Clinic Bill

[AMS610]

From USA. Went to a clinic in Astorga and got help needed. Asked for cost when I was leaving, twice. No cost.

Home now and got a bill today, so low not worth doing anything but pay it, but how? Would have been so easy to pay for it there, but I digress.

 

[trecile]

From USA. Went to a clinic in Astorga and got help needed. Asked for cost when I was leaving, twice. No cost.

Home now and got a bill today, so low not worth doing anything but pay it, but how? Would have been so easy to pay for it there, but I digress.

There should be instructions on the bill about how to pay - maybe a wire transfer?

 

[AMS610]

There should be instructions on the bill about how to pay - maybe a wire

 

[AMS610]

Ok, translated some of it and it says I need to pay any bank fees. I will start with my bank. Thank you.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

Ok, translated some of it and it says I need to pay any bank fees. I will start with my bank. Thank you.

You can likely ask your back to do a SWIFT transaction.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Ok, translated some of it and it says I need to pay any bank fees. I will start with my bank. Thank you.

Good luck. A few years ago Bank of America charged $40 for either a transfer or a check. Signing up with Wells Fargo online you could get the transfer for $10 but with no help with US regulations on international transfers (SACYL could be a front for terrorists after all).

 

[trecile]

I haven't used it, but there is an online service called Wise (formerly Transferwise) that may have lower fees than your bank to make the transfer.

Wise, Formerly TransferWise: Online Money Transfers | International Banking Features

Banks charge a lot for overseas transfers. We don't. Transfer money abroad easily and quickly with our low cost money transfers.

wise.com

 

[AMS610]

Good luck. A few years ago Bank of America charged $40 for either a transfer or a check. Signing up with Wells Fargo online you could get the transfer for $10 but with no help with US regulations on international transfers (SACYL could be a front for terrorists after all

I haven't used it, but there is an online service called Wise (formerly Transferwise) that may have lower fees than your bank to make the transfer.

Wise, Formerly TransferWise: Online Money Transfers | International Banking Features

Banks charge a lot for overseas transfers. We don't. Transfer money abroad easily and quickly with our low cost money transfers.

wise.com

Thank you.

 

[OzAnnie]

From USA. Went to a clinic in Astorga and got help needed. Asked for cost when I was leaving, twice. No cost.

Home now and got 0a bill today, so low not worth doing anything but pay it, but how? Would have been so easy to pay for it there, but I digress.

Approx 10 yrs ago - same situation. They wouldn’t take my payment either at a clinic. They recorded all my insurance & passport info but later I received the account at home. The account wasn’t worth claiming on insurance due to the excess on policy exceeding the bill from Spain.
Like you - I had no hesitation in wanting to pay Spain for their care. For me in Australia - it was a trip to my bank to arrange the transfer (back then ). Transfer costs were much more than the cost of treatment but that’s beside the point.
Spain really looks after we pilgrims.
I don’t regret any transfer costs.

Good luck - but it would be great if they were set up to take immediate payment. It’s probably because the locals / Europeans all have a magic card ..

Buen camino.

 

[Wendy Werneth]

I haven't used it, but there is an online service called Wise (formerly Transferwise) that may have lower fees than your bank to make the transfer.

Wise, Formerly TransferWise: Online Money Transfers | International Banking Features

Banks charge a lot for overseas transfers. We don't. Transfer money abroad easily and quickly with our low cost money transfers.

wise.com

I second the Wise recommendation. I use it all the time, and it's a fantastic way to minimize exchange fees when paying in different currencies.

 

[AMS610]

Approx 10 yrs ago - same situation. They wouldn’t take my payment either at a clinic. They recorded all my insurance & passport info but later I received the account at home. The account wasn’t worth claiming on insurance due to the excess on policy exceeding the bill from Spain.
Like you - I had no hesitation in wanting to pay Spain for their care. For me in Australia - it was a trip to my bank to arrange the transfer (back then ). Transfer costs were much more than the cost of treatment but that’s beside the point.
Spain really looks after we pilgrims.
I don’t regret any transfer costs.

