What do U.S. citizens living in Spain do about health insurance when they go back to the U.S. for a bit?

Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi

Question

Checking to see what U.S. citizens living in Spain do about health insurance when they go back to the U.S. for a bit? I’m heading there for 2 months and while my Sanitas plan covers me for emergencies in the U.S. the limit is quite low. Looking for options to supplement my coverage.

Answers

These are the answers of some Facebook group members:

“I get travel insurance (especially for my kids because small humans are accident prone) there are all kinds of plans at all price points but it gives me peace of mind and I know that if I do something stupid that needs stictches etc. I won’t bankrupt myself”

“You can take out travel insurance. Staysure do a good one for foreigners living in Spain. You can arrange it online. We have an annual one that covers our trips anywhere in the world, country of origin included.”

“I usually get travel insurance, but now just be careful it will cover you for covid. Most have tricky wording that say they won’t cover you if the government is advising against travel to the country to which you’re traveling. I only found one that would cover us for covid for a trip to the US from Spain last summer. We found it on visitorscoverage.

Normally I use World Nomads but won’t use that again until I’m sure it will cover covid treatment. We’re vaccinated, of course, but you never know and don’t want to risk those medical bills in the US.”

“Read the fine print of the travel insurance. Typically travel insurance doesn’t cover you in your home country.”

“The health insurance Iberia offers for cheap with your ticket purchase is well worth it”

“I buy family travel insurance and it has covid coverage from iati.es and I had to use it in the States over the summer and they refunded me without any problem. I didn’t use the covid coverage, but a visit to a walk in center and medication. I made sure to have a copy of all the paperwork and receipts for the prescriptions (in English only) and when I got back to Spain 2 weeks later, I submitted them and the refund came quickly.”

“Although I still have U.S. health insurance since my employer pays for it, my health insurance in Spain also covers 90 days abroad up to €20,000 per claim. It’s good to have that option should I need it.”

“My Spanish health insurance covers 12k abroad but I’d definitely like to have more coverage as 12k in the U.S. doesn’t cover much.”

“My “Plena Plus” plan with Adeslas, for example only covers up to 40k euros. In the US hospital bills can easily surpass that if you have a multiple night hospital stay. I had to make a claim with Adeslas once for a fairly simple emergency room visit and follow up dr appointment in the US, and the hospital sent me a bill for $4000 USD. I contacted the hospital, told them I was uninsured and after many phone calls they reduced the bill to $800 USD. I then submitted the bill to Adeslas and they reimbursed me. In theory Adeslas would have reimbursed me the $4000.. but since I had to pay it out of pocket before getting reimbursed it was in my interest to get the bill reduced to not have to front the cash… lucky for them I saved them $3200. It took about a month to receive my reimbursement after submitting all the documentation through an online system.

“I have Sanitas and mine doesn’t cover 40k. The times I used them when visiting home (US), they were great though”

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Shaheen Samavati

Shaheen Samavati is a pivotal figure at SpainGuru, where she brings her profound understanding of Spanish immigration to the forefront. Her journey in Spain began when she arrived in Madrid to pursue her studies at IE Business School. Over the years, Shaheen has not only immersed herself in the Spanish culture but has also become a trusted resource for expats. Through her active participation in the "American Expats in Spain" Facebook group and her role as a content manager for Spotahome.com, she has consistently provided invaluable insights to the expat community.

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