SWC | Health Insurance

Travel health insurance

Do not forget to arrange travel insurance from a commercial insurance company before travelling to the Czech Republic that covers the period between your arrival and the start of employment (at least two to three weeks).

To arrange a commercial insurance, you need to contact one of the following companies:

The Czech Republic has bilateral agreements with some countries on cooperation in the area of healthcare. Foreign nationals from the EU have free access to basic healthcare based on the Common European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).

Public Health Insurance

Public health insurance in the Czech Republic is provided by health insurance companies. A health insurance company should accept anyone who meets the requirements for participation in the programme of public health insurance.

The largest health insurance company that has an agreement signed with almost all healthcare facilities in the country is: 111 VZP Insurance Company

The following are entitled to public health insurance:

  • citizens of the Czech Republic
  • foreign nationals with permanent residence in the Czech Republic
  • employees whose employer has its headquarters in the Czech Republic
  • family members of EU citizens employed in the Czech Republic
  • citizens of third countries who formerly lived in an EU country and who participated there in public health insurance and their family members

All foreign nationals who are employed in the Czech Republic automatically participate in the system of public health insurance for the duration of employment. The employer is required to inform the health insurance company of the start and end of employment for an employee and to deduct on their behalf the payment for health insurance. Contributions are 13.5% of gross wages, where 4.5% is deducted from the wages of the employee and 9% is paid directly by the employer. Each insured person receives a card from the health insurance company.

If you are employed in the Czech Republic and need to arrange health insurance for your family members, you can contact us and we will help you: jerabkomar@faf.cuni.cz.

Commercial Health Insurance

Everyone who is not a participant in public health insurance must arrange commercial health insurance for their period of stay in the Czech Republic.

There are two types of commercial health insurance:

Insurance for necessary and urgent healthcare

This is intended for short-term stays up to 90 days and covers only healthcare relating to conditions that directly endanger your life or lead to a serious threat to health (e.g. injuries), including the costs associated with transport to the country where the foreign national has legal residence up to a maximum of EUR 60,000.

Comprehensive health insurance

This is intended for foreign nationals who plan a stay in the Czech Republic for a period of more than 90 days and who are not participants in public health insurance. The scope is similar to public health insurance (it covers, e.g. costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth, certain preventative examinations, and vaccinations for children).

To arrange a comprehensive health insurance you need to contact the following company: PVZP.

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