Overview
Spain has a combination of private and public healthcare systems. The Spanish
national health system is a universal coverage healthcare program that is funded
through taxes. The public system is free of charge for citizens and legal residents and
includes subsidized prescription medicines. The national constitution establishes the
right of all citizens to protect and ensure their health, which leaves the private sector
catering to people not wanting to wait for non-life-threatening treatment, plus wealthy
nationals and medical tourists. Spain’s medical tourism market is the sum of its
excellent healthcare system and its natural charm as a tourist hotspot.
It has 23 internationally accredited hospitals and a tourist profile that regularly pulls in tens of millions of international visitors. Spain ranks as the top European destination in both the overall MTI and many of the individual categories, including Patient Experience, Economy & Safety, and both traditional tourism and medical travel. Its primary competition appears to be the United Kingdom and Germany, though the Czech Republic and Morocco could both potentially push to siphon traffic from Europe’s top destination.
*Based on the 2020 – 2021 Global MTI (Medical Tourism Index) Report published by the Medical Tourism Association.*
It has 23 internationally accredited hospitals and a tourist profile that regularly pulls in tens of millions of international visitors. Spain ranks as the top European destination in both the overall MTI and many of the individual categories, including Patient Experience, Economy & Safety, and both traditional tourism and medical travel. Its primary competition appears to be the United Kingdom and Germany, though the Czech Republic and Morocco could both potentially push to siphon traffic from Europe’s top destination.
*Based on the 2020 – 2021 Global MTI (Medical Tourism Index) Report published by the Medical Tourism Association.*