Information may be obtained at the following address:

1) Ministrstvo za zdravje RS (Ministry of Health of RS)
Štefanova ulica 5
SI-1000 Ljubljana

Telephone:  00386 (0)1 478-60-01
Fax:  00386 (0)1 478-60-01
Internet address:: www.mz.gov.si

2) Zavod za zdravstveno zavarovanje RS (ZZZS) (Health Insurance Institute of RS)
internet address: www.zzzs.si


The Republic of Slovenia enters into agreements on social security with other countries, with regard to the provisions of health care, or concludes individual agreements on the provision of health care.

After the entry of the Republic of Slovenia into the European Union, the agreements entered into by and between the Republic of Slovenia and EU Member States and the EEA Member States were substituted by the Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community, and the Council Regulation (EEC) No. 574/72 fixing the procedure for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 as well as all their modifications and amendments. Agreements with other countries are still applied.

Slovenian citizens with a permanent residence in the Member States of the European Union and European Economic Area can enforce the right to use health care services while temporarily residing in the Republic of Slovenia in compliance with the above mentioned regulations.

Slovenian citizens holding a permanent residence in countries with which the Republic of Slovenia has entered into an agreement, can enforce the right to use health care services during their temporal residence in the Republic of Slovenia on the basis of these agreements.

In the remaining cases, the costs of eventual medical treatment in the Republic of Slovenia is covered individually, or these costs are covered by the insurance company providing the commercial health care insurance including medical assistance abroad.  

For Slovenian citizens who are not insured by other means, in compliance with Slovenian legislation, the condition for the inclusion into the system of compulsory and voluntary health insurance is that a person holds a permanent residence in the Republic of Slovenia.


USEFUL QUESTIONS                   

Question:

I have been living in Norway since 1969. My husband, who is a Norwegian, and myself plan to return to Slovenia. How and where in the Republic of Slovenia can we arrange health insurance?


Answer provided by Health Insurance Institute of RS:

With regard to your request to obtain certain information upon your return to Slovenia, we would like to answer your question regarding the health insurance as follows.

The answer is based on the assumption that your husband and yourself are recipients of Norwegian pensions. If this assumption is true, then this means, that a relevant Norwegian insurance holder has issued a form E 121 (Confirmation on the registration of pensioners and their family members and the update of lists) for yourself and for your husband.

With the form mentioned you have to visit the regional office of the Health Insurance Institute of the Republic of Slovenia which is competent according to your place of permanent residence. On the basis of the submitted form and the document confirming the registration of residence in Slovenia, you and your husband will be included into the system of compulsory health insurance in the Republic of Slovenia. On the basis of the compulsory health insurance arranged in the above mentioned manner, you will receive a health insurance card which insured persons use to enforce the rights covered by the compulsory health insurance when given services by health institutions which hold an agreement with the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia; health care services are then provided in the same manner and under the same procedure as applies for all persons in Slovenia who hold compulsory health insurance.

It also needs to be added, that the health insurance applied in Slovenia is compulsory and voluntary. The Health Care and Health Insurance Act stipulates in which cases the inured persons holding compulsory insurance are provided for with a full payment of medical services, and in which cases only percentage of the cost of service is provided for. Thus, for some medical services, for some persons or for some medical states the whole payment of medical services is provided for on the basis of the compulsory health insurance; for example: regular and other preventive examinations of children, pupils, students who are enrolled in regular study programmes, pregnant women, treatment and rehabilitation of malignant diseases, muscle, nerve-muscles diseases and similar, injuries resulting from accidents at work, emergency medical assistance including emergency transport service. For the remaining medical services the payment under the compulsory health insurance is provided for only in a certain percentage of the cost. Thus, for example, only 85% of costs for the services included in the primary health care and treatment of dental and mouth diseases are provided for; hospital treatment may be provided for on the basis of the compulsory health insurance in the amount of 95% of the cost of the service, or in the amount of 85%, or 75% of the cost of the service, depending on the type of the treatment, or depending on the fact, whether the treatment concerns the consequences of an illness or an injury which is not incurred at work. Services regarding dental prosthetics, for example, are covered from the compulsory health insurance only in the amount of 25% of the cost of the service. The costs for prescribed medicaments are covered by the compulsory health insurance in the amount of 75% or 25% of the cost of the medicament; this depends whether the medicine is listed on a positive or on a negative list of medicaments.

In order to cover the costs of services which are not fully covered by means of the compulsory health insurance, the insured person may conclude a voluntary health insurance – a kind of additional complementary health insurance which is provided by insurance companies in compliance with the Health Care and Health Insurance Act and the Insurance Act. In the event an insured person holds a supplementary health insurance, the residual balance to the full cost of service not covered by the compulsory health insurance is covered by the insurance company with which the said person has entered into this type of insurance. If you hold a supplementary health insurance, then, for example, the services included in the primary health care are covered by the compulsory health insurance in the amount of 85% of the cost of the service, and the remaining 15% of the cost is covered by the voluntary (supplementary) health insurance. In the event that an insured person does not have the supplementary health insurance, the person covers that amount of the cost of the service which is not covered by the compulsory health insurance.

As already stated, the answer was formulated on the assumption that you and your husband receive Norwegian pensions. If this is not the case, that is, if you also receive a Slovenian pension, and your husband does not receive the Norwegian pension, or similar, please do inform us appropriately in order to provide you with the proper answer on the basis of the actual situation.

In any case, we are willing to provide you with additional explanation and information.


Question:

I am a recipient of a Swiss pension; after 35 years I am returning to the motherland Slovenia. How is the health insurance arranged in the Republic of Slovenia?

Answer by the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia:
As a Swiss pensioner you may arrange for compulsory health insurance in the Republic of Slovenia in the following way: first, you have to settle the issue of permanent residence or the temporal residence valid for more than 3 months; in addition, you also have to obtain the E-121 form from the competent Swiss institute. On the basis of this form you will be entitled to use health care services in Slovenia, which are provided for on the basis of the compulsory health insurance.

We would also like to recommend you to enter into the voluntary health insurance agreement which in the Republic of Slovenia ise provided by several insurance companies (Triglav, Vzajemna, Adriatic, etc.).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you have similar questions or if you would like to learn more about this issue, you may get more information at tukaj.

Additional information may also be obtained at E-upravi