Good luck - but it would be great if they were set up to take immediate payment. It’s probably because the locals / Europeans all have a magic card ..

Buen camino.

Agree with how they look after pilgrims! Thank you.

 

[AMS610]

I second the Wise recommendation. I use it all the time, and it's a fantastic way to minimize exchange fees when paying in different currencies.

Will look into this. Thank you.

 

[RRat]

From USA. Went to a clinic in Astorga and got help needed. Asked for cost when I was leaving, twice. No cost.

Home now and got a bill today, so low not worth doing anything but pay it, but how? Would have been so easy to pay for it there, but I digress.

If the amount is insignificant, as you say, get Euros for the amount from your local bank, and mail them the cash. Risky mailing cash but perhaps worth the risk?

 

[AMS610]

If the amount is insignificant, as you say, get Euros for the amount from your local bank, and mail them the cash. Risky mailing cash but perhaps worth the risk?

I did think about doing that. Thank you.

 

[ChipFrazier]

From USA. Went to a clinic in Astorga and got help needed. Asked for cost when I was leaving, twice. No cost.

Home now and got a bill today, so low not worth doing anything but pay it, but how? Would have been so easy to pay for it there, but I digress.

2 options. 1. If you are in the US, Walmart has a cheap money transfer capability at the Customer Service desk. 2. The pilgrim network may be another option. Although less likely in Winter, attempt to contact a pilgrim with a Venmo or Paypal account who is approaching Astorga. Pay them & they can pay your bill in person in Euros.

 

[trecile]

When I received a bill from the hospital in Santiago three months after being seen there to have my shin splints looked at the only method of payment that they would accept was a wire transfer.

 

[AMS610]

2 options. 1. If you are in the US, Walmart has a cheap money transfer capability at the Customer Service desk. 2. The pilgrim network may be another option. Although less likely in Winter, attempt to contact a pilgrim with a Venmo or Paypal account who is approaching Astorga. Pay them & they can pay your bill in person in Euros.

Didn’t know that about Walmart! Thank you.

 

[mr potatohead]

Thank you.

I use it quite often to transfer money to relatives; excellent service.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

When I received a bill from the hospital in Santiago three months after being seen there to have my shin splints looked at the only method of payment that they would accept was a wire transfer.

That's a different system. Astorga uses the Health Administration of Castile and León, SACYL. Memory is telling me they accepted three forms of payment (and not credit cards), bank transfer, check and something else no longer residing in my mind. This information was given on the SACYL bill.

 

[AMS610]

I use it quite often to transfer money to relatives; excellent service.

Great, will definitely look into it! Thank you.

 

[Barbara]

Get a Revolut account and do a transfer through that. No fees.

 

[Bales]

I had the same problem but l was given my bill before l left the hospital
I had 14? days to pay it - the paperwork had the Bank detail etc -so as l walked l found the Bank -did the payment over the counter in cash
This was 2019

 

[trevorcc]

Approx 10 yrs ago - same situation. They wouldn’t take my payment either at a clinic. They recorded all my insurance & passport info but later I received the account at home. The account wasn’t worth claiming on insurance due to the excess on policy exceeding the bill from Spain.
Like you - I had no hesitation in wanting to pay Spain for their care. For me in Australia - it was a trip to my bank to arrange the transfer (back then ). Transfer costs were much more than the cost of treatment but that’s beside the point.
Spain really looks after we pilgrims.
I don’t regret any transfer costs.

Good luck - but it would be great if they were set up to take immediate payment. It’s probably because the locals / Europeans all have a magic card ..

Buen camino.

I guess I am lucky, the 4 visits paid there and then except in Azura where they took me out to a taxi told the driver hurry he needs a larger hospital straight away and then just wished me a Beun Camino I was pretty sick in 2013. But the rest I just paid up front no problem.

