The healthcare system

[Guanche]

I have to say in defence of the health service here I have never found it wanting and far superior to the British health service in almost every way.
Now this may be because I live in the North close to the main hospitals. We have never had to wait for a doctors appointment for longer than 24 hours, and in most cases we have seen a doctor the same day. Consultants maybe 4 to 6 weeks, and blood tests within a week and then a week for the results. I personally would never dream of paying for full private health cover. But in Novas case I would pay 100€ for peace of mind.

[Nova]

Wow, the quality of the system really varies by area doesn't it?  I have had several blood tests here and I think the shortest time I waited for one was about three weeks.  The standard wait time for results is 15-20 days.  I once received my results much faster than that because of the state of my haemoglobin.  The doctor phoned me about a week after my blood test and asked me to go in straight away to talk to her.  I've been anaemic on and off for most of my life, but on this occasion my haemoglobin had dropped low enough to warrant a blood transfusion so I had been pushed up the priority list!

After several occurrences of a sudden swollen face, I was referred to an allergy specialist, with an 18 month wait for the appointment.  After all that I missed the appointment at Candelaria hospital because I was in Hospten Sur that day with two broken elbows 

Yes I think you're right, I need to use the private system for this one, as much as it does go very much against the grain....

[Michael]

I honestly think that if me and SWMBO applied for medical insurance, this is the reaction i'd get.

[Nova]

Hey, they haven't accepted me yet 

The last time I went home, I remarked that I'm the only one in my family not on medication.  My dad responded "and you're the only one that should be"!!

[Nova]

Ok peeps, I've been doing some homework.  There's a correduría de seguros offering the DKV Integral Elite, which costs €93,51 per month according to the DKV website, at a discounted price of €41,50 for Santander employees.  How can they offer the same policy so much cheaper?  Would it be safe to take this option rather than paying full price with DKV direct (or rather the same price for a lesser policy)?

The correduría is called Segurfer - do you know anything about them?

[Perikles]

which costs €93,51 per month according to the DKV website, at a discounted price of €41,50 for Santander employees.  How can they offer the same policy so much cheaper? 

Because everybody gets a huge discount, as with double glazing, so a large sum is not as large as it seems. The 41.50 sounds right to me for somebody of your tender years, even if accident-prone.

[El Profesor]

I would have thought you'd find a scheme somewhere through your work or with the sindicato. These insurance companies usually do special group offers for companies.

Most companies do this here - people with steady jobs = good business, you become part of a group sharing the premium. They tend to pick out the ones that abuse it and give them massive premiums so they go away. They might check every year to see if you still work there.
Go for it, DKV is a really good one, you might find cheaper ones, even at that price, but DKV elite is the dog's whotsits.

[Nova]

I have finally been set up with DKV Integral Elite, but I'm so far intimidated by how difficult it is to just make a normal doctor's appointment.  Maybe it's just because private insurance is a completely different system than I'm used to, but I searched and searched the DKV site for the answer to the simple question "how do I make an appointment with a doctor?" and couldn't find one.  Eventually I just went to the Hospital Costa Adeje website, checked that they work with DKV and filled in the online form to make an appointment with them.  I've no idea if I've done it right.  Knowing my luck I've just booked myself in for heart surgery    Can anyone please confirm that "medicina familiar" is normal GP, not family planning as I first assumed?  I don't think I need to see an obstetrician for pain in my wrist 

[Janet]

essentially it's the same thing ... normally a GP is known as a médico de cabecera, but it seems médico general or de familiar are synonyms.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

About to pay an enormous amount (private, we have to) on 1/1 for the next year running and wonder.....and let me preface this by saying I have never seen a doctor since I have been here and took out the requisite insurance online...

- if I want to have a checkup will it go against me and will I be thrown out of my insurer's net?
- if I want to have a dental checkup (included in what we pay) and I didn't declare all the crowns and so forth, will that invalidate my insurance?  Truly I never thought of it.
- can I go to the doctor for things like in the UK* without it costing me my coverage?  *never went unless ill or injured, seriously.... did not go to Dr for colds/flu
- when can I go to the doctor without it costing me my insurance?  We've paid for several years and treated it as emergency cover and I am paranoid about going in for something and coming out without insurance.  I'd like to have blood work done (cholesterol, liver, kidney, etc.), blood pressure, preventative kind of stuff, etc.

On the one hand, I don't want idiot treatment like the NHS but on the other, I would like to be able to see a doctor without it meaning they won't cover me (nor would anyone else) if I ask to see a doctor for something non-life threatening two or three times per year.