Pensioners on S1 is it time to hedge your bets

PENSIONERS LIVING IN SPAIN WITH S1 MEDICAL CARE IS IT TIME TO HEDGE YOUR BETS

At present a UK pensioner is entitled to an S1 and can use that for treatment here under the reciprocal arrangements with Spain. The S1 is accepted for British pensioners to apply for a Spanish Residencia.

However residencia is an EU residency for EU citizens. In the last 4 months we have been informed at meetings given by the British Consulate that Spain will leave the lawfully registered British residents alone after Brexit referred to as a period of grace. The period of grace is indicated at approximately 12 months after which they will be subject to Spains new process for British living in Spain. The suggestion is we will be applying once again for a new card under new terms with renewal conditions.

The biggest worry for most pensioners on the S1 is that Brexit will result in these reciprocal arrangements being removed or possibly trimmed down. Now many of you who are sitting on the fence will cry out ' nothing is certain nothing can be predicted ' and we are not disagreeing with you. However lets consider what can be done to guard us against the worst outcome.

So we suggest that for the next 18 months it maybe sensible for pensioners to hedge their bets and take out private medical until the results of Brexit become clear and Spain establishes how they will re-register British once they are out of the EU. Again I can hear people responding to this statement shouting at me  'It may not happen we may not leave the EU' and yes this is a possibility - BUT WHAT IF

For many of us Spain is now home we have committed to living here and bought homes. Every month we speak to many British people living in Spain who have been diagnosed with serious conditions that do not qualify for state health or for private healthcare and who must be faced with returning to the UK. 

What many people do not want to happen is to arrive here with S1 then contract a medical problem and receive treatment under the state system then in the event the S1 reciprocal arrangement is lost or trimmed they find themselves looking into Private Medical only to be told that they cannot get cover for a Pre-existing condition that they have been or are being treated for. For many serious conditions they will not be offered any private medical because the condition is a high risk one.

If we do Brexit and S1 is trimmed/lost the result will be for many pensioners who cannot get medical treatment to return back to the UK

So our take on this is if you are fit and healthy with minor pre-existing conditions then maybe its time to hedge your bets get private healthcare for the next 18 months to 2 years and with a Private Medical policy in place you can sit comfortably living in Spain , until such time that  the new options for British Citizens are ratified by Spain . Then if S1 is declared to continue you can cancel but if its lost at least you can stay in Spain knowing you have healthcare to submit under the new Spanish scheme that will be implemented

Francis Payne

Tailor Made Healthcare Solutions Spain