Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
Who has used the health insurance heavily in the first year and didn’t have a cancelation issue? Regardless of which ins you have. Also does Medicare cover in Spain?
I am trying to find out for my dad who is 74 years old and I wouldn’t want any cancelation issue if he ran into any health problem the first year.
Planning your move to Spain?
Get the free step-by-step roadmap used by 10,000+ expats — covering visas, budget, housing, and the mistakes to avoid.
Start the Moving to Spain Hub →Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
“Medicare is an American thing. It will do you no good at all in Spain.”
“Though Medicare doesn’t cover outside U.S. (with a few exceptions), some Medigap and Advantage plans do, but only for a couple months, and often just for emergency treatment. At least until you get something, it might work.”
“You’ll find it hard to even find more than 1-2 companies to cover over age 70.
Dka and assa do have policies. Adeslas has too (Click here to get a non binding quote!)
As for cancelations if they think it’s pre existing they can cancel over almost anything.
You’ll need to grab a policy, hope for the best and if they cancel pay out of pocket until he hits the 1 year mark for convenio especial (a way to pay into the public system after a year in Spain. They don’t have any issue with active or past conditions and it’s very good for older folks to have”.
Also be careful disclosing any conditions he may have now. If you apply at dkv (for example) and tell anything he has now and they choose not to offer coverage you’ll be even more limited on which companies you can use.
I read of someone on one of these expat pages who applied at the same time to 3 companies, all 3 rejected her and then she had no options left bc of her advanced age, so she had to move to Portugal instead. Good luck!”
Not sure which city is right for you?
Compare cost of living, weather, expat community size, and lifestyle across 13 Spanish cities in our free guide.
Explore Cities →“We’re with Asefa and I spent probably two months in hospital in total the first year and mom had a hip replacement. Policy for the three of us went up by maybe €15 the next year. That’s the entire yearly amount for three of us. Also, I’m a type 1 Diabetic and all my hospital stays were diabetes related.”
“You could look into Cigna Global for your dad. A friend of mine is currently in the process of moving her 83-year-old mom to Italy, and they got her a policy through Cigna, despite her age and pre-existing conditions. It’s pretty expensive, but it could be worth looking into just to get your dad to Spain. As Graham said, after the first year, he could apply for the convenio especial, which is much cheaper. Best of luck!”
Get your free step-by-step Spain move plan
10 emails over 2 weeks covering visas, budget, housing & the mistakes to avoid.
Join 10,000+ expats who used this roadmap.
100% free · No credit card · Unsubscribe anytime
