O….M….G…!!!!

I never thought to look up information about the cost of medical expenses from other bloggers until I started this process.

I needed clarification and confirmation that this *ish is real! The stuff no one talks about…medical clearance is EXPENSIVE.

Even if you have health insurance.

Suffice to say I am completing ALL of my exams in Spain with documents that need to be completed in English.

Struggle #1 Language Barrier

Thankfully I have medical insurance through my job AND am living in a country where basic health care is free! But when all my documents need to be filled out in English this got tricky very quickly. #universalhealthcareforthewin!

Struggle #2 Train travel is expensive

Unfortunately I live in a small town and needed to visit Madrid often for my appointment.

One-way to Madrid is between 26-45 euros. I t depends on the time of day the ticket is purchased. At minimum the round trip price is 52 euros or $70.

Struggle #3 No tengo un escáner

I have access to a printer but not to a scanner and ALL your documents need to be uploaded to the medical applicant portal aka MAP.

I accept my invite the same day I travelled to Barcelona for Semana Santa. When I came back my deadline to complete all of this was June 11th. I spent a few hours on the phone and internet researching doctors, dentists, and clinics that accepted my insurance or had English speaking staff.

The next few posts will recount each appointment and the ridiculous “Peace Corps” induced anxiety I started to develop out of fear of not meeting the deadline.

For now here is a rundown of the total medical expenses/transportation

Physical Apppointment

Train to appt : 32, 90 euros ($44.79)

Drs fee- Physical 125 euros ($170.19) * not covered by insurance

Lab test fee 198 euros ($26.57) * not covered by insurance

Train home: 32.90 euros ($44.79)

Dentist Appointment

Exam/restoration 118 euros ($160.66)

If you have any similar stories please share below!

GYN Appointment

*covered by insurance

Eye Exam Appointment

Free

Vaccine Appointment

2 of the 3 shots for medical clearance.

Train to appt : 26.30 euros ($35.81)

Yellow Fever 18, 51 euros (25.20)

Tetanus y Polio 37 euros ( 50.38)

Train home: 26.30 euros ($35.81)

Embassy Passport Appointment