Health and Healthcare
Contraception – Your gynaecologist can prescribe contraceptive pills or advise you regarding other types of contraception. Contraceptive pills are not paid for by the health insurance company. A woman has to pay for the pills herself and the price is usually around 500 CZK per 3 months.
Registration with a GP – NGOs and the Centre for the Integration of Foreigners provide social advice, including helping you to find a doctor and register with them (see the "Contacts" section).
Interpreting during a Medical Visit – If you need help with interpreting into Czech during a visit at the doctor, you can contact organizations that help foreigners and integration centres for foreigners that offer interpreting services free of charge (see the "Contacts" section). In emergency cases, if the interpreter is not present in person, it is possible to use interpreting over the phone (e.g. Charita's telephone line).
Pre-Registration in a Maternity Hospital – Do not forget to choose your maternity hospital and make your registration, especially if you live in a big city. In some places (namely in Prague) it is recommended to make the registration right after your gynaecologist issues your pregnancy card. The registration usually has to be made in person.
Registration with a Paediatrician – Register with a paediatrician before labour. The maternity hospital will want to know which paediatrician is going to take care of your child once you leave the hospital. You can choose the paediatrician yourself and usually it is sufficient to make a phone call and ask them whether you can come for medical visits with your baby once it is born. Make sure the paediatrician has a contract with your health insurance company.
Labour – You can find out what to bring with you to the maternity hospital, when to go there and other information in a leaflet of the Centre for the Integration of Foreigners (here)
In some hospitals they might ask you to fill in a form about your baby’s name before its birth. If you have not decided for a name yet, do not let them force you into filling the form. The legal deadline for giving your child a name is within 30 days after birth.
Abortion – If you are considering abortion, talk to your gynaecologist. They will refer you to a healthcare facility where the intervention can be performed. There are different types of abortion depending on the stage of the pregnancy and other circumstances. You have to pay for the intervention yourself, it is not included in health insurance.
Registration with a GP – NGOs and the Centre for the Integration of Foreigners provide social advice, including helping you to find a doctor and register with them (see the "Contacts" section).
Interpreting during a Medical Visit – If you need help with interpreting into Czech during a visit at the doctor, you can contact organizations that help foreigners and integration centres for foreigners that offer interpreting services free of charge (see the "Contacts" section). In emergency cases, if the interpreter is not present in person, it is possible to use interpreting over the phone (e.g. Charita's telephone line).
Pre-Registration in a Maternity Hospital – Do not forget to choose your maternity hospital and make your registration, especially if you live in a big city. In some places (namely in Prague) it is recommended to make the registration right after your gynaecologist issues your pregnancy card. The registration usually has to be made in person.
Registration with a Paediatrician – Register with a paediatrician before labour. The maternity hospital will want to know which paediatrician is going to take care of your child once you leave the hospital. You can choose the paediatrician yourself and usually it is sufficient to make a phone call and ask them whether you can come for medical visits with your baby once it is born. Make sure the paediatrician has a contract with your health insurance company.
Labour – You can find out what to bring with you to the maternity hospital, when to go there and other information in a leaflet of the Centre for the Integration of Foreigners (here)
In some hospitals they might ask you to fill in a form about your baby’s name before its birth. If you have not decided for a name yet, do not let them force you into filling the form. The legal deadline for giving your child a name is within 30 days after birth.
Abortion – If you are considering abortion, talk to your gynaecologist. They will refer you to a healthcare facility where the intervention can be performed. There are different types of abortion depending on the stage of the pregnancy and other circumstances. You have to pay for the intervention yourself, it is not included in health insurance.
Health Insurance
There are two main types of insurance – public and commercial.
1
Public Insurance
The right to public health insurance follows from having a permanent residence permit in the Czech Republic or being employed in the Czech Republic with an employment agreement. If you do not have a permanent residence permit in the Czech Republic or are not employed on the basis of an employment agreement, you must get a commercial insurance policy (see below).
If at least one of the parents has a permanent residence permit in the Czech Republic, the child can be included in the public health insurance system as well.
How to proceed? Apply for a permanent residence permit for the child at the OAMP and register the child at a public health insurance company (see the "Contacts" section). Even if subsequently the permanent residence permit is not granted, the costs of healthcare for the child are paid for by the insurance company retrospectively, as if the child was part of the public health insurance system.
