🏥 Do I need supplementary health insurance in Croatia?

Quick answer

No — supplementary insurance is voluntary and nobody may refuse to treat you without it. Without a policy you pay the 20 % co-payment on the price of the service yourself, subject to statutory minimums: 1.32 € per doctor visit and per prescription, 4.41 € for a specialist examination, 8.83 € for specialist diagnostics and 17.70 € for every day of hospital treatment — but never more than 530.89 € on any one bill issued. The HZZO (health insurance fund) policy costs 15.00 € a month from 1 February 2026 (it was 9.29 € — the first price change in 12 years). The myth "supplementary cover is compulsory" and the myth "without it the hospital turns you away" are both false: the hospital must treat you under compulsory insurance and bill the co-payment afterwards.

📋 The rules

Supplementary health insurance is voluntary (Voluntary Health Insurance Act) — nobody may be refused treatment for not having it: compulsory insurance covers the treatment, and the supplementary policy merely pays your co-payment up to the full price of the service.
Without supplementary cover you owe 20 % of the full price of the service, but never less than the minimums in ZOZO Art. 19(3)-(4), expressed as a percentage of the budget base (441.44 € in 2025 and 2026): a visit to a doctor, dentist or gynaecologist and each prescription 0.30 % = 1.32 €; a specialist examination, day hospital included, 1 % = 4.41 €; specialist diagnostics 2 % = 8.83 €; hospital treatment 4.01 % = 17.70 € per day; dental prosthetics 40.09 % = 176.97 € (ages 18-65) or 20.04 % = 88.46 € (65+).
The ceiling: the co-payment on a single issued bill cannot exceed 120.26 % of the budget base = 530.89 € (ZOZO Art. 19(5)); these levels have applied since 1 January 2024, when the minimums rose by about 33 % and the ceiling doubled.
The premium on the HZZO policy is 15.00 € a month (180.00 € a year) from 1 February 2026, up from 9.29 € (111.49 € a year) — the first change in 12 years; HZZO allowed cancellation without consequences until 31 January 2026, and private insurers offer competing policies at market prices.
The state budget pays the premium for protected groups: people with 100 % disability, organ and tissue donors, voluntary blood donors with 35+ donations (men) or 25+ (women), full-time pupils and students over 18, and insured persons on low incomes — the income threshold from 1 January 2026: no more than 458.08 € per household member, or 573.50 € for a person living alone (2025: 421.92 / 528.23 €), adjusted annually.

🔓 Exceptions

Children under 18 do not need supplementary cover at all — ZOZO Art. 19(2) covers their entire health care at 100 %, as it does preventive care, care in pregnancy and childbirth, treatment of malignant and notifiable infectious diseases, mandatory vaccination, dialysis, transplants, emergency care and medicines on the basic list.
If you meet the conditions for a policy paid from the budget (income threshold, disability, donors, pupils and students), supplementary cover is free for you — but you still have to apply for it; it does not arrive automatically.
The 20 % co-payment and its minimums apply only to services in the basic package under HZZO rules, and the 530.89 € ceiling protects you on each individual bill — even an expensive operation cannot produce unlimited cost-sharing on a single bill.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

There is no fine — "not having supplementary cover" is not an offence. The consequence is pure financial exposure: 1.32 € per prescription and per doctor visit, 4.41-8.83 € per specialist service, 17.70 € for every day in hospital, up to 530.89 € on a single bill. The unexpected second consequence of the price rise: insured persons who had not cancelled by 31 January 2026 were moved automatically to 15 € a month and must pay the pro-rata difference — anything left unpaid is collected as debt under the policy. The arithmetic is simple: one day in hospital is roughly one monthly premium.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

Is supplementary health insurance compulsory?

It is not — the cover is voluntary, and nobody may refuse to treat you without it. Compulsory insurance covers the treatment; the supplementary policy only pays your co-payment up to the full price of the service.

How much does the HZZO supplementary policy cost?

From 1 February 2026 it is 15.00 € a month, that is 180.00 € a year — before that it was 9.29 € a month. It is the first price change in 12 years, and cancellation without consequences was possible until 31 January 2026.

How much do I pay without supplementary cover?

A 20 % co-payment on the price of the service, with minimums: 1.32 € per prescription and visit, 4.41 € for a specialist examination, 8.83 € for diagnostics, 17.70 € per day in hospital. Never more than 530.89 € on one bill.

Who is entitled to free supplementary cover?

People with 100 % disability, organ and blood donors (35+ or 25+ donations), full-time pupils and students over 18, and insured persons below the income threshold. From 1 January 2026 the threshold is 458.08 € per household member, or 573.50 € for a person living alone.

Does a child need supplementary insurance?

No — for children under 18 the entire health care is covered at 100 % (ZOZO Art. 19(2)), so there is no co-payment. The same goes for preventive care, pregnancy and childbirth, and mandatory vaccination.

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