Health insurance in Lithuania for expats

Lithuania has a relatively straightforward two-tier health system. The public healthcare systems funded by mandatory health insurance contributions – the PSD fund – made   by everyone who works in Lithuania, including foreign workers with permanent or temporary residence. 

Parallel to the public system, there’s also a network of private hospitals and clinics in Lithuania, accessed through private health insurance cover. These generally provide more specialised and dedicated care, and a greater prevalence of staff and clinicians who speak good English. 

The quality of healthcare in Lithuania is good in some areas but requires improvement in others. For example, the World Health Organization has reported that the country has more hospitals and hospital beds than it needs.¹ However, many facilities require investment to bring them up to modern standards. According to European Commission figures, government healthcare spending per inhabitant is just over €1700 per year, less than half the EU average.²

The quality of care, and the scale of its coverage, is regarded as substantially better in the bigger cities like Vilnius and Kaunas than it is in smaller towns and rural areas. And throughout the country, long waiting times for operations has led to some reports of corruption, with patients offering bribes to doctors so that they can ‘jump the queue’.¹

There has been greater use of private healthcare facilities in recent years, especially for elective procedures and cosmetic surgery, where costs are generally lower than they would be elsewhere in Europe. There’s often overlap between the public and private systems in terms of staffing, with some physicians working across both types at different times.³

Firstly, if you’re a European Union citizen and intend to stay in Lithuania only for a short time, then you can access basic public healthcare through your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). 

If you’re moving to Lithuania for a longer period of time (i.e. taking in permanent or temporary residence for employment purposes) then you’ll be required to register for the PSD fund. 

However, if you don’t fall into either of these categories (i.e. non-EU tourists and Digital Nomads), then you won’t be able to register for the PSD fund, which means you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket for all public healthcare services you use. These costs can be high, and unpredictable in the event of an emergency or sudden illness, which means it may be a good idea to take out private health insurance instead. 

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

Once you have your residence permit, you should register with the State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA), which can be done in person at a SODRA office or online. Once this registration has been confirmed, you can then go and sign up with your local GP practice. It’s recommended to choose your local practice carefully as some will be better equipped to deal with foreign language speakers than others. 

The social security contributions to the PSD fund are 6.98% of salary.⁴ Making these contributions means that the vast majority of public healthcare services are free at the point of use.  

A notable exception is prescriptions. Some medications approved by the Ministry of Health require patients to make a co-payment of up to 25% of the cost, while those that aren’t on the Ministry’s approved list are not covered and have to be paid out-of-pocket.⁵ Prescription prices have historically been high in Lithuania, but efforts have been made to reduce them. As of July 2024, there’s  a maximum cap on prescription co-payments of €5.87 (approx. £4.95; $6.60).⁶

For healthcare that isn’t covered by the PSD fund, costs are lower than would normally be the case in western European countries. However, they can quickly ramp up if regular care is needed, which means that taking out private cover instead can represent a substantial saving. 

If you aren’t going to be working in Lithuania (i.e. retirees), or you’re going to be staying for a short time or in relatively flexible circumstances (i.e.  Digital Nomads), then taking out private medical cover is vital. That’s because you won’t be able to make contributions to the PSD fund and would have to pay out-of-pocket for any healthcare treatment through the public system. 

Even if you do make PSD contributions through your work in Lithuania, however, it’s still a good idea to take out private cover to enhance the quality and access to care that you’re entitled to.

What are the benefits of private health insurance in Lithuania?

Taking out private health insurance in Lithuania can be beneficial for everyone coming to the country as a foreign expat, for a variety of reasons: 

• Shorter waiting times: going private can drastically cut the waiting times for operations and specialists and makes sure you can get the treatment when things are urgent. 
• Wider range of coverage: private health insurance for foreigners in Lithuania can cover areas that the public system doesn’t extend to, including dental care, elective procedures and medical evacuations. 
• Better facilities: private hospitals and clinics are generally able to provide more personalized care, and more modern and comfortable facilities. 
• Multilingual staff: the proportion of people in Lithuania who can speak English is 58%,⁷ with rates much higher among the young than the old. Going private increases your chances of interacting and being treated by English-speaking staff. 
• Peace of mind: private cover means that whatever health needs you may have in the future, you can rest assured that you’ll be able to access the best possible care, as and when you need it. 

Would I need dental insurance in Lithuania?

Dental care is not covered by the public healthcare system, or the contributions made into the PSD fund. This means that all dental care must be paid either out-of-pocket, or through the coverage of a private health insurance or dental care plan. 

On the plus side, costs of dental treatment are relatively low compared to Western standards. Typical approximate costs include:⁸

• Consultation: €15 (approx. £13; $17) 
• Anaesthesia: €10 (approx. £8.50; $11) 
• Fillings: €50-70 (approx. £40-60; $55-80) 
• Metal ceramic crowns: €220 (approx. £185; $245) 

Nevertheless, these costs can always crop up unexpectedly, so having private cover in place removes the risk of sudden large bills. 

Lithuania’s standard emergency phone number is 112, and assistance is available in Lithuanian, English, Russian and Polish. There’s also an official 112 app designed for people with hearing problems to make emergency contact through text chat and video calls.