Do you have a public health care system

[dulcemariamar]

where you live? And if you do have one, do you have to pay a copay when you go to the doctor or to the hospital? How much do you have to pay?

I am trying to prepare myself for the future.

[anna7602]

I haven't figured out the system here. We've paid 50 or 60 Euros out of pocket for doctor's visits, but then got a form we're supposed to submit to the national healthcare system. DH's HR folks advised us to submit the receipts to our U.S. Health insurance first.

I posted a few weeks ago that I just submitted over 600 Euros in receipts for lung xrays, kidney sonograms, and doctor's visits from when DD & DH had a UTI and pneumonia, respectively, earlier this year. I am not hopeful we will ever see our money again, BUT, I recognize that things would have been a LOT more expensive in the U.S. if we'd had to pay upfront out of pocket.

[popcorn]

In Germany everyone is by law required to be in the public system up to a certain income bracket. It's to make sure there are enough rich(er) people to pay for the people who make very little. For example, DH is almost at the top of that bracket, but since he has a wife and daughter it makes sense for him to be in the public system even if he eventually makes enough that he can choose to leave it. If he had only himself he'd be paying a LOT for other people. Maybe I'm not explaining it well.

Anyway, there are different companies that are public insurances and you can take your public insurance card to most doctors. It's not like in Spain where there are public only ambulatorios or clinics/hospitals. The OB/GYN I chose accepts private and public insurances. This is really great IMO because you have more freedom to choose a doctor. You have to pay 10 euros for your first dr visit of the year, but after that you don't pay anything else--except maybe for prescriptions and most doctors will be good about telling you if something is not covered by your insurance.

What are you preparing yourself for? Moving?

[dulcemariamar]

For Spain.... I am so excited to see what is going to happen this summer....

[crimsonandclover]

In Germany it's 10€ / doctor visit / quarter, so you could pay up to 40€ / year. Then dentists and eye doctors are separate, so you pay the 10€ copay for them, as well, and if you have to use the night and weekend on-call doctors it's also 10€ / quarter, and if you go to the hospital it's also 10€ / quarter. So for my 8 day stay when I had the HELLP syndrome with DD, all my tests, my c-section, recovery, DD's 16-day stay in the NICU, my diagnostic work for my deep vein thrombosis and all follow-up tests for that, I paid 10€. I love socialized health care, I really do. (And yes, I realize we pay into it with our paychecks, but I'm ok with that. The percentage is also not that much higher than in the States.)

Kids are free, though. When we took DD to the pedi for the first time I went to pay the 10€ and the receptionist goes, "No, no, not for kids. It hasn't gotten that bad yet!" And I just had to smile because, um, paying a co-pay for a kid is something I wouldn't have thought twice about.

Edit: grr. ok, apparently an "8" plus a "hyphen" plus an "st" equals a rolling eyes emoticon?

[bugabean]

I had to pay for my IUD, and for off-schedule vaccinations, but everything else (standard care, maternity, birth) has been 100% covered, no co-pays.

[popcorn]

Jun 26, 2012 7:36:54 GMT -5 crimsonandclover said:

In Germany it's 10€ / doctor visit / quarter, so you could pay up to 40€ / year. Then dentists and eye doctors are separate, so you pay the 10€ copay for them, as well, and if you have to use the night and weekend on-call doctors it's also 10€ / quarter, and if you go to the hospital it's also 10€ / quarter. So for my ay stay when I had the HELLP syndrome with DD, all my tests, my c-section, recovery, DD's 16-day stay in the NICU, my diagnostic work for my deep vein thrombosis and all follow-up tests for that, I paid 10€. I love socialized health care, I really do. (And yes, I realize we pay into it with our paychecks, but I'm ok with that. The percentage is also not that much higher than in the States.)

Kids are free, though. When we took DD to the pedi for the first time I went to pay the 10€ and the receptionist goes, "No, no, not for kids. It hasn't gotten that bad yet!" And I just had to smile because, um, paying a co-pay for a kid is something I wouldn't have thought twice about.

Ok, so I didn't have everything quite right. 40 euros a year (ahdn having to pay seperate for hopitals and special doctors) sounds like a lot coming from Spain, but I know it's not. I was also surprised today when they didn't ask for 10 euros for Kernel today at the pediatrician's office.

[GilliC]

I pay a 200 NOK (£20) copay each time I visit the doctor, and there is usually a small lab fee if they need to take blood, etc. I'm not sure if there's a limit, because if so, I've never hit it. Prescription drugs are subsidized, but they still cost something.

I've never had anything too serious done, though I was on the list for ear surgery. I paid the 200 NOK copay to my PCP and then another to the ear specialist after my referral, but I believe the surgery would have been free. (I paid $2K to do it right away in India and got to spend 6 weeks at the IL's on sick leave, since I couldn't fly until it had fully healed.)

