How does health insurance in Estonia occur?
In Estonia general state health insurance is established, which ensures medical aid to all insured people. The money for health insurance comes from the social tax deducted from the salary of all people going to work. All people in Estonia with health insurance have the right to get unified high quality medical aid irrespective of the fact whether they pay the health insurance tax themselves or not.
According to the effective legislation, the employer pays social tax for the employee. The rate of the social tax is 33% and 13% is transferred into health insurance. Based on the employment contract the employer pays social tax for every full-time employee, which minimal obligation is 192.72 EUR per month.
After the employment contract is concluded, the employee is registered in the Employment Register and when the corresponding data reaches the Health Insurance Fund, the health insurance is immediately continued in case of a person with valid health insurance or health insurance occurs after 14 days in case no valid health insurance is available. All employees subject to working under the employment contract have the health insurance while being employed until two months after the end of the employment contract.
People working under the law of obligations (either on the basis of the contract for services or the authorisation contract), in order to have health insurance, have to work at least for 584 EUR per month, for which they have to declare social tax within at least minimum amount of 192.72 EUR.
In this case health insurance occurs as of the date one day after the TSD has been submitted (tenth day of the month). Health insurance is valid while you work: however, every month the social tax within the minimum amount has to be declared. Health insurance ends 1 month after the social tax is not declared.
Estonian Health Insurance Fund pays for health services for the person with health insurance. Contributions made in health insurance ensure that when a person falls ill, his/her treatment is paid for, prescribed medication is compensated within the established range, you receive payments s for the time you are on the sick leave, etc. These principles are for example fixed as a social agreement in the Social Tax Act, Health Insurance Act and in the Estonian Health Insurance Fund Act.
See more about health insurance on the homepage of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund: www.haigekassa.ee. Personal health insurance can be checked in the state portal www.eesti.ee or the Patient’s portal www.digilugu.ee.
