Social benefits: European health insurance card and convention certificate
With the European card or convention certificate, you are entitled to urgent or necessary medical services in public health care network abroad.
For travelling to the Member States of the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro or Australia, you should obtain the European Health Insurance Card - EHIC.
You can order the European Health Insurance Card or convention certificate for yourself or for several persons. We recommend you to order the document at least 4 working days and, in the summer, at least 7 working days prior to departure abroad. The condition for obtaining the document is inclusion in compulsory health insurance.
The document will be valid for a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 5 years, depending on the validity of the insurance. The document enters into force on the day following the receipt of the order.
Validity of the documents can be:
• maximum one year for temporary stay abroad;
• maximum academic year or estimated time of study or professional training abroad;
• maximum five years for pensioners and family members insured through them and for children up to the age of 18 years, if they are not insured by themselves.
After the expiration of the applicable document, a new document must be ordered. The European card can be ordered up to 30 days before the expiry of the old one, while the convention certificate can be ordered any time before the expiry date of the old certificate.
The scope of health care services according to the state of residence
Each state has its own peculiarities in the implementation of health services; therefore the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (HIIS) advises you to look for additional information on its website before going abroad.
| States | The scope of health care services | Document |
|---|---|---|
| The European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein | urgent, necessary | European health insurance card |
| Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina | urgent | European health insurance card |
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Republic of Serbia you can exercise your right to urgent treatment and medical assistance with your European health insurance card or a convention certificate and the accompanying cover letter which contains your personal information. You are required to go to the health insurance offices where your temporary residence abroad is located. In the case of emergency you may go directly to a medical institution which is part of the public health care network.
In the Republic of Macedonia you can exercise your right to urgent treatment and medical assistance with your European health insurance card or a convention certificate directly at a medical institution which is part of the public health care network; however, you must also present the accompanying cover letter with your personal information.
To exercise health care services in Australia, you must in addition to EHIC also submit a passport. In hospitals, you will not have to pay the services of emergency treatment, while the doctors at primary level will in general charge you the services. If you have to pay medical expenses yourself, claim the refund at any branch of MEDICARE (Australian competent insurance institution) in the place of your temporary residence before returning to the home country. The refund of expenses for medical services paid in Australia cannot be claimed in Slovenia.
In countries where you cannot exercise the EHIC or convention certificate (e.g. USA), you should pay for the health care services and then you can apply for refund of expenses in the regional office or exposure of HIIS. You are entitled only to a refund of emergency medical services in the amount of the average price of these services in Slovenia, but not more than the amount of the actual costs. The HIIS advises that for the time of residing in these countries you conclude a commercial insurance with medical assistance abroad.