One of the most important aspects when making the decision to live in another country is access to health care. This aspect has become very relevant nowadays with the issue of the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus, but the truth is that it should always be a point to consider when we decide to start a new life in other latitudes. In this post I am going to tell you how the health services in Malta work, how my experience as a Latin American user of these services has been and what is good and bad about access to health care in Malta.
What is my travel insurance coverage?
The first aspect to review is the issue of travel health insurance. There are many types of insurance and in fact for Latin Americans it is necessary to have one in order to enter the Schengen area as a tourist and it must also have a minimum coverage of €30,000, as well as emergency hospital care and repatriation expenses for medical reasons. Many credit cards include these insurances when buying tickets with them, so you should check with your bank if the coverage is sufficient, in some cases you can pay extra to have the necessary coverage.
I will tell you about my experience. On a trip I made as a tourist to Malta in 2016, when I was not yet living here, my wife had an otitis and we used the health insurance we had purchased. It was the one from Assist Card, which is quite popular in Latin America and we bought it to have additional security to that of the credit card.
At the time we needed medical assistance, we called Assist Card and they told us that they did not have an agreement with any specific doctor in Malta and that we should go to see a private doctor, ask for an invoice and then they would reimburse us for the expense, along with the medicines, for which we also had to present the prescription and the receipt of purchase.
We did indeed do so and although the refund process took much longer than expected and we had to go through some bad times, we finally got the cost of the care and medications back, about three months after the trip. The truth is that I have used Assist Card for many years, but due to the lousy refund experience I would not recommend it, there are too many similar products to have problems when it is your turn to use it.
It is very important to call the insurance company before using it to make sure that you are proceeding as indicated and that there is no way that they will deny the reimbursement.
Travel insurance can be used for a maximum of 90 days in the Schengen zone, as it is linked to the tourist status and must be purchased for the time that you will stay with that migratory quality in Malta or the Schengen zone in general.
Be careful, if you purchase the insurance for one year and then change your immigration status in Malta, the travel insurance will most likely not be useful, since it is a product for tourists.
Prices vary widely, so compare several providers (costs and coverage) before purchasing one.
Insurance for extended stays (students, workers, etc.)
Another issue to keep in mind about access to health care in Malta is that when you want to apply for a student visa or a residence on the island, it is necessary to present a medical insurance that covers at least emergencies.
In Malta there are insurance companies that offer these products at very affordable prices (from €120 per year for the cheapest insurances) such as GasanMamo or La Ferla and that offer you the minimum necessary to present the documents to Identity Malta, the Maltese immigration service.
These insurances will only cover you for emergency hospital care, however, you will not be covered for private care with a doctor.
The truth is that this type of insurance is extremely basic, so most of those who purchase it do so to comply with the requirements requested by immigration in Malta for visas and permits.
I personally know the case of a Latin American student who had appendicitis and his insurance covered his entire treatment. It took several rounds of paperwork, but he finally had a successful operation and recovery covered by the insurance.
However, if you are looking for insurance that covers medical visits and other non-emergency consultations, there are plenty of options in the expatriate insurance market whose costs depend on the type of coverage, but can be found from €50 per month and up.
Medical care in pharmacies
Something very particular is that you can get access to health care in Malta through private doctor's care at low cost without the need for an appointment, in the private sector. Pharmacies usually have a doctor in consultation (you should check the opening hours at your local pharmacy) and the price of the consultation can range from €10 to €20 depending on your neighborhood, the pharmacy, etc.
Usually you can walk in without an appointment, go into the waiting room and ask who is the last patient in line and sit down. When the next patient comes in, you tell them that you are the last one in line so everyone knows after whom it is their turn.
I have been to the pharmacy doctor several times in different pharmacies and I have always had very good attention and I have never had to wait more than an hour, which is very reasonable considering that you are going without an appointment.
The doctor will prescribe medicines that you can buy at the pharmacy. In Malta they use both brand name and generic drugs, when available, so the pharmacist will ask you if you prefer a particular brand and you will be able to choose.
