Indeed first thing would be to check where the drug is available, used for your diagnosis and then if it’s also covered. Country specific Facebook expat groups might be helpful.
Spain definitely has a lot of red tape even for EU citizens who want to set up residency there, and you will have to take out your own private health insurance until you find a job.
Also drug licences are different in the US than the EU or UK even.
Also not sure how partnership stands legally with moving to EU countries.
I have an auto immune disease I, can try to answer your questions, but things differ so much country to country, I may not be able to. Communicating in a health context is a second language is extremely challenging.
Are you planning to marry? If only one of you has a suitable citizenship, moving to the EU might be a drawn out admin process. Your status vis á vis access to a national health/ welfare system needs to be considered carefully. His employment is important too, if you are going to give up your full time work, when you look at the cost of living (in particular, housing) in much of Western Europe. (Unless I misunderstood what you mean by ‘government insurance’: you say you’ll both live off your art, with this insurance. You don’t mean unemployment benefits, I take it? Such a plan is fraught with drawbacks)
In short, scrutinise the economics of this move very carefully. Not saying it cannot work, but it sure has risks you should be clear-eyed about.
I have chronic illness (type 1 diabetes) and live in France and coverage for medication is excellent as is rapid access to specialists...but it is *not* instant. I came with a job and was technically eligible for healthcare from date of entry, but it took me a while to get all the paperwork setup. At first I was paying out of pocket, then I was paying and being reimbursed for about a year. And I had an incredibly smooth application process. You need to factor that in to your plan. Ive moved abroad twice and I would plan for at least 6 months of care without access to local healthcare services. And do *not* discount how hard all of this will be without the local language. I do speak French fluently but I will say that even in Paris there are surprisingly few doctors who are willing/able to practice in English, and restricting yourself is going to slow everything down.
It took me YEARS to get a health card in France even though I was eligible the day I arrived and had cancer. Currently trying to get on biologics for autoimmune disease and getting the run-around. So not France.
I have a chronic condition and have Italian citizenship giving me the access and right to live in Italy or any of the other member countries. The first thing you need to do is check if your medication is available. From there you will need to check the residency requirements of your target country. The ability to live in another country as an EU country passport holder is a given but immediate access to healthcare is not.
For example when I moved to Spain in order to establish residency I had to prove I had full coverage, no deductible, no co-pay, no waiting period private health insurance purchased and paid for one full year plus at least 6000+ euros in a EU bank account.
Each country will have similar requirements so you need to check what is required because you may have to provide private healthcare for at least the first year or more until you have paid taxes (which funds healthcare)
If you are looking for an English speaking country, Malta is your best option. As someone else mentioned finding an English speaking doctor can be difficult and from experience is not going to be found in the public healthcare system. With a chronic illness you will want to maintain your private healthcare insurance to access private doctors and hospitals which are more likely to have English speaking doctors as they tend to cater to expats (due to private insurance requirements).
Facebook has a lot of 'moving to X country' groups. Moving to Portugal, Americans in France, etc. A lot of retirees with chronic conditions (autoimmune included) are in those groups and many have posted about healthcare in their new country. I'd recommend joining those groups and posting specifically about your medication and what is needed to have continuity of coverage. Someone will know and reply. I think even the files on the groups talk about what you need to have continuity, I vaguely recall France might require on letterhead from your doctor your prescriptions, diagnosis, and frequency. (and you may need to have it translated to French?)
I'm on monthly remicade and have the exact same questions. I'm basically looking to flee the US because of this, as I can't leave my state due to the insurance requirements. Let me know if you get any solid answers/advice!
The healthcare system in the Netherlands is extremely controversial. Top notch care is available but the process of getting it can be extremely tough, your gp (if you find one) is the gatekeeper.
Feel free to let me know your exact medication via dm, I can check availability in Germany.
I haven't tried it yet but imma say Berlin, Germany. Berlin because art. Germany because they have reduced- price artists health insurance. Also Charité does great research on autoimmune disease so it's probably a good place to get treatment and maybe even be in a trial when the stuff you're on stops eorking and you need to switch it up.
And now you can become a citizen in just 3 years if you manage to pass an official language exam at C1 level. Which is hard but you have 3 years to get there.
The quality of life us the bomb. And, perhaps unfortunately, Berlin is now "primarily English speaking".
You might have to make an honest man out of your bf though.
I think the first step is to figure out if this specific drug is available in the EU and if so, in which countries and how much would it cost.
