Public Health Insurance (veřejné zdravotní pojištění)

Czech health care is financed by compulsory public health insurance. Everyone with permanent residence in the Czech Republic is insured by law, foreigners included, unless they fall under another EU/EEA country's, Switzerland's or the UK's system or under a social security agreement. Foreigners without permanent residence are in the public system mainly if they work for an employer based in the Czech Republic; otherwise they need commercial health insurance. Insurance is run by the General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna, VZP) and six other health insurance companies; each person is insured with only one.

Contributions (2026)

• The contribution is 13.5% of gross pay. For employees, one third (4.5%) is deducted from salary and the employer pays two thirds. There is a minimum: the monthly contribution for employees who must meet it is CZK 3,024 (13.5% of the minimum wage).
• People without taxable income (OBZP) pay CZK 3,024 a month themselves, due by the 8th of the following month. The same amount is paid by parents for children of foreigners with long-term residence.
• Self-employed people pay monthly advances of at least CZK 3,306 (2026).
• The State pays for "state-insured" people such as pensioners, students and people caring for small children (CZK 2,188 a month per person in 2026).
• Since January 2026 health insurers no longer accept cash: pay by transfer, card or QR code.

Choosing an insurer and a doctor

• You may choose your insurer freely and change once every 12 months, always from 1 January or 1 July. Submit the application to the new insurer at least 3 months before the change.
• A newborn is automatically insured with the mother's insurer from the day of birth.
• Your main contacts are registering doctors (registrující lékař): a general practitioner, a paediatrician for children, a dentist and, for women, a gynaecologist. You sign a registration form with each; you can change to another doctor after at least 3 months.
• A regulatory fee of CZK 90 applies to each visit to an out-of-hours emergency service (lékařská pohotovostní služba), unless you are admitted to hospital.

Agreements with other countries

Within the EU, EEA and Switzerland, EU coordination rules decide which country insures you. The Czech Republic also has agreements under which people working in the Czech Republic from countries such as the USA, Japan, Turkey, Serbia, Albania, Mongolia and Bosnia and Herzegovina join the Czech system. They must then leave their home country's insurance.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• Sickness insurance is not health insurance. Sick pay (nemocenské) comes from ČSSZ; your health insurer only pays for care.
• If your job ends and nobody else (an employer or the State) pays for you, you count as a person without taxable income (OBZP) and must pay the monthly contribution yourself. Unpaid months create debts with penalties.
• If you have a child while you hold long-term (not permanent) residence, notify the health insurer within 8 days of the birth, and pay the child's contribution every month.
• Changing insurer requires good timing: an application sent too late only takes effect at the next half-year.

Official guidance: VZP: health insurance of foreigners, VZP: payments in 2026, VZP: free choice of insurer, Ministry of Health: regulatory fees