health cover in Europe

[jennabet]

My friend, an Italian-American with an Italian passport who receives healthcare benefits in Italy as a legal resident and draws a pension from the USA recently also received healthcare benefits in France while she was there for a few months. So I must disagree with your contention that benefits are not transferrable if you have not contributed to the Italian system because having contributed to the American system is enough. You either get benefits in the USA or in Italy and that's why the USA and Italy have a tax treaty. If you're considered to have contributed in Italy, then you meet the requirements to have Italian benefits transferred to another EU country.

[garypeg]

Your report is good news as far as I am concerned. She there as a tourist with residence in Italy which I have read is not an issue. Now if she was resident in France as an Italian without ever having contributed, then that is another is matter. From what I have read and been told that is not allowed unless you have contributed which I would prefer were not the case.

[jennabet]

She was not a tourist but was in France as a resident -- but established Italian residency first and owns a home in Italy. What you're reading about "not allowed unless you contributed" is just, plain wrong if you're an Italian citizen. However, you should establish residency in Italy first and join the health system in Italy after which you can transfer your benefits if you decide to live in some other EU country.

[garypeg]

Excellent!

[carinthiangirl]

i can´t believe that just Italy has for EVERYONE national health care, when they have also "liability Insurance" for that. so how can a person who never payed into the system get it. very new for me and never heared. normally you have just a time-period (1 or 2 years) to work to get as example Unemployment money, otherwise one must self-insure. it´s new for me that Italy is so social. i remember in the 70s - were we had here in Austria 1 year maternity leave so mothers could stay 1 year at home at their baby before working again, that Italy was far away from that. there mothers who worked had to go short time after child-birth (think it was 4 weeks or so)back to work. i found it very strong.

When I refer of nowhere money as example through work, unemployment benefits, coinsurance case of family members, etc. I can not even have health care. in any case we have a very social system and i wonder about that our neighbours now would be much more social. normally a insurance includes a time of waiting period everywhere. but I would like to disabuse and will ask also my Italian relatives at the earliest opportunity. in fact what i want to say - a person who comes into another country and does not work there nor gets a pension or another permanent payment will have problems to get the healthcare immediatly. in any case there are agreements between many countries, so think guess most people can transmit some then being in Italy when they worked in their before country or had another money term so they payed there into teh system.
"liability insurance"
In Italy there is - as in Austria - a legal liability insurance.
This insurance covers the risks off at:
disease,
Accidents at work and occupational diseases,
disability,
Retirement and survivor's pension,
Death,
unemployment and family
https://www.wko.at/Content.Node/Service ... alien.html

just another example of 2008 about payment between Austria and Italy.
Main Association concludes negotiations with Italy successfully
Outstanding claims paid totaling 27 million euros for the medical treatment of Italian skiing accident victims in Austria
"A welcome New Year gift get the public hospitals and social health insurance schemes by the Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions: After years of intensive efforts by the Central Office in both the eligible institutions in Brussels and on the actions initiated by him repeatedly Austrian - Italian joints meetings it has finally succeeded the Italian side to move to a further payment of open Austrian demands. Just in time for Christmas , Italy has around 18 million euros instructed to be instructed in the coming days to the Austrian health insurance and the hospitals. With this payment a total of more than 27 million euros were instructed by Italy in 2008, whereby all amounts due including the year were paid by Italy in 2007.
The high demand in Italy is mainly arose because, for example, ski accidents of Italian insured and whose medical treatment previously had to be extremely slow paid and these cases from the Austrian Social Security or the hospitals financed by the Italian health insurance in Austrian hospitals or Austrian doctors. Anyway,with the now payment done a lot of the open Austrian demands has been paid by Italy."
http://www.sozialversicherung.at/portal ... bid=633067

[jennabet]

Carinthiangirl, many Italian citizens never paid into the Italian system because they were living in the USA and paying into the American system instead. Since they can only get medical coverage in the country they live in, why do you think Italian citizens who return to Italy should not be covered by Italian health insurance? They paid for it, so why should they not get what they paid for?

[carinthiangirl]

think we're talking past each other. I'm talking the whole time from the reverse case. wasn´t the theme that an american got the Italian citizenship? of course he must first provide the proof that he paid in his countrys system and then "transfer" into italian system. I just want to say that one is not automatically insured when coming into a new country. and this is everywhere in this case. and when the person meanwhile stays a time in Spain, France or whatever - he can also take for a time his old system. in any case he must take care of this - automatically is nothing. that's what i meant.

you just said the same:
"jennabet » Thu Mar 01, 2012 4:43 pm
Are you planning to live permanently in France or Spain? If not, you won't be able to use your Italian passport to sign up for health care in Europe. It's not available to non residents. But you might be covered under your US plan while you're visiting."

i know how it is.

this was his question:
"I expect to be receiving my passport this year (appointment in late March in Philly). We expect to be in France or Spain when it comes in. Does anyone know the procedure for signing up for health cover when you are outside Italy and in Europe? I think you go to the Italian consulate to get the docs you need to take to the host govt (e.g. France or Spain in my case) Thanks Gary"

simple he must take care if he uses meanwhile his old system or will take the new for Italy - and so he must visit offices.