[potatopie]

The system here is kind of the worst of both worlds. The public system isn't great (long waits, bad conditions) and the private system is expensive and inefficient. We pay ridiculous amounts each month just for hospital coverage (I think it's equivalent to 100euros a month, but can't remember). And that really only covers the actual hospital stay; specialists and a lot of treatments are extra.

The prices aren't as insane as the US, but still not chump change.

[mrsukyankee]

England - you have to pay for some of your prescriptions, but they are less expensive than the US (I found) and that's it. I never pay to go to the doc, hospital, etc.

In the US, I had private insurance but had a mad co-pay and deductables...my knee surgery & after-care ran into the multiple thousands (close to 10 I think) even with insurance.

[Deleted]

Just had full cancer care and now in regular physio every week and haven't been charged a penny. I love the UK health service. As a cancer patient, I now get prescriptions for free, but the current rate is £7.65 for a prescription. Contraceptive pill is free for everyone though, as was the implant I had.

[ninjatofu]

I'm in the UK as well and it is £7.65/prescription, but if you have a condition that requires a minimum amount of prescriptions a month you can buy a "season pass". I pay £10/month by direct debit for my prescriptions, whereas I would normally be paying £214.20/month.

Prescriptions are also free for people under 16, old people and pregnant women.

[blushing]

Jun 26, 2012 8:17:06 GMT -5 potatopie said:

The system here is kind of the worst of both worlds. The public system isn't great (long waits, bad conditions) and the private system is expensive and inefficient. We pay ridiculous amounts each month just for hospital coverage (I think it's equivalent to 100euros a month, but can't remember). And that really only covers the actual hospital stay; specialists and a lot of treatments are extra.

The prices aren't as insane as the US, but still not chump change.

This is why I love the NHS. The waits might be longer, but at least I will get the care. In SA, the only way I would go to a government hospital is if I was dead. From the time I went off my dad's (he is military so I went to special military hospitals) I went onto my own medical aid. And then I used the private system and even then I would exceed my 'savings' portion. The savings is what you use for paying for doctors, blood tests, xrays, dentists etc. The rest of it was just hospital plan.

[elenetxu]

Jun 26, 2012 7:04:25 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

For Spain.... I am so excited to see what is going to happen this summer....

Excited? Please be joking.
Nothing like coming home this afternoon to hear electricity is going to go up another 4%.


If we're going to talk private insurance, I was thrilled with Mapfre when I had their policy.

[bjelle00]

I haven't posted in awhile (I went home for a few weeks), but this thread is interesting

What's supposed to happen in Spain?

In Norway, you pay 307NOK to see a specialist and some other random amount to see your PCP plus extra for lab work, x-rays, etc. However, once you've paid just under 2000NOK, you get a frikort and then you only pay for stuff not covered by the state. Prescriptions for "chronic medications" are covered but one-time prescriptions are your responsibility even with the frikort.

[dulcemariamar]

Jun 26, 2012 13:23:03 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

Jun 26, 2012 7:04:25 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

For Spain.... I am so excited to see what is going to happen this summer....

Excited? Please be joking.
Nothing like coming home this afternoon to hear electricity is going to go up another 4%.


If we're going to talk private insurance, I was thrilled with Mapfre when I had their policy.

Yes, I am joking. I hate waking up in the morning or on the weekends when I turn on the news and hear more horrible things happening. I wouldn't mind paying a copay or if they increase the IVA if the salaries here were similar to other European countries.

I have Mapfre. They are pretty good but I miss Sanitas.

[popcorn]

Jun 26, 2012 14:07:03 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Jun 26, 2012 13:23:03 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

Excited? Please be joking.
Nothing like coming home this afternoon to hear electricity is going to go up another 4%.


If we're going to talk private insurance, I was thrilled with Mapfre when I had their policy.

Yes, I am joking. I hate waking up in the morning or on the weekends when I turn on the news and hear more horrible things happening. I wouldn't mind paying a copay or if they increase the IVA if the salaries here were similar to other European countries.

I have Mapfre. They are pretty good but I miss Sanitas.

I had Sanitas and I have much love for it. I've also heard good things about Adesla(s?).

What are the changes coming up this summer? Or do you just mean in general all the issues going on?

[elenetxu]

Jun 26, 2012 14:07:03 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Yes, I am joking. I hate waking up in the morning or on the weekends when I turn on the news and hear more horrible things happening. I wouldn't mind paying a copay or if they increase the IVA if the salaries here were similar to other European countries.

I have Mapfre. They are pretty good but I miss Sanitas.

*phew*

It makes me sad they're considering raising the IVA on things considered basic necessities like milk, bread, etc. Something's fishy when the luxury market is booming but Paquito or Juanita with their pension can hardly buy a month's worth of milk, bread, and beans. Spain is making me swing hard left.