 

[cbacino]

From USA. Went to a clinic in Astorga and got help needed. Asked for cost when I was leaving, twice. No cost.

Home now and got a bill today, so low not worth doing anything but pay it, but how? Would have been so easy to pay for it there, but I digress.

Ask via email if you can pay by Apple Cash or other phone payment. Worth a try. Or just mail them euros if you brought some home and the bill isn’t much. Just thinking out lot.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I haven't used it, but there is an online service called Wise (formerly Transferwise) that may have lower fees than your bank to make the transfer.

Wise, Formerly TransferWise: Online Money Transfers | International Banking Features

Banks charge a lot for overseas transfers. We don't. Transfer money abroad easily and quickly with our low cost money transfers.

wise.com

I have used them to send money to Spain and it worked well with minimal cost. Much less than a bank.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

I have used them to send money to Spain and it worked well with minimal cost. Much less than a bank.

I've used Wise for smallish (<100 euros) transfers/payments from Canada to Portugal. Works well. For bigger payments, I've used a bank transfer, but perhaps easier from Canada than from the US.

 

[Kathar1na]

Mail them cash, ask if they take credit card payment, ask them if you can use ApplePay, send it to a pilgrim's PayPal account who is currently walking near the hospital in Spain so that s/he can pay in cash (the pilgrim would have to go to a bank though!), wait until you are back in Spain again ... I read this reoccurring array of suggestions with amazement.

Although I live in the EU, I am privately insured and pay myself for every medical treatment in Spain or in my country of residence or elsewhere in the EU for that matter (and then send claims to my insurer). I would not dream of paying a hospital invoice in any other way than by bank transfer either through my bank or, in order to avoid comparatively high fees for international payments, through a service like Wise. If you don't want to use a service like Wise than just pay $30 or $40 in bank fees even when the invoice is only $50. As @OzAnnie wrote: Transfer costs were much more than the cost of treatment but that’s beside the point. Rant a bit about greedy banks and then just suck it up, as they say.

Below is a copy of part of a medical bill from Spain. Such invoices will always show the name of the recipient (hospital), the IBAN code and usually also the SWIFT code (also known as BIC code). That is all that is needed for a money transfer (= transferéncia bancaría) from your bank account to the hospital's bank account. In the comments box of the transfer form, you enter your name and the number of your invoice. It's easy. We pay our invoices every day in this way, you can do it, too.

 

[Kathar1na]

Ok, translated some of it and it says I need to pay any bank fees. I will start with my bank. Thank you.

Yes, I forgot to add: When you pay by international bank / money / wire transfer there will be fees. You usually have three options:

• all fees charged to the recipient or beneficiary, or
• all fees charged to the sender (you), or
• fees shared between sender and recipient.

You need to tick the appropriate box on the form / bank order.

 

[AMS610]

Yes, I forgot to add: When you pay by international bank / money / wire transfer there will be fees. You usually have three options:

• all fees charged to the recipient or beneficiary, or
• all fees charged to the sender (you), or
• fees shared between sender and recipient.

You need to tick the appropriate box on the form / bank order.

Thank you!

 

[trecile]

Below is a copy of part of a medical bill from Spain. Such invoices will always show the name of the recipient (hospital), the IBAN code and usually also the SWIFT code (also known as BIC code). That is all that is needed for a money transfer (= transferéncia bancaría) from your bank account to the hospital's bank account. In the comments box of the transfer form, you enter your name and the number of your invoice. It's easy. We pay our invoices every day in this way, you can do it, too

Unfortunately, it's not so easy to send international money transfers from North American banks!

When I was in Porto this year an apartment that we rented via VRBO wanted us to transfer €12 for the local taxes before they would give us instructions on how to enter the apartment. (this was after we paid in full for our three day stay!) They did not accept PayPal, and I could not easily transfer money from my bank without incurring fees of about three times more than the €12. The owners finally relented and agreed that we could leave the cash on the dining table when we left.