If you are not sure whether your employer pays health insurance contributions for you, go to a branch of the health insurance company where you are supposed to be insured (usually the VZP), where they are obliged to give you this information.
If at least one of the parents has a permanent residence permit in the Czech Republic, the child can be included in the public health insurance system as well.
How to proceed? Apply for a permanent residence permit for the child at the OAMP and register the child at a public health insurance company (see the "Contacts" section). Even if subsequently the permanent residence permit is not granted, the costs of healthcare for the child are paid for by the insurance company retrospectively, as if the child was part of the public health insurance system.
If you are not sure whether your employer pays health insurance contributions for you, go to a branch of the health insurance company where you are supposed to be insured (usually the VZP), where they are obliged to give you this information.
2
Commercial Insurance
If neither you, nor your partner have a permanent residence permit in the Czech Republic, nor are you citizens of the Czech Republic, nor are you employed on the territory of the Czech Republic on the basis of an employment contract, you must have a commercial insurance policy. You can chose one of the following health insurance companies:
The coverage of this insurance policy is similar to that of the public health insurance policy, with several exceptions and limitations. The individual insurance companies have different conditions and prices, therefore you are advised to carefully examine the offers of the different companies as well as their contractual terms. Insurance companies offer different types of comprehensive insurance.
Important! The basic, standard insurance policy covers healthcare during pregnancy and labour only under the condition of a certain length of insurance period before you become pregnant (called "the waiting time").
It is possible to get a special health insurance policy that covers healthcare related to pregnancy and labour. This insurance policy also covers the care for the child since its birth until you leave the maternity hospital.
- PVZP (www.pvzp.cz)
- Maxima (www.maximapojistovna.cz)
- Slavia (www.slavia-pojistovna.cz)
- Uniqua (www.uniqa.cz)
- ERGO (www.ergo.cz)
The coverage of this insurance policy is similar to that of the public health insurance policy, with several exceptions and limitations. The individual insurance companies have different conditions and prices, therefore you are advised to carefully examine the offers of the different companies as well as their contractual terms. Insurance companies offer different types of comprehensive insurance.
Important! The basic, standard insurance policy covers healthcare during pregnancy and labour only under the condition of a certain length of insurance period before you become pregnant (called "the waiting time").
It is possible to get a special health insurance policy that covers healthcare related to pregnancy and labour. This insurance policy also covers the care for the child since its birth until you leave the maternity hospital.
! Waiting time: the time calculated from the moment you sign the contract with the insurance company, during which the insurance company will not reimburse care in case of an insured event. Take good notice of the waiting time for pregnancy and labour in your insurance contract! Special insurance packages for pregnancy and labour do not normally involve any waiting time and can be concluded even during pregnancy. With some types of insurance policy, there is a waiting time for pregnancy of 3 months, meaning that if you get pregnant sooner than 3 months after having concluded the insurance contract, you will not be reimbursed for healthcare in pregnancy. Usually there is also a waiting time for labour (e.g. 8 months after the conclusion of the contract).
If you don't have any insurance policy or have one that does not cover labour, you will have to pay for healthcare during and after labour. If you have an insurance policy and the provided healthcare exceeds the limit stated in the insurance contract, you will have to pay for the extra costs yourself.
Insurance policy for the baby can only be arranged after its birth. If you have a permanent residence permit, it is sufficient to register the child at your insurance company (it will be covered by public health insurance). Even though you will do this only after its birth, previous care for the baby will be reimbursed by the insurance company retrospectively. If you have a commercial health insurance policy, it is worth buying a special package for mother and child that will cover healthcare for both you and the new-born. (Having your own insurance policy is not sufficient, because once the baby is born, it is considered as a separate person and therefore is not included in your health insurance policy. This is why it is worth buying the special package for mother and child that includes health insurance for the child after birth.)
Insurance policy for the baby can only be arranged after its birth. If you have a permanent residence permit, it is sufficient to register the child at your insurance company (it will be covered by public health insurance). Even though you will do this only after its birth, previous care for the baby will be reimbursed by the insurance company retrospectively. If you have a commercial health insurance policy, it is worth buying a special package for mother and child that will cover healthcare for both you and the new-born. (Having your own insurance policy is not sufficient, because once the baby is born, it is considered as a separate person and therefore is not included in your health insurance policy. This is why it is worth buying the special package for mother and child that includes health insurance for the child after birth.)