[tuper16]

I expect to be receiving my passport this year (appointment in late March in Philly). We expect to be in France or Spain when it comes in. Does anyone know the procedure for signing up for health cover when you are outside Italy and in Europe? I think you go to the Italian consulate to get the docs you need to take to the host govt (e.g. France or Spain in my case) Thanks Gary

Dear Gary,

If I understood correctly, you are an Italian citizen that is going to travel in France and Spain. As a European citizen, you have the right to covered by the local health care systems (in France or Spain) without paying extra money for that. But in order to do that, you need to be covered in your country of origin, Italy in this case.

Your problem is that you are not covered in Italy yet, because you have not residence there. When you will get your passport, you will be register in the AIRE, that is the register for the Italians living abroad. This will not give you direct health cover in Italy. And therefore, you will not be able to claim to be cover in another European country.

What you will need to do is, first, have a residence in Italy, in a given Comune; then, once register in the Italian health system, then you ask the Italian local authorities to issue you an European Health Insurance Card. With that car you will be able to be covered in all other countries inside of the EU.

if you would like to read more in connection with this card, please, click on the following link:
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=559

Good luck and all the best,

tuper16

[garypeg]

An Italian friend of mine called the municipo of Rome with regards to establishing residence there. It sounds like there is some of language you might need to have in your lease to the effect that you are now resident in said abode. Does anyone know anything about this? Looks like we will be there this coming August or September and so would like to make sure the necessary language is there, if indeed there is such a requirement.

[jennabet]

It depends on the kind of lease you have. If you're planning to live in Italy, the lease you present to the Comune will be a registered contract and you won't have to worry about "language". If you're staying just a few months in order to satisfy the residency requirement for healthcare benefits, this would be a different kind of contract, of which I'm not familiar. Perhaps this is what your Italian friend was referring to.

[marymary52]

Very informative Thank you

[garypeg]

I thought you might be interested in how things have turned out. It was a piece of cake, no rental agreements involved.

First I got the codice fiscale. With this document and my passport I went to ASL in my area. I was just going to ask them what they needed to register me. That was all they needed. 15 minutes later I was done.

Things are more complicated for my wife, who is still awaiting her passport (they say it takes about 2 years so we have about 10 months to go). She needs a permeso di sojorno. That means we have to go to the Agenzia di Entrate. Per the people at my local Comune, as of last August you need a registered contract. SInce we are house sitting we pay no rent and have no contract. So we have to get something. I was told else where registered this sort of arrangement costs 180 euros. So with blessings from Entrate we go back to Comune and they give us a Stato di Familia. Somewhere in here someone is supposed to make sure you are actually living at the address you provide (what about people who work all day? Don't know) Then we take that and Italian marriage cert, Cessione di Fabbricato from the local police, copies of passport and photos and go to Immigration. You have to get an appointment. Two or three weeks later you go back for your appointment. Then you get the right to have a Permeso di Sojorno. Not sure if you get it right then and there or if it is delivered. Then you go back to ASL (the health people) and they give you the Tesssera Sanitaria. Multiple bus/tram/train rides, hours and hours and not easy Italian to decipher. By the time all this is done, she might have her passport in hand! Thanks for holding my hand on this!!!!

[jennabet]

Hi Gary. Glad you're getting things together. How long after you visited the Comune the first time did you go to ASL? It sounds like the Comune may have already sent the local police to check out your address and that's why ASL registered you. You don't have to be at home for the police to get the information they need and clear it with the comune. Plus the commune would do this extra fast for retired Italian citizens because they know they might be in need of healthcare/medicine, etc. right away. The 180 Euro you mentioned sounds like it might be part of the yearly fee that resident foreigners pay if they want to use ASL. Your wife would be a resident foreigner until she has an Italian passport even though she's married to an Italian citizen. Keep us posted.

[garypeg]

To update you with my experience.

I could not get a tessera sanitaria while in Spain. I was told that you have to get it while in Italy. I did just that. It was a piece of cake. I went to ASL, told them where I was living. They printed out a temporary t.s. and the plastic one came in the mail. First you need a codice fiscale which you get from Entrate.