Healthcare in Spain
The Spanish healthcare system is excellent. While there is a system wide staff shortfall, this means that there is a lot of work for medical professionals who wish to work in Spain. The hospitals provide much of the first line healthcare for the Spaniards. The people in the industry are efficient and well educated. Unlike in many other health systems, Spanish doctors will try find you the cheapest drug to use, rather than one that gives them a rebate.
The empadronado is the card you will need to access the universal healthcare available in Spain. Everyone is Spain needs to be registered with their local community, and the city hall is usually the place to apply for an empadronado. You need to take the NIE card and a proof of residence when applying. Then you go to the local clinic with the empadronado, your work permit and contract. The clinic will then issue a public health card, which will give you accesses to a local doctor’s office. The card is also the item you need to present at a hospital in case of an emergency.
As always, private healthcare gives more options. While the choice of which doctor to go to or which specialist to see is important, the benefit of being on private health is that you can shortcut the queues of the public health system, which can be vital for serious illnesses. There are hundreds of private clinics across the country, so the private healthcare system gives a greater degree of accessibility. The public health services sometime only cover 75% of the cost of treatment, while the private companies will pick up the full amount. You can expect to pay around E1000 for full private healthcare, which makes Spain fairly inexpensive for this level of care.
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