How to prove you have health insurance in Poland
As in nearly every developed country in the world, most people who are living and working in Poland are entitled to healthcare sponsored by the state, and many hospitals are funded by the Polish government.
If you find yourself going to a Polish hospital and have health insurance, here’s how you can prove it to them:
If you are legally employed in Poland
You probably have insurance through NFZ, the Polish national health fund. Request an RMUA form (or your employer may give you a new one each month), an employment contract, or an insurance card from your employer.
If you have your own business in Poland (or registered voluntarily for public insurance)
Request an RMUA document from the ZUS office where you registered, or a ZUA document along with proof of payment for the previous month. Uwaga! Many of these documents are only valid for 30 days.
If your immediate family is legally employed in Poland
This applies to children under 18 (or under 26 if they’re studying), spouses, and live-in parents of people working in Poland or who voluntarily registered for public insurance. First, the person working has to submit your information to their employer and say that they want you to be included in their plan. The hospital requires confirmation from the employer, or a recent RMUA document of the insured person plus ZUS ZCNA (if the registration took place before 1 July 2008) or ZUS ZCZA (if the registration took place after then).
If you study in Poland
If you’re 26 or younger, you should have health insurance from your university, and they will be able to provide you with proof.
If you have private health insurance in Poland
Your health insurance provider should provide you with proof.
If you’re from an EU or EFTA country who provides you health insurance
Bring your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
If you’re a refugee
Bring proof of your refugee status in Poland.
Other forms of insurance
It depends on what you have. Bring proof if you can, and get in touch with your insurance provider when you get a chance.
If you don’t have health insurance
The hospital is still legally required to treat your emergency, and you may be able to speak with the hospital administration about setting up a payment plan afterward.
As the wife of a former Krakow Post writer, I can say that if you think that by upping your US plan will get you covered here. think again. My husband spent four months in intensive care in Krakow hospitals, and although our US plan claimed that they would cover emergencies, nine months after his death in a Polish hospital, the Polish government has managed to take every single grosz out of my bank account, and is threatening me with all kinds of legal action still. Buy Polish or European insurance so that you know that you are definitely covered – Polish hospitals aren’t going to do what they are supposed to do to get reimbursed for their coverage – and then the Polish legal system will get involved, sadly.
HI Krakow,
Many of the employers that are still offering health insurance are doing it in a different way than they used to: Employers are canceling their group plans and choosing to reimburse all or part of their employees’ individual plan’s premiums. There are a couple of reasons why this is a smart option.
Thanks.