Medical assistance in the EU/EEA
You might be entitled to a refund of a proportion of your medical assistance expenses in another EU/EEA country. Go through all the steps in this guide to understand your rights and what you must do. The claim form is included in Step 6.
Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
Your rights
You can receive medical assistance abroad and be reimbursed a proportion of your expenses equivalent to what you would have received in Norway.
This applies regardless of whether you wish to visit a public health service doctor or one in private practice. If you consult a specialist, you will need a referral to be reimbursed.
As a general rule, you must be a member of the National Insurance Scheme to be eligible for reimbursement. If Helfo considers you to be residing in another EU/EEA country, you cannot receive reimbursement from Helfo for medical assistance received there.
If you are staying temporarily in another EU/EEA country and a situation arises for which you require medical assistance, you can use the European Health Insurance Card.
Example
Per stays in Spain for four months every winter. He has diabetes and, therefore, visits a doctor regularly, including when he is in Spain. He uses a surgery with Scandinavian GPs in private practice.
You must find a medical practitioner yourself
You must find a medical practitioner from which you wish to receive treatment.
The practitioner must have a permit to practice in the country in question and valid public authorisation. It is your responsibility to check that the practitioner has this.
When you apply to Helfo for reimbursement, you may be asked to document that the doctor meets the requirements. If the treatment is carried out by a medical specialist, the practitioner abroad must initially have equivalent specialist approval/authorisation.
Example
Per has ensured that the doctor he is going to visit has valid public authorisation. He knows that he might be asked to document this.
What can you be covered for?
You can only be covered for expenses for treatment that you would also be covered for in Norway. Experimental and alternative treatment is not covered.
The amount you get reimbursed is limited to what the treatment would have cost for the Public Health Service in Norway. The costs are calculated based on Norwegian public rates:
- If you have paid more than the calculated cost in Norway, the reimbursement amount will be lower than what you have paid for the healthcare.
- If you have paid less than the calculated cost in Norway, the reimbursement amount will correspond to your actual expenses.
Example
Per wants an ordinary check-up by a GP. This is a consultation that he could also have had in Norway and will, therefore, be covered.
Don't forget the documentation!
You must remember to obtain the correct documentation yourself.
When applying to Helfo for reimbursement, you need
- documentation of the examinations that have been carried out and the treatment you have received – the name of the doctor must be included in the documentation
- original itemized invoice
- original receipts for all expenses or other documentation showing that and when the expenses were paid
For Helfo to consider the claim and reach a decision, the documentation must be comprehensible. This means that all documentation must initially be in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or English. You should, therefore, try to get the documentation issued in one of these languages. If the documents are in another language, Helfo can, if necessary, ask you to have them translated. You must pay for the translation yourself. If you send in a translated document, you must also send in the original.
Example
Per ensures that he gets the necessary documentation from the doctor in Spain.
Limited reimbursement of travel expenses
You will not be reimbursed for more than you would have received if the treatment had been performed in Norway.
You may be granted reimbursement of your travel expenses corresponding to what you would have received in Norway.
In Norway, the main rule is that your travel expenses are reimbursed at a standard rate per kilometre regardless of which means of transport you use. You must travel to the geographically closest location at which the healthcare can be provided. In order to be reimbursable, your journey from home must be longer than ten kilometres each way and cost more than the local minimum fare by scheduled public transport.
Claims for travel expense reimbursements must be sent to Helfo on this claim form:
(The form is in Norwegian, but click here for an English guide with instructions for filling out the form “Reiseregningsskjema".)
Send in the claim form and necessary documentation. If your application for reimbursement from Helfo is granted, Helfo will forward your travel expenses claim to the Norwegian regional health authorities' patient-travel service (Pasientreiser).
Example
Per lives in Øyfjell. His nearest GP is in Rauland. Although Per is going abroad, he will only be entitled to expenses for the journey Øyfjell-Rauland-Øyfjell at a standard rate per kilometre. He makes sure to take care of all his travel documents.
Submit your application
When you have received the treatment, you can apply to Helfo for a refund. Applications must be submitted within six months.
You must send the application form and documentation to Helfo within 6 months of each treatment date. If you have not settled on the spot but received an invoice afterwards, we calculate the deadline from the invoice date instead of the treatment date. In this context, an invoice is the first payment request issued by your treatment provider.
For details regarding documentation requirements, see under "Don't forget the documentation".
Paper form
If you are unable to use our digital form, you can instad complete the following form and send it together with documentation to Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg:
PS: If you are completing the form on behalf of a child under 16, it is the child's details that you need to enter. But the form must be signed by the parent/guardian.
Example
Per fills out the application form and sends it together with all the relevant documentation to Helfo within six months. Per is entitled to a reimbursement in accordance with the applicable rates.
Guidance Helsenorge
If you have any questions, please call Guidance Helsenorge: +47 23 32 70 00
Exemption card
Most types of healthcare entitle the recipient to an exemption card when their total out-of-pocket payments reach a certain amount.
This also applies if the healthcare is received in an EU/EEA country.
A user fee is calculated during the processing of your reimbursement claim for treatment abroad. This user fee is reported to the user fee register, and the user fee forms the basis for an exemption card for healthcare services. If you already have an exemption card, the user fee will be paid out together with the reimbursement.
Once you have been issued an exemption card by Helfo, you will no longer have to pay user fees for the majority of health services. The exemption card applies in Norway. In other EU/EEA countries, you must pay out of pocket.
Find out more about maximum user fees and which health services are comprised by the exemption card system here.