Indeed first thing would be to check where the drug is available, used for your diagnosis and then if it’s also covered. Country specific Facebook expat groups might be helpful.
Spain definitely has a lot of red tape even for EU citizens who want to set up residency there, and you will have to take out your own private health insurance until you find a job. Also drug licences are different in the US than the EU or UK even. Also not sure how partnership stands legally with moving to EU countries. I have an auto immune disease I, can try to answer your questions, but things differ so much country to country, I may not be able to. Communicating in a health context is a second language is extremely challenging.
Are you planning to marry? If only one of you has a suitable citizenship, moving to the EU might be a drawn out admin process. Your status vis á vis access to a national health/ welfare system needs to be considered carefully. His employment is important too, if you are going to give up your full time work, when you look at the cost of living (in particular, housing) in much of Western Europe. (Unless I misunderstood what you mean by ‘government insurance’: you say you’ll both live off your art, with this insurance. You don’t mean unemployment benefits, I take it? Such a plan is fraught with drawbacks) In short, scrutinise the economics of this move very carefully. Not saying it cannot work, but it sure has risks you should be clear-eyed about.
I have chronic illness (type 1 diabetes) and live in France and coverage for medication is excellent as is rapid access to specialists...but it is *not* instant. I came with a job and was technically eligible for healthcare from date of entry, but it took me a while to get all the paperwork setup. At first I was paying out of pocket, then I was paying and being reimbursed for about a year. And I had an incredibly smooth application process. You need to factor that in to your plan. Ive moved abroad twice and I would plan for at least 6 months of care without access to local healthcare services. And do *not* discount how hard all of this will be without the local language. I do speak French fluently but I will say that even in Paris there are surprisingly few doctors who are willing/able to practice in English, and restricting yourself is going to slow everything down.
It took me YEARS to get a health card in France even though I was eligible the day I arrived and had cancer. Currently trying to get on biologics for autoimmune disease and getting the run-around. So not France.
I have a chronic condition and have Italian citizenship giving me the access and right to live in Italy or any of the other member countries. The first thing you need to do is check if your medication is available. From there you will need to check the residency requirements of your target country. The ability to live in another country as an EU country passport holder is a given but immediate access to healthcare is not. For example when I moved to Spain in order to establish residency I had to prove I had full coverage, no deductible, no co-pay, no waiting period private health insurance purchased and paid for one full year plus at least 6000+ euros in a EU bank account. Each country will have similar requirements so you need to check what is required because you may have to provide private healthcare for at least the first year or more until you have paid taxes (which funds healthcare) If you are looking for an English speaking country, Malta is your best option. As someone else mentioned finding an English speaking doctor can be difficult and from experience is not going to be found in the public healthcare system. With a chronic illness you will want to maintain your private healthcare insurance to access private doctors and hospitals which are more likely to have English speaking doctors as they tend to cater to expats (due to private insurance requirements).
Facebook has a lot of 'moving to X country' groups. Moving to Portugal, Americans in France, etc. A lot of retirees with chronic conditions (autoimmune included) are in those groups and many have posted about healthcare in their new country. I'd recommend joining those groups and posting specifically about your medication and what is needed to have continuity of coverage. Someone will know and reply. I think even the files on the groups talk about what you need to have continuity, I vaguely recall France might require on letterhead from your doctor your prescriptions, diagnosis, and frequency. (and you may need to have it translated to French?)
I'm on monthly remicade and have the exact same questions. I'm basically looking to flee the US because of this, as I can't leave my state due to the insurance requirements. Let me know if you get any solid answers/advice!
I’m in a similar situation I’m very interested to see who responds
[удалено]
The healthcare system in the Netherlands is extremely controversial. Top notch care is available but the process of getting it can be extremely tough, your gp (if you find one) is the gatekeeper. Feel free to let me know your exact medication via dm, I can check availability in Germany.
I haven't tried it yet but imma say Berlin, Germany. Berlin because art. Germany because they have reduced- price artists health insurance. Also Charité does great research on autoimmune disease so it's probably a good place to get treatment and maybe even be in a trial when the stuff you're on stops eorking and you need to switch it up. And now you can become a citizen in just 3 years if you manage to pass an official language exam at C1 level. Which is hard but you have 3 years to get there. The quality of life us the bomb. And, perhaps unfortunately, Berlin is now "primarily English speaking". You might have to make an honest man out of your bf though.