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22-02-2022

Fewer people travelling abroad for treatment

Iliustracija

The coronavirus pandemic has also affected cross-border healthcare. Over the last two years, there has been a significant decrease in the number of requests for reimbursement of costs for healthcare services, medicines or medical aids (MA) provided in other European countries, according to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) under the Ministry of Health.

“While in 2019 we received 157 requests for cross-border healthcare reimbursement, compared to 109 the year before, last year the number of requests was less than 100. 91 claims were received. We have no doubt that this was mainly due to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic”, says Inga Ježerkauskaitė, Chief Specialist of the International Affairs Division of the NHIF.

According to her, last year, the Territorial Health Insurance Funds (THIF) and the NHIF reimbursed a total of 80 persons insured with compulsory health insurance in Lithuania for expenses incurred in other countries of the European Economic Area. This required EUR 95.5 thousand from the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (CHIF). This is almost EUR 23 thousand less than the previous year.

As every year, last year too, the most frequent destination for Lithuanian citizens was neighbouring Latvia, with 31 requests for reimbursement of costs incurred in that country. There was also a strong demand for healthcare in Poland and Germany, with 21 claims each. Treatment in Slovakia, Estonia and Spain was much less frequent. One reimbursement claim was received after a visit to a doctor or the purchase of medicines in each, Belgium, Italy and Bulgaria.

“Trends remain similar not only in terms of the destinations of Lithuanian insured persons, but also in terms of the type of medical services they require. Last year, the most frequently reimbursed healthcare services were hospital care. Also, people wanted to get money back for consultations provided by foreign medical specialists: obstetrician-gynaecologist, orthopaedist-traumatologist, chemotherapist, radiologist, cardiologist, neurosurgeon etc. Medical rehabilitation services in Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria were provided in as many as 20 cases. Reimbursement was also requested for the cost of expensive tests, medicines and MA”, noted Ms. Ježerkauskaitė.

The largest reimbursement from the NHIF last year exceeded EUR 8,000 for a heart surgery performed on a patient. Meanwhile, the lowest amount reimbursed was less than EUR 20 for a consultation with an orthopaedic traumatologist.

Health insurance funds remind that Lithuanian insured persons in the European Union countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, who have received and paid for health care services, can apply to the health insurance funds for reimbursement of the incurred expenses within 1 year at the latest. It is important to know that the patient is reimbursed to the same extent as the corresponding medical services are paid to Lithuanian healthcare institutions by the NHIF.

According to the data of the NHIF, over the last five years, the health insurance funds have received a total of almost 640 requests for reimbursement of cross-border healthcare costs. This required more than half a million euros of CHIF funds.

More about cross-border healthcare reimbursement is available here.

The NHIF invites you:

Your questions are welcome by email [email protected] or phone: local (8 5) 232 2222, international +370 5 232 222

Last updated: 18-03-2022

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