Providing Urgent Medical Care to foreign citizens
during their temporary stay in Serbia


Foreign citizens, as well as Serbian citizens who live and work abroad, are entitled to receive urgent medical care.

Citizens of the countries with which Serbia has concluded an international agreement on health insurance receive urgent medical care in Serbia on the basis of health insurance certificate issued in their home countries. Foreign citizens exercise their right to urgent medical care based on certain forms (if such have been prescribed), European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or on the basis of a document proving their insurance coverage in their home country.

Citizens of the following countries exercise their right to urgent medical care on the basis of a prescribed form: Belgium (Certificate BE/SRB 111), Netherlands (Certificate N/Y-111), Italy (Certificate: IT-7), France (Certificate: SE 21-05 SRB/FR 111), Montenegro (Certificate MNE/SRB-111), Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH/SRB-111), Macedonia (certificate: RM/SRB 111), Romania (certificate: Y/R 11), Tunisia (TN/SRB 111) and Turkey (TR/SRB 111).

Citizens of the following countries exercise their right to urgent medical care based on the European Health Insurance Card: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Luxembourg,Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

Citizens of Poland and Great Britain exercise their right to urgent medical care based on the certificate of insurance issued in their home country.

In case citizens of the above countries do not have a necessary certificate with them, there is a possibility of providing them with urgent medical care and the certificate is to be requested from their home country insurance organization subsequently.

Foreign citizens who are chronic or acute patients (undergoing dialysis or insulin treatments) need special certificates in view of receiving adequate medical services free of charge in Serbia.

Citizens of the countries with which Serbia has not concluded an international agreement on health insurance pay for urgent medical services received during their temporary stay in Serbia. Upon return to their home country, they may be reimbursed the said amounts by their insurance companies.

Supervisory Board

The Supervisory Board is composed of insurees’ representatives as well. The Supervisory Board consists of seven members, three members of which are the representatives of employed insurees, one representative of insured pensioners, insured farmers and self-employed insurees each, and one employee in the National Health Insurance Fund, and/or in a branch office or in the Provincial Health Insurance Fund.

Members of the Supervisory Board are appointed and dismissed by the Government, upon proposal of:
trade unions organized at the national level in accordance with the law governing labour relations - for representatives of employed insurees;

pensioners' associations organized at the national level with more than 50.000 registered members – for representatives of insured pensioners;

farmers' associations organized at the national level with more than 50.000 registered members - for representatives of insured farmers;

Serbian Chamber of Commerce - for representatives of self-employed insurees

Director General of the Health Insurance Fund for representatives of employees in the National Health Insurance Fund, and/or in a branch office or in the Provincial Health Insurance Fund.

The Supervisory Board files a report on performed supervision to the Management Board and Government, at least on the annual basis.

The Government appoints and dismisses the Chairman of the Supervisory Board the members of the Supervisory Board.

The Chairman and the members of the Supervisory Board are appointed for the period of four years.

The Supervisory Board:

1)    Supervises financial affairs of the National Health Insurance Fund;
2)    Supervises financial operations of the branches;
3)    Monitors the enforcement of legal obligations of the National Health Insurance Fund, branches and the Provincial Fund;
4)    Monitors the enforcement of the decisions adopted by the Management Board;
5)    Performs other duties in accordance with the law and the Fund’s Articles of Association.

Supervisory Board of National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Serbia:

Milan Grubišić, BSc. econ., from Belgrade, Chairman

Members:

1. Saša Nedović, attorney at law from Belgrade,
2. Zoran Dmitrović, BSc. econ., from Belgrade, representative of insured employees,
3. Dragica Lučev, pensioner from Subotica, representative of insured pensioners,
4. Dragan Marjanović, BSc. econ., from Belgrade, representative of insured employees.

Management Board

The Management Board of the National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Serbia is composed of seven members appointed to and relieved of office by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, as follows:

1) Four members, upon motion of the Minister of Health;

2) One member – representative of employed insures, upon motion of representative trade union organizations at the national level, in accordance with the Law governing labour;

3) One member – representative of pensioners, upon motion of the pensioners' association organized at the national level counting more than 50.000 registered members;

4) One member – representative of insured farmers, upon motion of the farmers' association organized at the national level counting more than 50.000 registered members;

Members of the Management Board represent the interests of insurees, and/or insured persons in the enforcement of the rights under compulsory health insurance scheme and in accordance with the Law.

The Management Board submits the report on its work to the Government, no later than by 31 March of the current year for the previous year. The Government appoints and dismisses the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Management Board from the members of the Board. Chairman, Vice Chairman and members of the Board are appointed for the period of four years.

