Health Insurance

You are most probably obliged to buy commercial health insurance, unless you are one of the cases listed in paragraph below.

EU citizens and their family relatives² , third-country nationals with a permanent residence or asylum, international protection seekers and people under subsidiary protection as well as those with long term residence for the purpose of employment, employees of an employer based in the Czech Republic and people receiving maternity or parental allowance who are still employees are covered by the public health insurance system.

In all the remaining cases, foreigners living in the Czech Republic are obliged to buy commercial comprehensive/complex health insurance³.

It is recommended that once a woman finds out about her pregnancy, she should change the type of insurance to a different – more expensive – type of commercial insurance⁴  that covers the pregnancy, childbirth, and also the care for the new-born until the baby and the mother leave the maternity hospital⁵ .

When applying for this type of commercial health insurance, the mother will be asked to get general check-ups by a GP and a gynaecologist⁶. The results of the check-ups are then assessed by a doctor contracted by the insurance company who recommends (or not) to contract this new client. Women (potential future mothers) should also be aware of the fact that most types of comprehensive/complex insurances are conditioned by a waiting period (usually three months and eight months for pregnancy and delivery of the baby respectively)⁷. That is why buying a special insurance for the mother and her baby is not conditioned by such waiting periods, but it is more expensive.

If the mother has no insurance, if her type of insurance does not cover childbirth or if the costs exceed the sum guaranteed by the health insurance contract, the costs of both childbirth and post-birth care will have to be fully covered by the parent(s) of the baby.

Please, also note that – in case of mothers-to-be with commercial health insurance – most maternity hospitals require a written confirmation from their current health insurance company clearly stating the cost to which the labour (with possible complications) and the newborn baby (with possible special after-care needed) will be covered.

2. For the purpose of health insurance, nonEU children and spouses or registered partners (in case of homosexual couples only) of EU citizens living in the Czech Republic also have right to enter the public health insurance system in case they fulfil a set of conditions. (For more details see our general guide on Health insurance.)

3. Despite of its name – complex / comprehensive – this type of health insurance does not cover the full scope of services. It usually has a list of limitations and exceptions. The standard type of such insurance only covers pre-natal care and childbirth in specific cases.

4. This can be considerably more expensive (tens of thousands of crowns) than regular types of comprehensive / complex insurance.

5. Even here there are limitations as the care for the newborn is only covered up to a certain amount of money (exceeding costs have to be covered by the parents) and,  in case of complications during which the baby has to stay in the maternity hospital, usually only up to three months of the stay.

6. These check-ups are paid and are usually recommended to be done by contracted doctors. The expenses up to several hundred crowns are usually partially covered by the insurance company.

7. For example if  the mother buys a classic comprehensive / complex insurance and gets pregnant within the waiting period (3 months), the pregnancy is not covered, only the delivery. If, however, a woman buys such an insurance for two years and after one year she finds out she is pregnant, her and her baby will be taken care of during pregnancy and delivery without need to buy a more expensive health insurance.

The type of the baby’s health insurance depends on the residential status of his / her parents, not the type of health insurance they have.

The baby will get access to the public health insurance system if at least one or both parents fit into one of the following profiles:

• EU citizens working and doing business in the Czech Republic
• EU citizens self employed and allowed to be in the public healthcare system based on their stay / address in the Czech Republic
• a third country national with permanent residence
• a third country national with long-term residence permit (the child also has to have this long-term residence permit or a filed application for it and a confirmation of submitting the residence permit application)
• refugees or seekers of international protection.

The baby will get access to public health insurance system directly after their birth if the baby’s mother or the father is an EU citizen or a holder of a long-term residence permit and the baby will be an applicant for the residence permit⁸. The public health insurance will have to be covered by one of the parents.

EU baby/baby who is a permanent residence permit holder: The child is entitled to be in the public health insurance system for as long as they and at least one of their parents stay in the country. This is valid up to 18 years of the life of the child.

NON-EU baby with a long-term residence permit: The child is entitled to be in the public health insurance system for as long as their residence permit is valid. After the renewal of their residence permit, their right to stay in the public health insurance system is also renewed. This is valid up to 18 years of the life of the child.

The public health insurance assures full coverage from the moment the baby is born.

The kids who/whose parents do not meet the criteria mentioned above will have to rely on comprehensive commercial health insurance (typically holders of visa with up-to-one-year-long validity).

8. The baby has to be registered within 8 days after the birth. If the mother of the baby has access to the public health insurance system, the baby should be registered with the public health insurance company the mother is registered with. If not, the baby will be registered with the public health insurance company the father is registered with. If none of the parents have access to the public health insurance, the baby will be insured with VZP ČR.

As soon as the baby’s birth certificate is issued by the birth registry office (the official deadline given by public health insurance offices is 8 days since the birth) , the parents should bring their

• ID cards/passports
• residence cards (optional for EU citizens – they only bring their temporary residence certificate if they have it, obligatory for their nonEU relatives or nonEU citizens)
• health insurance cards
• child´s birth certificate
• child´s residence permit or the confirmation of submitting the residence permit application (optional for EU citizens – they only bring their temporary residence certificate if they have it, obligatory for their nonEU relatives or nonEU citizens)

to the insurance company office and the baby’s insurance will be linked with one of the parent’s insurance

Officially, the baby will be registered retroactively from the day they were born – first for the period of six months and then, once the baby’s residence has been granted (read more about this in our guide Having a baby – Immigration office), the baby will get a permanent registration.

Note: In case of foreign nationals whose residence has to be granted by the Immigration office (permanent residence, refugees, seekers), it is necessary to also bring a document from the Immigration office proving they have already applied for the residence of their baby (read more about this in our guide Having a baby – Immigration office).

This information is only valid for parents, whose kids do not have the long-term residence permits not the confirmation of submitting the long-term residence permit application and rely only on one-year-long visa.

Although the actual commercial health insurance contract can only be signed once the baby is born, it is better to contact a chosen commercial health insurance company in advance and make sure they will accept the baby.

The health insurance contract has to be made for at least 12 months for children less than 1 year old and the cost of insurance for children aged 0 – 5 tends to be about 50 percent more than in case of comprehensive/complex insurance for an older child or an adult.

In order to be accepted as a client of an insurance company, the baby needs to be examined. It is important to note that between the moments the baby leaves the maternity hospital and is accepted by an insurance company, coverage of any healthcare expenses is up to the baby’s parents.