Anyone can go to these doctors, regardless of their immigration status in Malta. I went for example when I had come as a tourist before, and even when my parents visited me last fall, we went to see my neighborhood doctor without any complications. In fact, one of the best doctors I have seen in Malta is Dr. Camilleri at the O'Hea Pharmacy in Gzira, which is now my neighborhood pharmacy.
Medical care in health centers
The other option you have to access health care in Malta is to go to your district health center. Here you can usually go when you have a European health card or you pay contributions to the Maltese social security.
Students who work part-time with a JobsPlus employment license pay social security contributions and therefore have access to Maltese social security.
This was my case, as I was an MBA student in Malta and had a part-time job, which gave me access to social security.
In order to be attended you must bring your resident card and your last pay slip, which shows your social security contribution.
You can walk-in and ask to see a doctor. In my experience at the Health Center in Gzira, I have never had to wait more than 30 minutes to see a doctor and the care is free. Medications prescribed by the doctor must be purchased at a pharmacy and will not be covered.
The doctors at the pharmacies can order laboratory tests which are taken at the health center if you have access to social security and are also free of charge. You will receive an appointment by mail with the date and time of your appointment and the tests will be done. The results will then be posted in your electronic medical record, which you can access through your E-ID (electronic identification for which you must request access once and then it is configured for all state services). These results can be consulted by your doctor without the need for you to go to the doctor's office again.
Medical care in public hospitals
The most important hospital in Malta is Mater Dei. It is a very large hospital that has almost all medical specialties centralized here and to which you should normally go with a prior medical appointment or referral from a primary care physician.
If you have social security, access will be free of charge, although you must first pass the "billing" collection area to hand in your last payment slip, together with your resident card, to validate your care covered by the State.
Mater Dei is a fairly modern hospital, which has all the facilities for patients and their families, including an Identity Malta office for the registration of newborns, as well as pharmacies and even premises for NGOs working to support patients.
There are other hospitals such as Mount Carmel or Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Hospital, to which you can be referred if you have specific pathologies.
Medical care in private hospitals
Another way to have access to health care in Malta is through the private sector, as there are also several private health care centers on the island. The largest private hospital on the island is the Saint James which has several locations: in Sliema, in St Paul or in Zabbar, for example, and where you can request a consultation with a specialist by appointment. There are also others such as Saint Thomas or even private clinics.
It is possible that some private insurance companies will reimburse you for care in these hospitals, but you should check with your insurance company beforehand.
Medical attention for procedures
Something you will find out when you arrive in Malta, especially if you have to process residence permits or get a driver's license, you will have to do the paperwork in the private sector.
Some procedures will not be very expensive, such as the form to be filled out by your doctor for your driver's license. You can do it with a pharmacy doctor, or in consultation with a doctor in one of the hospitals or private clinics of the island and usually has the cost of the consultation. Generally speaking you should not pay more than €20 for this procedure.
Another procedure, which is much more expensive, is the health screening for the work permit, as it includes X-rays for some countries, or even vaccination certificates or COVID tests, according to the new provisions of Identity Malta.
In the case of X-rays you will have to go to a private clinic, by appointment, and the x-ray costs about €70. You will then have to take this x-ray, together with a form, to a private doctor who will also charge you for the consultation (between €10 to €20) to sign and stamp it. This document is the one that your employer will have to submit to the health department, who will validate your fitness to work. Sounds complicated? Don't worry! Our premium consulting services include all the support for procedures like this, so you will always have an experienced advisor by your side to help you in everything you need.
My opinion as a user of health services
I must say that, as a frequent user of health services, I am fully satisfied with the access that patients in Malta have to quality health services.
I am hypertensive and have to take additional pills due to hereditary diseases, which I have kept under control for several years now.
Being a user of "premium" health services in Peru, which I accessed through one of the best private insurances provided by my employer, I can say that the service is much better in Malta.
My illnesses are chronic, so I have to take pills every day. Even so, in Peru I had to visit my cardiologist every month to get a one month prescription. The insurance, one of the best, by the way, covered 90% of the treatments and I had to pay "only" a co-payment of 50 soles per consultation, about 15 euros. The 10% that I had to pay for treatments was about 150 soles, or about 40 euros. In total I was paying about 55 euros a month out of pocket, and my insurance cost my employer a considerable amount. Likewise, on the days of my visit to the cardiologist, I had to spend between 3 and 4 hours of my time, since I had to arrive at least 30 minutes before the appointment time to pay, then wait to be seen, then queue again at the pharmacy and finally return to my home or work center.
