Hi there
My name is Katy and I am a British passport holder (born in London), but have lived most of my life in Joburg, South Africa. I am looking to decamp to Barcelona next year, in about April, and am trying to find information about health insurance.
I know I need to get an NIE card, which I will do as soon as possible. And I know (or think I know) that I need to be employed to get onto the social security system for free health care (is this correct?). However, I will not be looking for work straight away as I will be doing intensive Catalan courses. Can anyone give me an indication of the cost of basic health insurance in Barcelona, or a good company to get a quote from. I have read of such disparate quotes as 38EU to 175EU. It would be just for me. The Cigna and Bupa quotes were madly expensive. Note that comparisons to UK health insurance or systems don't help me as they are very different to SA.

Also, if I leave a job, does the social security and thus free healthcare fall away?

I will ensure I have travel insurance cover for the first few months.

Can anyone also give an indication of how much a general GP visit and prescription costs? Ditto dentist or optometrist?
Many thanks
Katy