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How does Private Health insurance work in Portugal?
Offering private health insurance is not mandatory in Portugal, but it has become a common perk for qualified jobs. Here is all you need to know about costs and coverage.
Right behind a good salary, health insurance is one of the employee benefits that is most appreciated by the Portuguese workforce, allowing them to access a range of covers at lower prices than those found in the individual insurance market.
As a company, am I obliged to offer Private Health Insurance to my employees?
No, you are not, as it is not a mandatory benefit.
If you are using our Employer of Record Services, you will be able to decide whether to offer it and on which terms. Private Health Insurance is a highly valued benefit, read further for additional details on the public health system in Portugal and how private health insurance can be useful.
Labour Insurance vs Private Health Insurance
Employers are required to have workers' compensation insurance or labour insurance, which offers protection to employees in case of work-related accidents. This is also mandatory for remote workers. If you use our Employer of Record Services, BRIDGE IN deals with adding your employees to our labour insurance coverage.
Private health insurance, on the contrary, can cover any type of illness and it is provided to workers as an employee benefit.
Portugal has an extensive tax-funded public healthcare system, run by the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS), which all residents can benefit from. Most essential medical services and treatments are available free of charge under SNS, while non-essential ones require a small co-payment. While the public healthcare system in Portugal is deemed one of the best in Europe, it is often overburdened and understaffed, causing long waiting times. Therefore, having private health insurance comes in handy to avoid long lines while still having a high-quality medical service.
Private Health Insurance
The majority of health insurance plans give you access to an extensive network of hospitals, doctors and exam centres. The level of consultation and treatment coverage varies according to the insurance cost and based on the provider.
Most insurances are mixed, that is, they combine a model of reimbursement and payment reduction or exemption, although it is possible to negotiate simplified versions. Under the reimbursement component, the insured person may resort to any health care provider of his choice and be reimbursed by the insurer for part of the expense, in the percentage set out in the policy. When opting for consultation or treatments in the insurer network, on the contrary, the insured person only pays a part of the expense at the time the medical procedure is carried out. The insurer subsequently pays the service directly to the provider.
The benefits of offering private health insurance to employees in Portugal are multiple:
- It is tax-exempt, as long as it is offered to all workers and with the same coverage
- It is highly valued by employees and therefore can be very useful when hiring new employees
- Employees can add family members to their coverage, at their own expense
If you wish to know more about employee benefits in Portugal, please read this guide.