I did this for several years, with annual controls in which I had a couple of additional tests, which also had a co-payment, and biannual blood tests, which also cost me about 30 euros. In all this time, they never changed my medication, it was always exactly the same.
Needless to say, the system seemed to me to be poorly designed with the patient in mind, forcing me to travel in the difficult Lima traffic, at considerable out-of-pocket cost. More than once, in the pharmacies of these renowned private clinics, I was told that they did not have my medication and that they would "bring it to me" in the next few days, forcing me to follow up with them because they rarely kept their promise to call me, which forced me to keep an extra stock of my medicines, "just in case" they were going to run out.
In Malta the situation was diametrically opposite. When I first arrived in Malta I brought several boxes of medicines with me from Peru as I did not know how I would have access to medicines before I had a residence permit.
I went to a pharmacy doctor and they gave me a prescription for 6 months, which was already a first change. Without any insurance to cover my medicines, I spent around 50 euros per month for the full price of the medicines, which was cheaper than in Peru, where I had one of the best health insurances in the country.
Then, once I got my resident card and then my Jobs Plus work permit as a student (part-time) and started contributing to social security, my pharmacy doctor told me that some medications might be covered by social security.
At that time he made an appointment for me to have a blood test and also made an appointment with a cardiologist in the public system to validate my access to the program.
From that moment on everything was covered by the social security. Two weeks later I received a letter in the mail with the date and time of the appointment at the health center for the blood samples. The next day the results were posted in my online medical record.
A few weeks later I received a phone call from the public service cardiologist, since due to COVID issues they were not doing live consultations, and she did a phone interview with me, reviewing my blood test results from her computer. She finally included me in the State program for group V diseases, which are the ones I suffer from and which are among the most common.
All in all, it must have taken me a couple of months to be accepted into the program, and I only had to pay for my initial appointment with Dr. Camilleri at O'Hea Pharmacy in Gzira. After that, everything was by mail or online and free of charge.
POYC (Pharmacy of your Choice) System: How does it work?
Two days after the online appointment, a yellow paper arrived at my house indicating the diagnosis and the prescription they give you for 10 years. Unbelievable! Although the truth is that it makes a lot of sense, due to the fact that these are chronic diseases. Then in your routine check-ups, your family doctor can modify the prescription, always within the same diagnosis, of course.
With this yellow paper you should go to any pharmacy in Malta, the one closest to your home, for example, and apply for registration in the POYC system. You will only need to bring your last pay slip, your resident card and the yellow paper.
In two or three working days your registration is registered at the pharmacy you have chosen and from that moment on you will be given your medications for a period of two months and you will be given the date of the next time you must pick up the next medications, always at the same pharmacy. Obviously, if you move, you can then ask to be transferred to a new pharmacy closer to your new address.
Every two months then I go to the pharmacy, just with my yellow sheet, they hand me my medications and I leave. It doesn't even take 5 minutes and it's totally free. The check-ups and analyses are every six months.
The truth is that for me this is a system designed with the patient in mind. Things are easy and access to treatment is automatic and fully covered by social security. Access to healthcare in Malta is easy, free and universal.
Having worked in the health sector in Peru, I know very well the main deficiencies and problems we have in terms of infrastructure, financing, among others, however, there are quite simple aspects that can drastically facilitate the patient's life such as an electronic medical record, telephone follow-ups and, of course, free and timely access to quality treatments.
In that sense for me the island has a huge plus, as the access to health care in Malta is very good and that is an element that we cannot neglect when we choose a new place to live.
In conclusion: access to healthcare in Malta is very good.
Indeed, access to healthcare in Malta is very good. Not only the rankings will tell you that, as this one from the prestigious medical journal The LancetThe company's health care system, which ranked Malta among the 10 best health care systems in the world, but not its users.
In my case, my experience has been one of the most positive and it is one of the important reasons why I am happy to have chosen Malta as my destination to live.
