Universal health cover arrives in Spain on January 1

Some Spaniards lost out on health care under the old legislation



Universal cover in the public health service comes into effect in Spain on January 1. It means that the 200,000 or so people who lack free health cover in Spain will see their situation corrected by the new General Health Law.

Among those who have had no health care has been some 40,000 long term unemployed, and after a health card is cancelled it’s impossible to use the public health services or prescription service.

In some regions of the country foreign residents who were recently registered on the Padrón had to wait for as long as six months to obtain health care. Now foreigners will obtain health care in the same conditions as the Spanish.

The change was approved in cabinet last October, and now gives health cover ‘to all Spaniards residents in national territory’.

Before in the 1986 legislation is was based on whether social security payments had been made, and therefore on the patient’s employment situation. It was an odd situation as the health service is financed by the tax take and not social security in Spain.