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Do you have statutory health insurance in Greece and due to an accident or sudden illness you urgently need to consult a doctor, buy medicines or be hospitalized in a non-EU country? Your national statutory health insurance may reimburse your medical expenses.
In the event that you are traveling to a non-EU country for holidays or business and you need urgent medical care as a result of an accident or a sudden illness, the costs relating to primary health care (ambulatory care) are initially paid by you. You may claim reimbursement of the total or part of the cost by the competent statutory health insurance back home provided that the health services you received are included in the health benefits you are entitled to in Greece.
Primary health care can involve a medical visit, diagnostic tests, medicines, purchase of medical devices, etc. For the majority of insured persons, the Greek statutory health insurance reimburses the relevant expenses based on state tariffs, conditions and co-payment rates provided in the EKPY (Unified Regulation of Health Benefits – Government Gazette 4898/B’/2018), without the reimbursed amount exceeding the actual costs of the health care the patient paid.
In the event that you are traveling to a non-EU country for holidays or business and you need urgent inpatient hospital care as a result of an accident or sudden illness, you should contact your Greek statutory health insurance as soon as possible to be informed about rights to reimbursement of costs, co-payment rates and supporting documentation you need to submit. Generally, inpatient hospital costs are reimbursed according to the submitted hospital invoices with a 10% co-payment by the insured person, regardless of type of treatment.
You should know that if the intention of travelling abroad is to receive healthcare, that is considered planned healthcare and always requires prior authorization from your Greek statutory health insurance.
