Problems with health insurance after returning from abroad

With a few exceptions, which we will not discuss today, it is not possible to be health insured in two or more countries at the same time. You will be the payer of the health insurance in the country in which you perform a gainful activity, on the basis of which the health insurance is also to be paid.

Exemption from the public health insurance system

Czech public health insurance essentially functions as a tax, paying which the taxpayer is entitled to "free" health care, which is paid for by his health insurance company. At their insurance company, everyone is listed in one of four categories according to the purpose of health insurance payments - employee, self-employed, OBZP or state insured.

You can apply for an exemption from this system if you are going to work outside the Czech Republic and therefore become insured in another country. You can opt out if your stay abroad will last at least 6 months (long-term stay) and the insurance will last the whole time abroad.

According to European regulations in EU countries, however, everyone who will be a participant in health insurance abroad based on gainful activity, even for a shorter period of time, must opt ​​out anyway, as concurrent insurance is not possible with exceptions. The provisions on long-term residence will therefore not apply to them. This also applies to paid stays in the USA, Japan and Israel.

How to be exempted from Czech health insurance due to work abroad?

In order to be exempted from the Czech public health insurance system, you must deliver to the branch of your insurance company the Declaration on long-term stay of the insured person abroad and submit EHIC.

In practice, however, situations may arise when the insured did not comply with their obligations or were unable to provide the relevant documents. Let's take a look together at how health insurance companies deal with such situations and what awaits you for a misdemeanor.

Read also: How to opt out of health insurance payment

Source: Depositphotos

When will you have to pay additional health insurance after returning from abroad?

1. When you forgot to opt out of health insurance?

It doesn't matter if you forgot to opt out at the insurance company before you left. You can also deregister from abroad by means of a short application, no later than 8 days after the start of gainful activity. However, you will still need to return the EHIC and ideally send the insurance company a document proving that you are becoming a participant in health insurance in another country. For this, you can use, for example, proof of participation in insurance, but also an employment contract or a payslip.

However, if you realize that you have not been removed from the Czech system until later, unfortunately the problem already begins. Logging out is an obligation. However, you did not do so, but in essence you remained insured in the Czech Republic, but did not pay for the insurance. In this case, the health insurance company will ask you to pay the premium for all the months you spent abroad.

However, if you present proof that you were insured abroad and did not use the covered services of your Czech insurance company in any way, you will not be charged a penalty.

Read also: How to change health insurance company

2. If you do not have proof of health insurance abroad

When you return from abroad, you must report to the health insurance company again and provide proof that you were health insured abroad. It must also contain information about how long the insurance lasted.

If you do not submit the insurance, you will again be looked at as if the de-registration did not take place at all and the insurance will therefore have to be paid extra. The same applies even if you have a document, but the duration of participation does not cover the entire period of your gainful stay abroad, or participation for each month did not last for the entire calendar month. However, the penalty will not be enforced here.

Also read: How to find out your health insurance debt

3. If you returned earlier than after 6 months

This can also happen. If you went abroad to earn money, you duly deregistered, but you returned prematurely and the duration of your stay was shorter than 6 months, the statutory provisions on long-term residence cannot be applied to you. And unfortunately, in your case, you will also have to pay additional premiums for the time you were away.

You will have to pay the premium in the amount that is valid in the given year for persons without taxable income, OBZP. Their monthly premium payment in 2021 is CZK 2,052. In this case, you are also subject to any penalty. This is set at 0.5% of the amount owed for each calendar day on which it was due.