Health insurance in Croatia for expats

The healthcare system in Croatia has three different tiers of coverage: public, public with a supplemental level of cover, and private.

The public system is known as ‘obvezno’ and is paid for through mandatory contributions to the HZZO  (Croatian: Hrvatski zavod za zdravstveno osiguranje), which is Croatia’s health insurance fund. Through this service, most key areas of care are made available, including general medicine, prescriptions, emergency care, ambulance transport, diagnostics and a basic level of dental care. However, in many cases, only 80% of the treatment cost is covered and a co-payment is required for the remaining 20%.¹

The middle tier is known as ‘dopunsko.’ Within this tier, you can make small additional contributions to your obvezno to cover those 20% co-payments, which makes many facilities free at the point of use. This includes hospital treatment and stays, surgeries, prescriptions, dentistry, gynaecology, rehabilitation, family medicine and more.²

The fully private option is called ‘dodatno,’ which is available from a range of banks and private insurance companies. This not only opens access to private medical centres but enables much faster access to appointments and specialists, and access to preventative care such as examinations and surgical procedures.

Healthcare in Croatia is generally considered to be of a good standard. Numbeo’s Health Care Index ranks the country 21st out of 37 European countries and at a similar level to Slovenia and Italy.³ The country has approximately 80 public hospitals and clinics³ to cover a population of less than four million⁴, meaning there is one facility on average for every 50,000 people.

Like many places, public healthcare in Croatia can face some challenges, such as longer wait times for specialists, surgeries and CT scans. While efforts are ongoing to reduce these delays, progress takes time and patients can wait several months for diagnostic examinations and MRI scans.⁵

As a result, large numbers of people who live and/or work in Croatia choose to make use of either of the private healthcare systems available at their own cost. More than 80% of Croatians  pay for the dopunsko supplement, while nearly 20% pay the dodatno premium.⁶

Access to the public healthcare system in Croatia depends on your nationality. If you’re a European Union citizen, or you hold state health insurance in an EU or European Economic Area (EEA) country, then you can access the main public healthcare through the provisions of your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). In almost all other cases, it’s mandatory to make the HZZO healthcare contributions – even if you intend to make use of private healthcare rather than the public system.

Foreigners with permanent residence in Croatia can also make HZZO contributions and gain public care coverage for their spouse, children, and in some circumstances their parents and grandchildren.

If you’re from outside the EU or the EEA, then you’ll need to pay for your care on a pay-as-you-go basis and then claim the money back from your travel or health insurance provider.

What kind of documentation do I need to access healthcare in Croatia?

For initial registration, it’s required to visit a regional HZZO administration office in person. Application forms can be found online.  You’ll need your Croatian personal identification number (OIB), proof of residence or stay permission, and if you’re working in Croatia, you’ll also need your work permit and your contract of employment.

How much foreign expats working in Croatia have to pay depends on how much they earned in the previous year – payment is normally 16.5% of the previous year’s salary but is covered by employers as a social security contribution⁷. 

Access to many public healthcare services is free at the point of use, although some might still require a small additional co-payment unless the optional ‘dopunsko’ contribution is made. Dopunsko supplementary plans are available from a range of providers (including the HZZO itself) and are relatively inexpensive. You  should expect to pay no more than £10 or €10 per month for most plans.²

This co-payment is normally 20% of the total cost of the treatment received, up to a maximum payment of 2000 Croatian kuna (approx. £225; $295, €265).¹ Typical co-payment fees are around 10 kuna for a GP visit or a prescription (approx. £1.10; $1.50, €1.30), and 100 kuna per day for a hospital stay (approx. £11; $15, €13). Seeing a specialist typically costs between 300 and 500 kuna (approx. £35-55; $45-75, €40-65).¹

If you don’t qualify for public health insurance cover in Croatia, then accessing those services must be paid for in full on a pay-as-you-go basis. This means multiplying the typical costs listed above by five. This can get very expensive, very quickly, so it may make more financial sense to take out private health cover instead, so that any unexpected bills can be avoided.

If you’re are going to Croatia on a digital nomad visa, then definitely: it’s a legal requirement and part of the application process for getting the visa.⁸

For other expats, it isn’t a legal requirement, but still recommended. That’s because it expands the ease of access to healthcare, covers a wider scale of medical expenses, and opens access to better facilities and care.

What are the benefits of private health insurance in Croatia?

Taking out health insurance for foreigners in Croatia - whether through the dodatno system or through a specialist foreign expat insurance provider - transform the level of access and care that you can receive:

• Cheaper care: private cover removes the need to pay the 20% co-payments when accessing public healthcare services, making GP visits, hospital stays, prescriptions and more free at the point of use.
• Faster access to care: private patients can avoid the long waiting times in of the public healthcare system, and access specialists and other procedures more quickly.
• Better facilities: Croatia’s private hospitals offer more dedicated care, more comfortable facilities, and access to the best specialists.
• No risk of unexpected bills: having comprehensive cover in place means that there’s is no threat of any major costs being incurred by sudden and/or extensive medical care.
• Peace of mind: all the above gives you and your loved ones the confidence that you’ll receive the best possible care, whatever might happen in the future.

Would I need dental insurance in Croatia?

The standard healthcare options of obvezno and dopunsko cover a basic level of dental care, but for full coverage of all treatments, having private dental insurance in place is a good way to go.

Without it, accessing private dental care in Croatia on a pay-as-you-go basis can be expensive. Descalings and filings will typically come in between 250 and 300 kuna (approx. £25-35; $35-45, €35-40), while implants can cost as much as 6500 kuna (approx. £725; $960, €860).⁹ As these costs can ramp up quickly, especially if regular treatment is needed, taking out cover as part of your health insurance can represent a substantial saving.

Working with a private dental care provider also gives you the advantage of accessing English-speaking dentists who have often trained abroad.

All of Croatia’s emergency services can be accessed by calling 112. This number works on mobile phones and landlines, and covers the ambulance, police and fire services.