Similarly, I was due a refund after I had surgery at a hospital in Matosinhos for which I paid an estimated amount in advance with my credit card. The refund was substantial - almost half of the amount that I had paid, but they couldn't give me a credit on my credit card. I could only receive the money via bank transfer.

My primary bank no longer accepts international bank transfers, so I had to contact another bank that I have an account with.

The money needed to first be routed through a partner bank in Germany, for which I had to provide name, account number, and physical address, then the bank information for the receiving bank, and my account information. Finally, after waiting weeks I got a call from my bank to verify this incoming transfer - and I needed to tell them the exact amount that I was to receive.

 

[Kathar1na]

As I said, for paying a hospital bill from the USA and if I had no other option and my own bank can handle it, I would opt for a transfer from my own US bank account to the hospital's Spanish bank account and just pay the fee. The fee is, after all, not more than the average daily cost of one day on Camino.

Out of curiosity, I registered on the US websites of both Western Union and Wise and initiated a payment to a hospital in Spain - obviously only as far as I could for practical purposes. The fee for a payment of €50 (= what the recipient must receive) appears to be less than $3, with Wise cheaper than WU. It appears to be sufficient to enter the name of the hospital and their IBAN number (= standard international format of a bank account number) which is always printed on an invoice. The total sum to be paid by the sender can be charged to one's own credit card. Wise requires an identification process at first registration (photo of face and ID or similar) but WU appears to only want the usual personal data (name, credit card number, address).

 

[trecile]

Out curiosity, I registered on the US websites of both Western Union and Wise and initiated a payment to a hospital in Spain - obviously only as far as I could for practical purposes. The fee for a payment of €50 (= what the recipient must receive) appears to be less than $3, with Wise cheaper than WU. It appears to be sufficient to enter the name of the hospital and their IBAN number (= standard international form of bank account number) which is always printed on an invoice. The total sum to be paid by the sender can be charged to one's own credit card. Wise requires an identification process at first registration (photo of face and ID or similar) but WU appears to only want the usual personal data (name, credit card number, address).

That's very good information for those of us who live in countries where these bank transfers are not common practice.

 

[AMS610]

Mail them cash, ask if they take credit card payment, ask them if you can use ApplePay, send it to a pilgrim's PayPal account who is currently walking near the hospital in Spain so that s/he can pay in cash (the pilgrim would have to go to a bank though!), wait until you are back in Spain again ... I read this reoccurring array of suggestions with amazement.

Although I live in the EU, I am privately insured and pay myself for every medical treatment in Spain or in my country of residence or elsewhere in the EU for that matter (and then send claims to my insurer). I would not dream of paying a hospital invoice in any other way than by bank transfer either through my bank or, in order to avoid comparatively high fees for international payments, through a service like Wise. If you don't want to use a service like Wise than just pay $30 or $40 in bank fees even when the invoice is only $50. As @OzAnnie wrote: Transfer costs were much more than the cost of treatment but that’s beside the point. Rant a bit about greedy banks and then just suck it up, as they say.

Below is a copy of part of a medical bill from Spain. Such invoices will always show the name of the recipient (hospital), the IBAN code and usually also the SWIFT code (also known as BIC code). That is all that is needed for a money transfer (= transferéncia bancaría) from your bank account to the hospital's bank account. In the comments box of the transfer form, you enter your name and the number of your invoice. It's easy. We pay our invoices every day in this way, you can do it, too.

View attachment 136834

Yes, my bill has the same kind of information. I will do as you have said here. Thank you!

 

[susanawee]

I guess I am lucky, the 4 visits paid there and then except in Azura where they took me out to a taxi told the driver hurry he needs a larger hospital straight away and then just wished me a Beun Camino I was pretty sick in 2013. But the rest I just paid up front no problem.

I am so glad that you got better...you were certainly well looked after by your Camino Angels