Long-term health insurance difficult for expatriates

For expatriates, the free medical care under the NHS in the UK is not something they have access to when abroad. As healthcare through the NHS is based on living in the UK, if you move permanently overseas you lose your entitlement to free treatment, although some overseas residents who receive a UK state pension and some other benefits may be allowed to access limited paid cover.

In research by Medicare International it was found that many UK nationals who retire to countries such as Spain think that they will be fully covered locally through the E111 facility, and may not know that the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) replaced E111 three years ago. Although EHIC entitles short-term residents to reduced-cost and occasionally free medical treatment in the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland, it is not an alternative to comprehensive health insurance .

It is difficult for the health insurance industry to cover retired expatriates, with policies involving limitations and the medical underwriting of new applicants aged over 65 years.

David Pryor, senior executive director of Medicare International, points out that Our advice to anyone planning overseas retirement is to budget for some element of international health insurance, preferably with a 24 hour assistance facility to assist with both foreign language and of course to access to hospitals and doctors in country, because in the event of serious ill health, they cannot normally simply return to their country of birth and once again access the state system free of charge.