Does anyone on this forum live or stay in Spain and have to pay for their prescriptions for AF meds? I'm moving to Girona in a couple of weeks and I only have two months supply of Apixaban and Flecainide. The health insurance doesn't cover my prescriptions, so I'm just wondering as I believe each item is priced individually.
Thank you :o)
Yes I have picked up emergency meds in Spain quite recently Apixaban and I think one weeks supply was about 30Es. As a none resident you do pay but if you are registered as resident in Spanish then think you are entitled to the same as a Spanish resident - or was so when we lived there in 2006 - but with Brexit coming up I who knows what will happen.
I know Apixaban would be about £50+ per month GBS.
If you go to one of the Spanish - UK ex-pats sites you should find plenty of info on entitlements, cost etc.
Thanks. I'll be registered on the local Padron, but can't apply for residency for a year. Looks like I'll be paying a lot for Apixaban compared to UK. And I bet Flecainide will be very expensive per month too...
Are you a British Pensioner? If so, and you are moving to Spain, you have to contact the health providers here and they transfer you to the Spanish health system. The NHS pay Spain to provide your health care, but you are entitled to receive only what a Spanish person gets. Meanwhile you lose your entitlement to health care in the UK, except in an emergency, and then you must wave your EHIC card at them. The Spanish will also expect to see this as they will see it as their guarantee of being paid, not realising that you really are under their system! (Your new EHIC card will be 'valid' everywhere in the EU except in Spain, whereas when you live in the UK it is valid everywhere in the EU except in the UK) Apixaban etc may still cost more than in the UK, but it should be cheaper than buying it privately.
I'm still a youngster at 53 hehe. I'll be visiting the uk once or twice a year, maybe my GP back here will give me a few months meds if I'm lucky.
If you are out of the UK for more than six months of the year then you are unlikely to count as a British resident, and so may not be eligible for the NHS - except in an emergency! So try and make sure your insurance covers you in the UK too.
(Warfarin is much cheaper, and you can self-test)
I ran out of Dronedarone and it cost me about 104 euros for a box.
I don’t use Apixaban, but I have gone to our nearest pharmacy in a village in rural Spain, showed the prescription labels of the boxes and picked up amlodipine, warfarin and bisoprolol for about €5. Pharmacies vary, when I went into one in the nearest small town I was told by one I needed a prescription but when I pointed out that it had been prescribed he changed his mind and gave them to me.
When I am making a trip I attach a note to my prescription renewal to my GP and normally he is happy to prescribe four months at a time but on this occasion I didn’t get it and didn’t have time to wait for a further prescription.
I don’t know if you are moving permanently but our expat friends find the health service excellent - the consultant apologised to my friend for a two month wait for a hip replacement!
I'm looking forward to experiencing private healthcare although the only thing it doesn't cover is prescription costs. I've found healthcare through my Spanish bank (Sabadell) for about £45 a month, which is cheaper than most healthcare companies. You're very lucky to find a chemist only charging 5 euros!
Hi Wendy,
I was in Altea recently and needed some apixaban the pharmacy wanted€90 for a months supply.
Regards
Steve
Ouch!
Yes - I was quoted €98 for 60 Apixaban tablets two weeks ago in Calpe
At the moment Brits have a reciprocal arrangement I believe with Spain however this is bound to stop post Brexit but if you go on the Governments website in Spain you should find this information there.
Do you have an EHIC card? If you have one, then then you can get much reduced rates on meds, not sure how much for AF drugs but when I needed antibiotics it was only about 3 euros a few years ago.
Just stay registered to your current GP, order prescriptions online for delivery by the mail from pharmacy2u.co.uk and pay the Royal Mail to forward all your mail to Spain.
Bit naughty but as you said it's only for a year.
Apixiban is $420 for a months supply in the usa,beat that
That's shocking. I'm very grateful that I can buy reasonably priced healthcare through my Spanish bank, and that Spain has some restriction on the costs of prescriptions.
It is shocking, $109,000 for a cardiovertion is too,then they gave me a discount for being uninsured & then it was $14,200 lol
Then when I phoned up the cardiac clinic to cancel it, they said how much! It's only a 5 min procedure,I'll ring you back,then the price came down to 4,200,it's a joke in the states,even if you have insurance,there's normally a $5000 deductible!
I buy medication regularly both in Spain and the Netherlands and always find Spain to be cheaper. 27 Euros for 1 month of Flecainide sounds about right. Also in Spain (Mallorca at least) no prescriptions are needed for this kind of medication. They only ask for antibiotics and drugs that have a resale value for recreational use. Valium apparently....
watch out for the summer heat - lot of british expats come back to the uk, in july and august, during the furnace months. ( last summer there was one week where temperatures did not go below 30 at night), to stay in static caravans or with relatives or similar.
Some of them register or remain registered with local doctors in the uk and come back in January and February as well so that they will not be out of the country for more than 6 months at a time
As you are paying for health cover in spain you can be very flexible. I am not certain but I think because of your youth, even if you get your residencia you may not qualify for Spanish health care.
3 months supply of apixiban in Canada is $327.00....checked the pharmacy on this. Xeralto is about $275. cheaper but risks of bleeding higher. Hoping as it becomes more frequently prescribed and off patent, it becomes a lot cheaper. Self employed so no insurance .
Hi, came across this site while researching info on my difficulty getting prescribed meds for AF in Spain. Am on Xarelto, have been for 8 years. Am resident now in Spain 2years, have valid SIP card etc. My prescription issued by cardiologist here was honoured and reimbursed for first 18 months, no problem. Last 6 months they refuse to reimburse. Have had letter from cardiologist supporting the need for her prescription, have had numerous blood tests to support prescription, but system continues to refuse reimbursement. Cost of these meds is almost 100 euro per month, very difficult for pensioner. Originally prescribed in France, I know the French system reimburses Spanish system. Anyone throw any light on my problem please?
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