Sanitas

Sanitas Seguros is the leading company in terms of private policyholders of medical and healthcare insurance in Spain, with 1.70 million members.

As a leading healthcare specialist, Sanitas's aim is to take care of the wellbeing of people throughout their lifetimes: from birth and childhood right through to adulthood, in the workplace and at home, even when we are old and need help from others.

That is why we take care of every last detail to provide the highest quality service at all times, based on the core values of care, humanity, trust, commitment, effort and responsibility.

Background

Founded in 1954 and following 50 years’ experience and presence in the country, Sanitas offers its members excellence in quality care thanks to the services of a network of 25,000 healthcare practitioners and specialists, as well as 480 clinics and medical centres.

In 1989, Sanitas joined the British group BUPA (British United Provident Association). BUPA is the largest private company in the United Kingdom in the healthcare sector. It has over 8 million members in 190 countries and employees some 46,000 people. Its activities focus mainly on health insurance, care for the elderly and young disabled people, occupational health and safety and children's day-care services.

With the aim of extending its international presence, in 1999 Sanitas reached an exclusive agreement in Spain with United Healthcare, the biggest healthcare insurance provider in the United States, with more than 18 million members. The agreement means that members of Sanitas Mundi (Sanitas’s reimbursement product) can access 3,000 of the most prestigious hospitals in America, including Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore), UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles), MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston), Mount Sinai Hospital (New York), University of Chicago Hospitals & Clinics (Chicago). It also means members can be attended in Spanish and request a second medical opinion in the US.

Insurance Ombudsman

In 1988, Sanitas was the first health insurer to voluntarily appoint an Insurance Ombudsman. The Insurance Ombudsman has since become an industry standard for all insurers.

The Sanitas Insurance Ombudsman performs functions which are completely unrelated to hierarchical subordination or accountability at Sanitas.

Companies in the Group

Sanitas is strongly committed to diversification activities in accordance with two underlying principles: to be the leading healthcare specialist and broaden the scope of its services to give greater cover to more health needs for people. Several companies have been created within the Group as a result of this effort:

• Sanitas Seguros provides the widest range of healthcare services in the sector. Sanitas has expanded its policy portfolio in three areas: complementary products, products specifically for the over-60s, and customised healthcare insurance for companies.
• Sanitas Residencial is the Sanitas Group’s subsidiary specialising in geriatric care. Following its purchase of Euroresidencias in March 2007, Sanitas Residencial has become the second largest provider in the sector, with a total of 43 care homes (34 open and 9 under construction) in Madrid, Barcelona, Gerona, Lerida, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Valencia, Estella, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Jaen, Alicante, Vigo, Corunna, Santander, Salamanca and the Canary Islands.
• With Sanitas Servicios de Salud, the Group provides a whole new range of supplementary health and wellbeing services, such as cosmetic treatments, fertility treatment, correction of sight defects and health check ups.
• Sanitas Hospitales brings together the management of the medical centres and hospitals providing healthcare exclusively to Sanitas members. At the end of 2006 it had 36 centres including the Sanitas hospitals La Moraleja and La Zarzuela in Madrid and the Milenium multispeciality and dental centres.

Further information in Sanitas Group