Students who are coming to study in Slovakia should be having medical insurance. Staying in Slovakia without insurance is risky: there are payments even for consultations at the doctor (usually 30-50€), surgeries at hospitals or dental care could be from hundreds to thousands of euro.
We will describe the options which are there for international students in Slovakia.
Students from European Union
Students from the European Union should be having their European Health Card (E111 card). In most cases, the card is attached to the standard medical
insurance card and it is necessary to present only a passport / ID card with a European health card to get assistance at clinics or hospitals. There are some important notes:
- European health cards can be used only for urgent medical care, so preventive care is not possible
- there could be some medical procedures that will require you to pay some amount for treatment (typically dental assistance)
- not urgent cases may be refused by a hospital. This would not be the case if the student is having additional health insurance coverage also preventive care or additional care (typically 40-60€ per month).
You can check the pricing here: https://www.axa-assistance-insurance.eu/SK/ArrangeInsurance.aspx?type=INK&externalPartner=1000530
Students outside of the European Union
Students who are not from the EU have obligation to arrange medical insurance in Slovakia. As per law, Foreign police may check a student at any moment, whether he/she is having medical insurance arranged.
There are 2 types of medical insurance:
a) for urgent care – in these cases, students get assistance in case of urgent injury, e.g. breaking of the leg, hospitalization, or any life-threatening emergencies. This insurance is cheaper, on another hand, it is not possible to go to the doctor for preventive reasons (eg. you want to check your eyes, but there is no urgent problem with them).
The price of this insurance is typically 23-30€ per month. We work with AXA Insurance company – How is Axa working? First of all, you will need to arrange insurance (click here for the calculation). The insurance will be valid from the next day. You will be receiving all contracts and insurance cards by email.
You will go to the doctor and get treatment. Every time, present your passport together with your AXA card. If the balance to pay is small, you will be asked to pay on the spot and then ask AXA for a refund. If the problem is extensive (surgery for a broken leg may cost over 2200€), you can report it directly to AXA to settle up the payment.
If you need help finding a suitable hospital, ask for assistance, or need information about refunds, you can call +421 220 664 229
Keep the copies or originals of all receipts you paid at the hospital – then send them to insurance@axa-assistance.cz or claims.travel@axa-assistance.cz
b) for preventive and complex care: most medical insurance does not cover preventive care, or offers it at a high price. From 2021, AXA insurance will offer preventive care for foreign students. In this case, it would be possible to go to any specialist, dentist or gynecologist also in cases, when it is not urgent.
Site for calculating the price: https://www.axa-assistance-insurance.eu/SK/ArrangeInsurance.aspx?type=INK&externalPartner=1000530
There is an important difference in that in the case of preventive care bought from AXA, the client do not need to pay at the ambulance / urgent care. It is necessary to follow the next steps, however:
- you need to contact the client center of AXA and describe your medical problems. They will suggest a doctor or specialist to go to. if you have some specific hospital or clinic in mind, it is required to inform AXA in advance.
- After AXA and the client agree on an ambulance and hospital, AXA client care will contact the hospital and inform them about the foreigner coming to them
- Axa will also inform, that the client does not need to pay directly to hospital. If this procedure is not followed, the foreigner will be asked to pay and then ask for refund.
Important numbers
In case of medical problems, you can use the general number for calling an ambulance: 112. It is one number for calling medical assistance, police or firefighters.