What should you know about the medical care you need while traveling?

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The Health Insurance Fund reminds that a person insured in Estonia can get the necessary medical care even while temporarily staying in another European country. For this purpose, you should take your personal European health insurance card with you when you travel.

Who and how can get medical care when traveling in Europe?

When going on vacation, it is worth taking a European health insurance card with you, which, upon presentation, provides medical care to those insured in the European Union, as well as in the United Kingdom, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland, under the same conditions as insured people living in these countries.

For this, when traveling in these regions, you must have a European health insurance card with you, which can be requested from the health insurance fund and which can be obtained within 10 days of submitting the application at the latest. There are the following options for ordering a European health insurance card:

through the state portal esti.ee;
by sending the digitally signed application to the e-mail address info@tervisekassa.ee
by sending the application by post to Lastekodu 48, Tallinn 10113;

The application form can be found on the Tervisekassa website.

If you have a European health insurance card, you should also check the validity of the health insurance before you travel, because the European health insurance card or its replacement certificate cannot be used if a person does not have health insurance. The validity of the health insurance can also be checked on the health portal, the state portal eesti.ee, by sending a digitally signed request to info@tervisekassa.ee or by calling the Health Fund’s helpline at 669 6630. The validity period of the health insurance card is marked on the front of the card.

If the trip starts before receiving the European health insurance card, or if you are in some European Union member state and there is an unexpected need for medical care, but you do not have the European health insurance card with you, it is possible to order a replacement certificate from the Health Insurance Fund. Similar to the health insurance card, there are the following options for ordering a replacement certificate:

The certificate ordered from the state portal is sent to your state portal mailbox. A replacement certificate ordered by e-mail or by phone can be received by e-mail or mail, according to the request of the subscriber.

More information about the European health insurance card and replacement certificate can be found here. The contacts of the authority responsible for the European Health Insurance Card of each member state can be found on the website of the European Commission. Each member state of the European Union has at least one institution or national contact point that helps people find information on how to get the medical care they need abroad. In Estonia, the National Contact Point performs the tasks of the Health Insurance Fund.

Why is private insurance also necessary when traveling in the European Union?

We also draw attention to the fact that the European health insurance card does not cover all expenses that may accompany the necessary medical care. In different countries, there are different conditions and possibilities for obtaining the necessary medical care, including deductibles, and the patient must pay deductibles (visit fee, bed per day fee, medication deductible, translation costs, etc.) based on the price list of the country of residence, which may reach tens of thousands of euros. In addition, the European health insurance card does not cover the cost of international transport or expenses incurred at a private doctor.

That’s why we recommend that you take out a travel insurance contract with medical care protection in a private insurance company when traveling in Europe. Depending on the insurance contract, private insurance usually also covers those costs that are not covered by the Health Insurance Fund.

What should you know when traveling outside the European Union?

When traveling outside the European Union, you should definitely take out a travel insurance contract with medical care protection in a private insurance company, which, depending on the insurance conditions, compensates the patient’s expenses for the necessary medical care.

Before concluding a travel insurance contract, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of the travel insurance, including the maximum scope of medical assistance covered by the insurance.

If a person does not have a European Health Insurance Card and he ends up in a hospital in the European Union – will he be admitted without a card and how will his expenses be covered?

If an accident happens to a person, they are taken to a medical facility for treatment, and then it is possible to order a replacement certificate for the person or their next of kin. If a person does not manage to order a replacement certificate, the medical bill must be paid at a foreign medical institution first. Then, the corresponding treatment invoice can be submitted to the Health Insurance Fund, which reimburses the person for the costs related to healthcare services based on the price list of the country of residence.

This assumes that the person had a medically justified need for medical care and valid Estonian health insurance. Also, the healthcare service must be provided in a medical institution covered by the national health insurance system.

If a person has a European health insurance card, but it has been lost – can the health care institution of a foreign country check the existence of the card or must a replacement certificate be ordered?

The foreign healthcare provider does not have information about the insured in Estonia. In this situation, the person should order a replacement certificate.

Tiina Toming

Head of the European Union services of the Health Fund