#LifeInCzechia News regarding the compulsory health insurance! The insurance monopoly of PVZP (a subsidiary of the General Health Insurance Company of the Czech Republic) is now canceled. Foreigners from non-EU countries who have long-term or permanent residence in the Czech Republic can now choose the insurance company on their own.
You can now choose from any insurance company.
What Was the Monopoly About?
The Czech president Petr Pavel signed the document ending this controversial five-year monopoly on commercial insurance for foreigners which was in effect from August 2021.
The defenders of the monopoly pointed out that it was necessary to ensure that foreigners would be reimbursed for the medical care provided. However, according to the senators, it was contrary to the European law.
New Amendment – New Conditions
With the new amendment, it is believed that foreigners will once again have a choice, and thus the quality of the service increases. Moreover, the amendment will significantly strengthen transparency that respects European law.
Another highlight includes an increase in the health insurance coverage limit. Foreigners with a long-term residence permit will be now covered up to 9.6 million Czech crowns or 400,000 euros.
A new register of health insurance for foreigners will be created within a year. It will contain selected information on commercial health insurance for foreigners. It will be accessible to healthcare institutions and in some cases to the police.
The limit for health insurance coverage was increased.
How to proceed?
After the approval, you are now allowed to terminate your contract with the PVZP Insurance Company. However, you only have three months to do so.
When the termination is completed, you can sign a contract with a new insurance company offering health insurance for foreigners.
To prevent a period when a sick foreigner remains without insurance, insurance companies will have to renew the travel health insurance for those interested.
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Source: Zdravotnickýdenník,
Dear Monika,
Thank you for your blog. In fact, I signed the contract with PVZP Insurance Company on September 18, 2023, and it is for one year (Comprehensive medical exclusive). The next day, the insurance law was amended. Do I need to change insurance now? Or wait until next year? What are the positives of the new amendment?
Thank you with appreciation
Kind regards,
Sinan Aakef
Hello, thank you for your question! Please contact our office at +420 533 533 787.
In reference to: End of the PVZP Monopoly – What Does It Mean For You? I feel it necessary to get some things off my chest.
Hello Monika,
My wife and I have lived here in Mariánské Lázně since July 2015. We became permanent residents in November 2020. We have had extreme difficulty finding medical doctors, clinics, and health professionals who speak English; therefore, we have decided to spend our retirement dollars in another country where we can receive medical care from people who at least give a whip and can speak some semblance of English. This begs the question, how many other expats, whatever their language, have similar difficulties and decide to move away from the Czech Republic?
This is not good for the Czech Republic to be known as this problem and therefore viewed in a negative light. The word will get out!!!
Obviously, this implies we are looking to move out of the Czech Republic.
We have tried multiple times to connect with clinics in both Plzeň and Prague asking if their medical staff can accept English-speaking patients and if there was anyone who could communicate with us. In all cases of email communication with various healthcare facilities I either never received any reply at all or at the very least was told there was/is no one at said facility that could communicate with us in English.
We are pensioners and as such are getting on in years. Consequently, we feel we will be in greater need of medical attention as we get older.
What puzzles me is the seeming lack of attention by the Czech medical to have a wider array of possibilities for the large English-speaking population that calls the Czech Republic home.
Three times in the last 4 years I have contacted by email to a local physician here in Mariánské Lázně to set up an appointment for a routine physical and they never reply to my queries. And this specific doctor isn’t the only one who fails to reply. Several have failed to reply. And it isn’t only healthcare professionals in the Czech Republic who seem to not give a whip about a positive and polite reply, even if only a very short message. But nothing. What is wrong with this picture? I understand the level of English-speaking Czech citizens among the general population is expected to be low but for professionals in business or the healthcare industry, this number should be higher.
Hello,
I have been living in CZ for 5 years and always had the VZP.
I am now wondering if I could choose insurance that covers more of the dental surgery and different dental procedures cost?
Thank you in advance
Hello, thank you for your question! Please contact our office at +420 533 533 787.