health cover

03/18/2010 - 10:43

I am in a quandry about health/medical cover here for the first time in over 30 years when I was cosseted by having company paid insurance. I took early retirement in Jan 2008 and became a resident in Rome (my wife is Sardinian and we live with her mother who can't be left on her own). My tessera sanitaria (via the E106) has just expired and it looks as if I will have to pay for GP consultations and medicines until I retire in 2013 when I would be eligible again for the tessera sanitaria. I have been trying to get private medical cover from a UK insurer but the cost seems prohibitive and I am excluded from cover by most firms as I have the "chronic condition" of hypertension, which has been well under control for 8 years now but for which I have to take one pill per day for the rest of my life. This one drug costs Euros 27.30 per month, never mind a GP consultation costing 30 (I think I have a very simpatica dottoressa who will not charge me the possibly normal Euros 50). I think it is unfair that one is left in this limbo having paid all my NI dues etc for over 30 years. The fact that I am a resident here or that my wife is �� does not seem to matter to the �� authorities. I do not know whether any �� insurance company would give me health cover, or whether I could pay voluntary contributions to the �� system. My local ASL does not seem to know. I appreciate that many people will not sympathise with someone who has taken early retirement voluntarily to come and live in Rome - as many expats in a similar situation have been penalised over state health care in France and Spain - but it seems an awful situation to be in. Of course if I can't get a UK policy to cover me I will have to pay cash for GP and prescriptions until 2013...but if anyone has any advice I would be very grateful.

Topic

Health

Comment

Hi, Unless things have changed, I thought after 5 years residency you had to be treated the same as an �� no matter how old you are! Also having an �� wife entitled you to treatment as the spouse of an �� citizen. It would be worth trying again at the ASL to see if you can get a more sympathetic result & get your T.S. rolled over for the next year. Make a fuss, take your wife, be firm. There is lots of background info. on the old site if you need it. This is a good start: Follow some of the links back to older threads. In bocca al lupo!

I agree with Chris, you could be put as a dependant on your wife's cover. Insist.

Hi, you can also consider continuing with your NI payments in the UK. It costs very little (around10 Pounds a month) and you are entitled to carry on with your NI cover for up to 2.5- 3 years (thereabouts) provided your last NI payment has not been not been made more than 3 years ago. There's also information available if you receive a UK pension: check this link for more info:

Well, just in case this info is of any help to anyone: When I first came here I had E106 cover for nearly 2 years. When that expired, the comune said I was entitled to �� cover as a permanent resident. Then I got a job and they didn't know how to classify me. By this time I'd been here 5 years. But the man in charge of health at the Comune told me to go to the Comune Immigration office and ask for a certificate of permanent residence - Attestazione Di Soggiorno Permanente Per i Cittadini dell'UE under Articolo 16 del Decreto Legislativo no 30 del 6/2/2007. To my surprise, this was issued with no bureaucratic fuss. Then I went to the Health Office and was, again with no fuss, issued with a libretto of permanent health cover. I did have to show a work contract, though. Pat

Has anyone had their E106 run out recently? Mine is due to expire in January, the local ASL haven't been very helpful, just say come back when its expired! Is anyone managing to pay NI contributions and still get cover from the UK, I thought this was only for those who were working....I know they are trying to cutback so seems a bit of a long shot!