Self-employed people can receive a test for Covid-19.How to apply for him?

When do the self-employed have to take a test?

From April 6, 2021, antigen testing for covid-19 is mandatory for self-employed persons and self-employed persons performing their main self-employment. in the course of their work, they meet third parties (with the exception of persons in the same household). Tests must not be older than 7 days. They are therefore performed once a week.

What tests can be used?

For self-testing, you can only use tests that have been exempted by the Ministry of Health or authorized by the State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL). Health insurance companies will not pay for tests other than those from this list. The list of tests should be gradually updated and expanded. Tests should be available in a regular business network, e-shops or pharmacies.

You can also buy tests abroad. To receive a contribution to them, you must provide a tax document and recalculate the price according to the applicable CNB exchange rate on the day of purchase. Even in this case, it must be test sets for which an exception is granted.

List of tests with exception granted

Common application of all health insurance companies, where you can request a contribution for tests

What is the amount of the contribution from the insurance company?

The contribution from the public health insurance is CZK 60 for one test, while the state reimburses you for a maximum of 4 tests per month, i.e. a total of CZK 240. If you will be tested more often than once a week, it is possible, but you will pay for the extra tests entirely out of your own pocket.

How and when to apply for a contribution?

The contribution is paid from the prevention funds of health insurance companies. It is requested retroactively for the previous month. At the end of each month of testing, you will bill the health insurance company. You will therefore be able to apply for a contribution for tests carried out in April from 1 May. The application is always submitted no later than the last day of the following month.

The request for a contribution and the reporting of tests takes place through the common application of all health insurance companies. You have to register for it. To do this, you need the activation code that health insurance companies started sending to data boxes in March. If you did not receive the code, you can request it to be sent to your data mailbox via the online form.

If you do not have a data box and do not plan to purchase one, your health insurance company should provide you with an authorization code. For example, if you are insured with VZP, you can find your authorization code in the My VZP application. At the Health Insurance Company of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, you can find the activation code in the E-communication application, or you can pick it up at the client center.

What you will need when applying for a grant

To apply for a grant, you must provide a tax receipt for the purchased tests and a record of the tests performed. You will also state in the application:

How are performed tests reported

If you purchase more tests in one month than you can report within one month, you report it by first uploading an invoice for the purchased tests and then reporting the performed tests on a monthly basis. In other words, even if you have an invoice on the basis of which you report the performed tests for e.g. the next 4 months, you upload it only once. As part of reporting tests and providing contributions for them, the limit of purchased tests will be continuously checked according to the uploaded documents, said VZP spokesman Milan Řepka.

How and when will the contribution be reimbursed?

The health insurance company will pay you the contribution to the bank account specified in the application for the contribution. The deadline for processing is 30 days from the date of delivery of the application.

The contribution is not legally binding. For reasons of public interest, an exception to the otherwise valid general conditions for drawing a contribution from the prevention fund is allowed for the drawing of a contribution under this program, which means that companies doing business in the Czech Republic and self-employed persons in this case may have a registered debt on insurance premiums from the point of view of health insurance payments insurance.

When you don't need to get tested

There are a few exceptions where you don't need to get tested. The obligation does not apply if you have experienced laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease, your isolation period has expired, you no longer have symptoms and no more than 90 days have passed since the first positive test. You must prove it with a medical report.

Furthermore, it is not performed on persons who provide evidence of a negative result of an RT-PCR test or a professionally performed POC antigen test.

The exception will also apply to you if you are already vaccinated, if 14 days have passed since the second dose (or from the first, if it is a single-dose vaccination). However, you must have a certificate issued by the Ministry of Health and you must not have symptoms of the disease.

You also do not need to be tested if you work in a home office and do not meet third parties - with the exception of people in the same household.