Please can somebody point me to information in plain English on how to get medical cover via the Spanish Health System under the EU reciprocal Health Cover Mandate if that is the correct word.

Because I chose to retire here in the Costa Brava and I am not yet of retirement age I have been told that I can't have this cover unless I either pay private medical cover or a monthly fee to the Spanish Health Service even though my wife is Spanish she is unable to get cover also because a) she is not or retirement age in Spain but is for the UK and b) because she has not worked in Spain for the last 35 years.

I seem to remember that under an EU ruling we are both entitled to the same standard of cover we would of received in the UK now here in Spain at no cost to ourselves, can somebody confirm this and if correct how do I go about getting cover.

A little more information, they have already issued both of us with the cards to cover us via the Spanish National Health now they are saying that they should not of issued them and we are not covered, do I continue to use them and hope that nothing happens to use (medically I mean) or fight for it to be corrected and the correct cards issued because it was there fault in the first place.

Every time I visit the Spanish equivalent of the National Health Office I keep getting told that as we are not working or not of retirement age i.e. 65 in Spain I can't have any cover, unless I pay for private cover or the Spanish National Health a monthly fee is this correct. Once I reach age 65 there is no problem as I can claim cover from the UK via form E121.