Slovenia

In emergencies call 112 to obtain help.


Accessing care

During a temporary stay in Slovenia, you can obtain medically necessary treatment within public healthcare and from private doctors who have a contract with the Health Insurance Institution of Slovenia (Zavod za zdravstveno zavarovanje Slovenije, ZZZS) by presenting the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Medically necessary treatment refers to treatment that cannot wait for your return home. You may need such treatment in case of acute illness or accident. You can also receive treatment related to pregnancy and childbirth or to a chronic illness. The need for treatment must emerge during the course of your stay. If your illness requires regular treatment while you are temporarily staying abroad, contact the health care provider abroad in advance and agree on arranging the treatment. Treatments that need to be arranged in advance include, for example, dialysis, oxygen therapy, specialised care of asthma and chemotherapy as well as echocardiography in chronic autoimmune diseases.

You will receive treatment on the same terms as the locals by presenting your European Health Insurance Card. It is advisable to carry copies of your European Health Insurance Card with you, along with the card itself. If you didn’t have your EHIC with you or it was not accepted, and you were required to pay all the costs of treatment yourself, you might be able to apply for reimbursement from Kela retrospectively.

You can receive treatment with the European Health Insurance Card within public healthcare and from private doctors who have entered into contract with ZZZS. The ZZZS is divided into ten regional units, which you can contact if you have any questions about healthcare in Slovenia. The contact information for the main office and the regional units is available from ZZZS’s website (in English).

You receive emergency care free of charge, as Slovenia’s mandatory health insurance fully covers the costs of emergency care. In turn, the insurance only covers a part of the essential care services. Despite having a European Health Insurance Card, some of the expenses must therefore be paid by yourself. You can find more information about the costs of health care services and medicines on the ZZZS website.

Slovenian National Contact Point for cross-border healthcare has a search function on their website, where you can look for healthcare service providers according to field of specialisation and geographical region, including those healthcare providers who do not have a contract with ZZZS. The ZZZS also maintains a search engine (in Slovene) for service providers who are a part of the Slovenian public healthcare system or work in cooperation with the ZZZS.

Sudden illness

Doctor

See a general practitioner (zdravnik splošne medicine) at a health centre or a private doctor who has a contract with ZZZS. Show your European Health Insurance Card and your identity card. You can see a specialist after receiving a referral from a general practitioner.

Dentist

Dental care is available from health centres or dentists who have contracts with ZZZS. Show your European Health Insurance Card when going to the dentist.

Medication

You can get the medicines from pharmacies (lekarna) when you present the doctor’s prescription and your European Health Insurance Card. Costs of specific medicinal products are fully covered by compulsory health insurance, whereas additional payment is required for the purchase of others. You can purchase medicines at any pharmacy, which has an agreement with ZZZS. The reimbursement varies and some specific medicines are free of charge. Medicines given during hospitalization are included in the treatment and do not need to be paid for separately.

You can find more information about prescription medicines in Slovenia from ZZZS website.

Hospital treatment

A general practitioner or specialist will usually provide you with a referral for hospital care. In an emergency, you can go straight to the first aid unit (urgenca) of the nearest hospital. At the reception, show your European Health Insurance Card and your identity card. First aid is free.

You do not have to pay for ambulance transport in emergencies, when the attending physician states that the need for transport was urgent. The patient pays 90 percent of the costs of non-urgent ambulance transport.

If your illness requires you to use special transport when returning to Finland, you will be liable for the travel costs in their entirety. You are recommended to take out a travel insurance that covers these costs.

Read more about suddenly falling ill in Europe.

Read more about reimbursement of costs of treatment abroad.

Useful websites

If you want to travel to Slovenia to use healthcare services there, you should read our website for general information about seeking treatment abroad. You should direct your questions about healthcare in Slovenia to the Slovenian National Contact Point for cross-border healthcare.

Quality and safety of treatment

Doctors and dentists operating in Slovenia belong to the Slovenian Medical Association. They are required to renew their doctor’s or dentist’s licence every seven years.

The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia, the National Health Insurance Institute and the medical associations supervise the quality and safety of healthcare service providers and professionals operating in Slovenia. More information is available on the website of the Slovenian National Contact Point for cross-border healthcare.

In the event of treatment injuries, the legislation and patient insurance of the country providing the treatment is always applied. In case you are unhappy with the treatment you received, you should primarily try to sort the matter out with the treatment provider. The national contact point can help you with finding the right authority if you wish to make a complaint.

Healthcare system

Slovenia has a social health insurance system with a single public insurer, the Health Insurance Institution of Slovenia (Zavod za zdravstveno zavarovanje Slovenije, ZZZS), providing universal compulsory health insurance. ZZZS represents the interests of the people it insures in negotiations related to health service programs and their implementation. Since ZZZs is the main supplier of health services, it also plays a key role in the price formation of services.

In addition, private companies provide voluntary health insurance in Slovenia, which patient use to cover co-payments.

Most of the care is provided by state-owned health care providers (hospitals, most specialised polyclinics and highly specialised care) and municipally owned health care providers. However, the Slovenian health care system also has an increasing number of private health care providers, especially in the fields of primary care and specialised care. More than half of the country’s dental care service providers are private. If the patient uses a service provider that does not have an agreement with ZZZS, the patient pays the expenses.