Spain is going to be taken to the European Court of Justice for refusing EU-pensioners access to free medication during their temporary stay in Spain.

The European Commission decided that Spanish rules do not agree with the EU law as they discriminate against EU-pensioners when residing in Spain.

According to the EU social security legislation (Regulation 883/2004), pensioners residing in another Member State can use their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which assures them to receive the necessary healthcare under the same conditions as pensioners insured in the visiting EU-country.  Pensioners in Spain have access to free medication which is why the European Commission decided that pensioners from other EU Member States should be treated equally when temporarily residing in Spain.

Spain, however, refuses to grant pensioners access to free medication because the European Health Insurance Card does not indicate whether or not its owner is a pensioner. That is why Spain requires EU- pensioners to present an additional document certifying their status.

The Commission on the other hand has decided that Spain is acting against the law mentioned above and leading to a discrimination of EU pensioners who reside temporarily in Spain. In addition to that, the Commission stated that the requirement of presenting another document contradicted the initial purpose of the European Health Insurance Card, which is supposed to simplify the bureaucratic procedures among the Member States.

Source: The Reader.es