Health insurance
What kind of healthcare is available in Estonia?
In Estonia you can have two types of health care systems: public and private. The public is provided by Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF; Haigekassa in Estonian) which you receive if you have an employment contract in Estonia and your employer is paying social taxes on you.
The Estonian health insurance system is a solidarity-based social insurance system. This means it provides healthcare for everyone. Estonia is quite covered by health care and treatment is equally available in all regions.
Check out the materials made by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund and the Health Board for more details (Updated 2019):
Private insurance you can get from some of these companies:
Minudoc.ee also offers online, paid consultations in English, Estonian and Russian languages – which can be a quick and easy option for simple medical advice.
Who is eligible for the Estonian health insurance?
All Estonian residents who work and whose employer pays the required social tax on them automatically get Estonian health insurance (after registering their place of residence in Estonia).
The health insurance also includes the right to receive benefits for temporary incapacity for work.
Estonia provides state health insurance for all employees who are paid at least the minimum monthly salary.
To be covered by state health insurance, your employer needs to register you in the employment register and you need an Estonian ID code. To get access to a family doctor, and for your family to be covered by health insurance, your address needs to be registered.
What if I am not eligible for the Estonian health insurance?
All people living in Estonia with a temporary residence permit must be covered by insurance during their entire stay. If you are not eligible for EHIF state insurance, you must purchase it from a private provider. ERGO and Salva are companies in Estonia.
It is also possible to purchase the health insurance from EHIF, but only if you have been insured by them for 12 months within the past 2 years or if someone else who meets this criteria buys the insurance for you.