The Management Board:

1)    Adopts the Articles of Association and other general deeds of the National Health Insurance Fund;

2)    Adopts decisions on the operations of the National Fund and other issues relevant to the operation of the NHIF;

3)    Adopt the financial plan and final statement of accounts of the National Health Insurance Fund;

4)    Reviews and adopts the Operating Report;

5)    Conducts a public competition for the appointment of the Director General of the National Health Insurance Fund and appoints the Director General of the National Health Insurance Fund, subject to prior approval of the Government;

6)    Conducts a public competition for the appointment of the Deputy Director General of the National Health Insurance Fund and appoints the Deputy Director General of the National Health Fund, subject to prior approval of the Government;

7)    Appoints the Director of the Provincial Health Insurance Fund upon recommendation of the competent authority of the autonomous province;

8)    Establishes Standing Committees, as follows: Central Expert Committee for Medicinal Products and expert subcommittees for medicines for areas defined by the ATC classification of medicines, Pharmacoeconomics Committee,
Committee for Use of Healthcare Abroad and Referral of Patients to Medical Treatments Abroad and appoints their members;

9)    Establishes other committees as appropriate and appoints their members;

10) Adopts decisions on the management and use of movable and immovable property of the National Health Insurance Fund;

11) Performs other duties in accordance with the law and Articles of Association.

MANAGEMENT BOARD of the National Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Serbia:

1. Vanja Mandić, BSc. econ. From Belgrade, Chairman

2. Aleksandra Potparević, BA in law, Vice-Chairman

Members:

1. Sveta Kesić, BSc. econ. From Belgrade

2. Phd Živko Kulić, Dean of Faculty of Law, Public Administration and Safety, Megatrend University, representative of insurees (appointed)

3. Olga Alizadeh, farmer from Inđija, representative of insured farmers

 

 

Branch and sub-branch offices

NHIF branch office conducts the following activities:

•    implements compulsory health insurance within its territory;
•    plans needs of insured persons in its territory and develops activity plans in accordance with available financial resources and the financial plan of the National Health Insurance Fund;
•    disposes of transferred funds for the enforcement of compulsory health insurance for insured persons in its territory, in accordance with the law;
•    ensures the exercise of health insurance rights if insured persons in its territory, in accordance with the law and regulations adopted for the law enforcement;
•    enters into contracts with health care providers;
•    organizes and controls contractual obligations of healthcare providers, to protect the rights of insured persons;
•    provides legal, purposeful and economical use of the transferred funds of compulsory health insurance in its territory;
•    keeps master records of insured persons with the information necessary for the enforcement of compulsory health insurance for securing and controlling the exercise of health insurance rights;
•    exercises control of registration/deregistration for insurance, change of insurance, as well as control of all data relevant to acquisition, exercise and termination of rights;
•    keep records and monitors the collection of contributions with the competent authorities, exchanges information with the competent authorities regarding health insurance contributions, as well as other information related to contributions;
•    provides necessary technical assistance to insured persons in connection with the enforcement of compulsory health insurance and protection of their interests;
•    performs certain tasks in the implementation of international agreements on health insurance;
•    provides working conditions for the first-instance and second-instance medical committees in its territory, in accordance with the deeds of the National Health Insurance Fund;
•    conducts activities related to indemnification procedures in the enforcement of the compulsory health insurance;
•    perform certain activities of voluntary health insurance;
•    calculates, controls and makes payment of salaries and other cash proceeds under health insurance coverage and keeps proper records;
•    controls enforcement of rights under compulsory health insurance coverage.

Provincial Health Insurance Fund

Provincial Health Insurance Fund is the organizational unit of the National Health Insurance in charge of:

  • coordination of the activities of branch offices established in the territory of the autonomous province in accordance with the law;
  • control of branch offices' operations and appropriate use of funds which the National Health Insurance Fund transfers to branch offices for the exercise of rights under compulsory health insurance scheme in the territory of the Autonomous Province;
  • control of contracts between branch offices and healthcare providers, in the territory of the Autonomous Province;
  • deliberates on health insurance rights in the second-instance procedures in accordance with the law;
  • provision of the necessary technical assistance to insured persons in connection with the enforcement of compulsory health insurance and the protection of their interests;
  • ensuring the conditions for operation of medical committees established in the territory of the autonomous province, in accordance with the law;
  • provision of the information subsystem, as part of the integrated information system of the Republic of Serbia in the area of health insurance, in accordance with the law;
  • performance of statistical and other research in the area of health insurance;
  • cooperation with the competent provincial authorities;
  • performance of other duties as prescribed under the Articles of Association;
  • submission of activity reports on 6-month and 12-months basis to the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund.

The seat of the Provincial Health Insurance Fund is in Novi Sad, 3 Žitni trg St.

Republic Fund of Health Insurance
Jovana Marinovića 2
11040 Belgrade
Telephone: +381 11 2053830
Fax: +381 11 2645042; +381 11 2688420
e-mail: public@rfzo.rs