Half a million British expatriates living on Spain’s Costa Blanca are to lose their right to free healthcare

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Half a million British expatriates living on Spain’s Costa Blanca are to lose their right to free healthcare under a radical new law introduced by the provincial government.The Spanish authorities say that providing for 500,000 Britons - most of whom are over 50 - and other European residents living in the Valencia region is placing an impossible burden on the country’s health service.Valencia region can no longer afford expats’ bills as housing market slides
In 2002 the provincial government offered free healthcare to all expats - not just UK pensioners or those working and paying tax in Spain - in order to encourage Britons and other northern Europeans to invest in the Costa Blanca’s then lucrative property market. However, with house prices collapsing, the Valencia government last week announced that the concession had been withdrawn. The move echoed a similar ruling last year against British early retirees in France.A spokesman for the regional health ministry said: ‘It is costing us an extra €1bn [£790m] annually to look after a million new residents as well as long-stay tourists, and our services are at saturation point. Some come to Spain to have their heart operation or hip replacement here at a better standard and more quickly than in their own country.’The decision has so alarmed the British community that health centres and the British consulate in Alicante have been flooded with calls. A British embassy spokesman said UK pensioners and individuals on long-term incapacity benefit who are living permanently in Spain would be unaffected, as they are covered under a reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK. Those who will lose their entitlement - mainly early retirees aged over 50 - were being advised to take out private health insurance.The Spanish move comes just two months after the Department of Health closed the door on free NHS care for British expats visiting the UK. Only those still living in the EU who have obtained a European health insurance card - which provides holiday cover only - from their new country of residence will be allowed emergency treatment. However, people such as the Bridges, who are being excluded from the Spanish health service, will no longer be eligible for a card.
Political parties run by expats - some of whose members won seats in local elections last year - and other pressure groups are petitioning the British embassy and regional government. Bob Houliston, 71, a retired diplomat who is now president of a party representing the 20,000 expat residents of the Orihuela area, said: ‘It should surely be possible for UK and Valencia government authorities to find solutions for those who could otherwise face real hardship.’British residents in France put up such a fight against the withdrawal of healthcare rights that President Nicolas Sarkozy did a U-turn and the ruling now only applies to newcomers. However, many expats in Spain are battle-weary after years of challenging the country’s property laws and doubt that a government defying the European Parliament on that count will be responsive.Property sales have fallen by up to 40 per cent on the Costa Blanca in the past year, according to the Spanish government. Expat leaders say the only way forward is to gain political power. Expat parties now plan to create a federation to fight local and national elections.