Do you think the private insurance is worth it? I'm seriously considering getting it. Does it cover you on trips to the US if anything happens?

[elenetxu]

Jun 26, 2012 14:23:13 GMT -5 popcorn said:

What are the changes coming up this summer? Or do you just mean in general all the issues going on?

It's something new every day. Even though prices JUST went up, it looks like electricity is going to go up another 4% very soon. They're talking about raising the taxes (IVA) on goods considered to be of basic necessity (milk, bread, etc) from 4% to the regular 18%. I JUST opened ElPais' page to see if anything else comes up, and the headline - in huge font - is that the health system is going to exclude 456 common medicines from the discounted rates they have on medicine. Other headlines announce that Rajoy is considering getting rid of the housing deduction and creating the "green cent" to raise gas taxes. Gas just went up 4.6 cents/liter in Cantabria to pay for the health system. You can imagine we fill up when we go to visit DH's family in the Basque Country.

[mouseinlux]

We pay "full price" which is peanuts compared to the US, then we send our bill in to the CNS who then put most of the money back into our accounts. They also cover glasses and contacts once every two years i think.
This covers us all over the EU, we have health coverage for out of the EU through our VISA gold card.

[dulcemariamar]

Jun 26, 2012 14:44:03 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

Jun 26, 2012 14:23:13 GMT -5 popcorn said:

What are the changes coming up this summer? Or do you just mean in general all the issues going on?

It's something new every day. Even though prices JUST went up, it looks like electricity is going to go up another 4% very soon. They're talking about raising the taxes (IVA) on goods considered to be of basic necessity (milk, bread, etc) from 4% to the regular 18%. I JUST opened ElPais' page to see if anything else comes up, and the headline - in huge font - is that the health system is going to exclude 456 common medicines from the discounted rates they have on medicine. Other headlines announce that Rajoy is considering getting rid of the housing deduction and creating the "green cent" to raise gas taxes. Gas just went up 4.6 cents/liter in Cantabria to pay for the health system. You can imagine we fill up when we go to visit DH's family in the Basque Country.

Basic Necessity (bread, milk, eggs) (4%) will go to 8%. Other goods (like hotel rooms, movie tickets, sporting tickets and food items that arent considered basic necessity) will go up to 18%.

Mapfre covers the first 6,000 euros when you travel abroad but I always buy extra insurance when I go home.

We are all probably going to have to move in with LadyMadrid.

[elenetxu]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm glad to hear it's going up less than I thought.

I wonder if the GBCN formerly known as L.M. would let us move in if we buy her a kitchen???

If it's not asking too much, what insurance do you buy when you go home? I'm so lost... 6000 euros really isn't that much.

[dulcemariamar]

I buy from Mapfre.

www.mapfre.com/seguros/es/particulares/soluciones/seguros-viajes.shtml

I only buy insurance when I travel home because my brother who used to work in a hospital would tell me horrible stories about tourists who had to pay $80,000 + in bills.

I never had to use the insurance.

[popcorn]

Jun 26, 2012 17:16:40 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

I wonder if the GBCN formerly known as L.M. would let us move in if we buy her a kitchen???

Yes! But you'll have to all live downstairs in the trastero...we only have 2 bedrooms and I can' ask Kernel to share!

[grosnl19]

Yes, but we have private insurance provided by DH's company. We haven't had to pay anything so far. I have never seen a bill either.

[elenetxu]

Jun 27, 2012 3:13:45 GMT -5 popcorn said:

Jun 26, 2012 17:16:40 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

I wonder if the GBCN formerly known as L.M. would let us move in if we buy her a kitchen???

Yes! But you'll have to all live downstairs in the trastero...we only have 2 bedrooms and I can' ask Kernel to share!

It's probably bigger than my apartment anyway, and very definitely cooler! It's 35 here on the coast today

[dulcemariamar]

I feel your pain Elenetxu about having a small flat but I cant feel bad about your 35ºC. You are on the coast. I am jealous. I want a beach.

[elenetxu]

I do not understand how on earth it happened that now that I'm a block from the water I never go. I'm sure that will change next week when school is out.

[dulcemariamar]

Jun 27, 2012 13:24:43 GMT -5 elenetxu said:

I do not understand how on earth it happened that now that I'm a block from the water I never go. I'm sure that will change next week when school is out.

:-| crime!!!!!!

[cupcakes]

I have private and use the NHS. MY GP would not send me to specialist I felt I needed so I used my private insurance to see these specialists. This week we paid out of pocket to see a neuro because my GP emailed a neuro instead of sending me to one. She has not gotten back to me yet on the email however I started a plan to get rid of my headaches.