Health Payment Center

The amount of medical assistance guaranteed by the State in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Cabinet shall be provided to citizens of Latvia, non-citizens, EU persons who are employed or self-employed in Latvia and their family’s members, refugees as well as to persons detained, arrested and sentenced with deprivation of liberty.

The tasks of health insurance in Latvia are to cover the costs of health services provided to insured persons, to prevent and cure diseases, to finance the certain part of medicines and medical products.

Health insurance is organized by the Health Compulsory Insurance State Agency, hereinafter Agency (in Latvian - Veselības obligātās apdrošināšanas valsts aģentūra or VOAVA), and its five territorial departments. Agency performs the functions of the liaison body as well as the competent institution and the institution of place of stay or residence in terms of EU regulations.

There is no refund system in Latvia. If the health service provider has a contract with the Agency, all costs incurred are directly reimbursed by the Agency. The patient should pay only the amount of own contribution – the patient fee.

Sickness fund participant - a physical person, who has identity code and who is registered or has rights to be registered with the Register of inhabitants and who is registered with the Register of sickness fund participants or has rights to be registered with the Register of sickness fund participants.

Register for sickness fund participants - data basis of sickness fund participants registered with sickness fund, which summarizes information about every primary health care physician working in this system and sickness fund participants registered with him. The register follows to patient flow and provides distribution of resources in accordance with the territory, where every inhabitant is registered. The Central base of the register is located in the Agency and all determined demands for protection of data of physical persons refer to it.

Medical institution - by the conception of medical law medical institutions are: hospitals, rehabilitation institutions, branch hospitals, specialized centers, emergency medical care institutions, dispensaries, out-patient clinics, first aid posts, special therapy cabinets, clinics of medical institutions of higher education, institutes, as well as laboratories of functional, morphological, hematological, biochemical, microbiological and other diagnostically examinations, coronary and forsenic medicine examination laboratories, physician practices.

Contracting organizations of the Agency - medical institutions and pharmacies that have concluded contracts about provision of definite health care services for inhabitants from the state compulsory health insurance resources.

 Back  Top  Home