SPANISH MEDICAL PLANS - DECLARING CANCER

Article looks at;

Important Information regarding Cancer

Information about excluded medical conditions in general

Spain's right to be forgotten for cancer survivors (derecho al olvido oncológico) legally protects individuals from medical discrimination when contracting private health and life insurance under Royal Decree-Law 5/2023

Key Rules for Medical Insurance:

• Five-Year Threshold: Once 5 years have passed since the end of radical cancer treatment without any relapse, you are legally not required to declare your oncological history.

• Ban on Discrimination: Insurance companies cannot charge higher premiums, add exclusionary clauses, or deny health and life insurance policies based on a past cancer diagnosis after this 5-year period.

• Nullification of Clauses: Any existing discriminatory or exclusionary clauses in contracts affected by this law are rendered null and void.

• Older Contracts: For policies signed before the law took effect on June 30, 2023, UNESPA (the Spanish insurers' association) follows a voluntary good-practice guide to review older files case-by-case when survivors present evidence of the 5-year cancer-free milestone.

Excluded pre-existing medical conditions can be worrying, and navigating the health declaration can seem complicated. This article provides some guidance on two areas:

1. How having excluded treatments from the policy may not affect a visa application.

2. How having an exclusion on your policy does not mean you cannot see the specialist.

This article on our website explains in more detail:

Article - Seeing the doctor despite exclusions.

Do you have a minor pre-existing condition that is well under control that has been excluded from your coverage?

Think about this:

Yes, you might consider looking elsewhere because the insurer you applied to is saying they will exclude your mild asthma or your mild psoriasis. Another insurer may offer you a policy and not exclude it. Where an insurer is more flexible with offering coverage for minor medical conditions, this usually is a reflection that the cover in the policy will not be a high-level one.

Yet the insurance company that offered you the medical plan with the exclusion may be one of the insurers that offer the highest level of treatments and treatment technology possible under a Spanish medical network. In the long term, an exclusion for mild asthma seems a good trade-off, were you to be diagnosed with a serious medical condition, and the policy you went with provided the best possible solutions.

Here is an article we have written in respect of excluded pre-existing conditions.

Article - The exclusion of medical conditions from your Spanish medical plan.

The lower-cost insurance companies that are more flexible with exclusions tend to provide access in their networks to the most basic treatment and care.

Article by Francis Payne - Tailor Made Healthcare Spain.

Tailor Made Healthcare Spanish Medical Insurance agency - Francis Payne.

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