaria, and it was pretty easy. I didn't even need a private health insurance policy (my dad has public cover from the UK), but if we'd needed it the cost would have been very low (couple of hundred euros, even for an old guy in his 90s). This is not real private health insurance like Spain, it's a more abbreviated cover (accidents, emergencies, repatriation) just to keep immigration happy.

I've been pleasantly surprised by Bulgaria, it's a great place with a much lower cost of living (and property cost) than Spain. I still have my Spanish and Cyprus residence permits, and I fly over a couple of times per year (cheap Wizzair flights usually less than $200 return). But I now live mostly in Bulgaria, especially as I'm caring for my dad. The cost of care here in much cheaper too, which is super bonus when you have old parents. You could consider Bulgaria instead of Spain, or you could consider Bulgaria with a vacation home in Spain. The residence option would be investor (300k euros in one or more properties), or your mother could qualify based on her pension... and then family reunification would be to get you added.

Another option is to look at the D7 in Portugal, which is similar but easier/cheaper than the NLV. Portugal's fab, and it's been very popular with Americans for some years. My guess is the health insurance will be easier/cheaper too.

The reality is that immigration is a bureaucratic pain in the a**. If it was easy/free, everybody would do it. It takes a bit of time and effort (and patience) to get through it, and it's easy to get discouraged by the first difficulty. But it's totally doable if you're motivated.

Besides, there are a ton of options, assuming you're not fixated on Spain, but just want somewhere warm, safe, with nice beaches and a lower cost of living. I mentioned four EU options (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain) but there are others. Our near non-EU neighbour is Turkey which is also a good option (and even easier/cheaper than Bulgaria). Nearer to home, you have several Central and South American options such as Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina.

TRY;

I'm 77, and the best quote yet is 2600 Euros

@Seaandsun4me

we used ASSSA, we are younger but I’m pretty sure they had something for over 75s.

@WILKESWORLD

Good to know! The Convenio Especial is available after ONE YEAR of legal residence in Spain. This is a form of public insurance at 157 euros per month (1,900 euros annually) for the over 65s. There are no exclusions for prior conditions, and this becomes an incredibly attractive option compared to private healthcare for those in their 80s/90s.

@Seaandsun4me & @WILKESWORLD

DKV has a policy Integral Elite which has no age limits and is "suitable for Visa & Residency applications". I think it's 1,540 euros for over 76.

Bottom line. You have to get health insurance coverage from a Spanish insurance company with ZERO deductible. Non Spanish insurance companies are highly scrutinised. Keep life simple knowing the facts.