ATTENTION! AS OF AUGUST 2, 2021, ONLY A COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE IS ACCEPTABLE TO OBTAIN A STUDENT VISA. IN THIS REGARD, THE INFORMATION IN THE ARTICLE IS OUTDATED AND THE PART CONCERNING THE BASIC INSURANCE IS INVALID. YOU WILL FIND THE CURRENT PRICE LIST FOR INSURANCE SERVICES ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE. 

Dani, graduate of ÚJOP 2018 

Medical Care That is Not Free of Charge 

What is insurance in general, and why do you need it? In many post-Soviet countries, where students come from for preparatory courses, citizens are provided with the so-called free medicine. Why “so-called”? Because in reality nothing is free, and healthcare in those countries is ensured by the state budget, which is replenished by citizen’s taxes. It seems to people that medicine (and education) is free, but actually it is not. 

In the Czech Republic, all residents are members of the health insurance system – they pay a certain amount every year, which is saved in one or another insurance company. The logic is simple – people do not get sick most of their lives, which means they do not need medical assistance. The money of these healthy people is hoarded – this is a big amount, so big that it can cover the expenses in case someone suddenly falls ill. Diseases are different – it can be just a runny nose, or it can be cancer treatment or some kind of complex surgery. Illness is an insured event that has to be paid for by an insurance company. You can live your whole life and never get sick – this means that your money was spent to treat other people (and to provide profit to the insurance company). But if something happens to you, even if it is something very terrible, you can be sure that all expenses will be covered.

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No Insurance – No Visa 

Health insurance for foreigners can only be undertaken by companies that have received special permission from the government of the Czech Republic. In order to obtain a visa for a year, foreigners must convince the state that if something happens to them, the cost of their treatment or (what also happens) transportation of the body to their homeland will not fall on the Czech budget. Therefore, you need an insurance that covers costs of at least 60 thousand euros. The nice thing about insurance is that you pay a relatively small amount, but at the same time, if something happens, a much bigger compensation will be provided. There is no magic, as I have already mentioned, most of the people are never going to use their insurance. And it is the large number of people who do not get sick that makes a relatively low cost of insurance and a relatively high level of coverage in case of illness possible. It is worth saying that during three years I used the insurance once, when I had some dental work done. The only consolation for me is that money I spent on insurance not only made the insurance company richer, but also helped some students, whom I don’t know and who suddenly fell ill. 

Another important thing to know is that there are two types of insurance: public (Czech: veřejné zdravotní pojištění) and commercial (Czech: komerční zdravotní pojištění). The first type of insurance is only for citizens of the Czech Republic or another EU country, foreigners with permanent residence, and foreigners, whose employer has a registration address in the Czech Republic. All of the other foreigners, including students, can only count on commercial medical insurance. Types of insurance differ in cost, coverage of medical services and some other legal implications. It makes sense that the more expensive your insurance is, the more damage it can cover. 

The cheapest insurance is usually sufficient for students to get a visa. However, you need to understand that with this type of insurance you can only get the emergency assistance (!) – you will have to pay for everything else yourself. Therefore, you are recommended to get a comprehensive insurance, which will allow you to receive not only emergency care, but also proper treatment covered by insurance. For example, students who come to study Czech language at ÚJOP courses have the opportunity to buy two more types of comprehensive insurance. “Comprehensive health insurance” for 297 euros with a maximum insurance claim of CZK 2,000,000 (75,000 euros) or “Comprehensive health insurance with extended limits” for 319 euros – the maximum insurance claim is 2,600,000 CZK (100,000 euros). Just in case, I will once again give you the link, where you can read more about this. Basically, the choice of the insurance type depends only on your budget and on the degree of certainty you want to have about whether there will be enough money if anything happens, for both the first aid and for follow-up treatment.

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