Skip to main content
19-09-2023

Emergency aid paid for with own funds when being abroad can be reimbursed

Iliustracija

The European Health Insurance Card is not always at hand when you are in another EU country, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. And not everyone who needs emergency aid in these countries takes advantage of the possibility to download a replacement certificate to their mobile phone. In such cases, they will have to pay for emergency aid services provided in these European countries by themselves, but they can get back some or all of the money spent.

The bills from healthcare institutions must be paid 

If you don’t have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or a certificate in a European country and you have received emergency medical aid, it is important not to ignore the bill from a healthcare institution of the other country. It must be paid at your own expenses, without waiting for the interest to accrue. Unpaid invoices cannot be submitted to the health insurance funds.

Sometimes residents think that health insurance funds automatically receive information about medical services provided to Lithuanian insured persons in other countries and pay for these services. As a result, they ignore bills received from abroad until a bailiff starts the process for recovery.

European countries have a specific data transmission system being used when billing for emergency medical services provided to insured persons in another country on the basis of the EHIC or a certificate. However, there is no similar system, which would handle all aspects of patient’s treatment, without patient’s intervention, if a resident has paid for emergency medical aid provided for in the European country. Therefore, when a person receives an invoice from a foreign medical institution, he/she must pay it himself/herself and then apply to the Territorial Health Insurance Fund (THIF) for reimbursement of the costs incurred.

Reimbursement is only available for insured persons

European Union regulations stipulate that the costs of emergency medical aid are reimbursed in accordance with the procedures and rates laid down by the country in which services were provided. 

When a person applies to the Territorial Health Insurance Fund for reimbursement of the costs incurred, the first step is to check whether a patient was covered by compulsory health insurance in Lithuania when he or she received emergency medical services abroad. Claims for reimbursement by the uninsured are not considered. If emergency treatment was given to an insured patient, copies of medical and financial documents are sent to the national health insurance fund of the country where a patient received the treatment. After assessing these documents, the insurer in the European country notifies the THIF of the proportion of the insured person’s costs to be reimbursed.

Insured persons have the right to choose between two methods of reimbursement: reimbursement according to the prices valid in the European country where healthcare services were provided, or reimbursement according to the prices approved in Lithuania, up to the amount of the costs incurred.

You may need to wait

After receiving a reply from the national health insurance institution of the European country that provided emergency medical aid, the NHIF informs the claimant of the decision in writing and arranges for the amount specified by the insurance institution to be transferred to resident’s personal bank account specified in his/her claim for reimbursement of the costs of emergency medical aid.

Reimbursement of costs may take some time, because reimbursement is only paid to an insured person after receiving a reply stating the amount to be reimbursed from the national health insurance body of the European country where services were provided. The NHIF cannot speed up this process. If a reply is not received within 12 months, a decision regarding compensation of costs and the amount reimbursed is taken by a commission of the NHIF, taking into account the requirements and prices established by Lithuanian legislation and valid at the time of the provision of these services, up to the cost of the necessary medical assistance incurred by a traveller.

Not all aid is emergency aid

There are cases where travellers from Lithuania are not only provided with emergency medical aid in foreign medical facilities, but also with additional services that could be provided on a scheduled basis when they return home. In all cases, it is therefore advisable to clarify the extent of emergency aid with the health facility itself. Health insurance funds remind that taxes and surcharges paid in a medical institution of another European country under the legislation of that country, as well as other costs not included into the price of emergency medical aid services are not reimbursed.

A more detailed information about organization of emergency medical aid in a country, which you are going to visit, may be found here.

According to the data of the National Health Insurance Fund, in 2022, almost EUR 270,000 will be reimbursed to Lithuanian residents who received emergency medical care in EU countries.

Information of Panevėžys Territorial Health Insurance Fund

(Freepik photo)

The NHIF invites you:

Last updated: 09-10-2023

Related news:

Health budget in 2025: what benefits did we receive?

The right to be informed: what is important to know about reimbursable healthcare

Tens of millions of euros for residents’ health: for whom and how are medication co-payments covered?

Study reveals: a family doctor’s advice determines the decision to get checked

Unexpected ailments during the holidays: where to turn and what to know