Health Insurance and Healthcare in Portugal Explained

Jump right in:

• How Healthcare Works in Portugal
• What are the Pros and Cons of the Portuguese Healthcare System?
• An Overview of Private Health insurance
• How to Find a Doctor or Dentist?
• Giving Birth in Portugal

How does healthcare work in Portugal?

Portugal’s healthcare system is considered one of the best in Europe, ranking 12th among 35 countries in the Euro Health Consumer Index. Portugal’s indications of good healthcare include high vaccination rates and high life expectancy. In this section, we cover some facts about healthcare in Portugal, costs you can expect, as well as pros and cons of the public healthcare system.

Facts about healthcare in Portugal

• Portugal has both public and private medical healthcare. Hospitals, medical centers, and other institutions are usually either public or private — not both. • Life expectancy in Portugal is around 81.1 years (slightly below the EU average of 81.5 years). • The Portuguese government spends less on public healthcare than other European countries, and out-of-pocket expenses have been increasing. • Smoking, drinking, and obesity are the biggest causes of health issues in Portugal. • Cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the most worrisome health concerns in the country.

Portugal’s healthcare system explained

How does healthcare work in Portugal? Portugal has a mixed healthcare system, with both public and private services. Public healthcare is managed by Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS), the Portuguese national healthcare system. To enjoy your right to state medical services, you must first be registered with your local council (junta de freguesia). Here you must request proof of address if needed, as some healthcare centers require it for your registration with the local healthcare center, centro de saúde. Bring your residence card (título de residência), and other documents such as a work visa or student visa may also be required depending on your situation.

After registering with the health center, you will be given your healthcare number, -número de utente_. You will need to show this number whenever accessing public healthcare services.

Does Portugal have free public healthcare?

Yes, Portugal does have state-provided healthcare, which is subsidized for all citizens and legal residents in Portugal.

Public healthcare in Portugal covers most medical procedures, with the exception of dental care, cosmetic surgery, and some specialized treatments. This includes preventive care, diagnosis, and treatment of both emergency and nonurgent conditions. You’ll find a number of public hospitals throughout the country. Each municipality is also covered by local health centers, which provide primary medical care.

Being assigned a doctor and getting medicine

When you register with your local health center, centro de saúde, you are appointed a family doctor, if the center has capacity to assign you one (otherwise, you are put on the waiting list for one). In busier centers, you’ll have to see whichever doctor is available.

In general, you can rely on your family doctor to be your first point of contact with the public healthcare system, such as when you need referrals for specialists or other special exams.

If you need medication, you can get it at a pharmacy or farmácia. These are available throughout the country. Some medication may only be purchased with a prescription from a doctor. These can be state-subsidized, which means you would only pay a percentage of the full cost.

Healthcare costs in Portugal

Even though medical care is mainly free, you may have to pay some fees when visiting emergency rooms, your family doctor, or requesting ambulance services. These will typically range from 5 to 20 EUR (6–24 USD).

As for some costs with complementary diagnostics and exams, you would need to pay a percentage attributed by the SNS, which is different for each procedure. The maximum amount you would need to pay for an exam is 25 EUR (approx. 30 USD). You can deduct 15% of eligible health expenses when filing your taxes, up to a maximum of 1,000 EUR (approx. 1,200 USD) per household, or 500 EUR (approx. 600 USD) per person if filing separately.

What are the pros and cons of the Portuguese healthcare system?

Pros

• It’s mostly free. Expenses with public medical care are usually between 5 and 20 EUR (approx. 6–24 USD), so you should not be burdened with heavy costs if you rely on state healthcare. • The Portuguese medical staff is highly qualified and public hospitals in bigger cities are well equipped with state-of-the-art resources and medical equipment.

Cons

• There are long waiting lists for elective procedures in the public sector. • Emergency rooms tend to be packed and it might take a few hours to be seen by a doctor. • Portugal has a shortage of nurses compared to doctors, which is particularly felt in cases of national strikes.

An overview of private health insurance

If the cons of public healthcare are too much of a downside for you, you might want to learn how health insurance works in case you decide to take out private insurance.

Do you need private health insurance in Portugal?

The short answer is, it depends. You can perfectly rely on public healthcare to cover most of your medical needs and you can fully rely on emergency care in life-threatening circumstances. However, for some nonurgent procedures, your medical needs might not be met as quickly as you may want.

Wait times are a serious concern in Portugal. This is why many Portuguese citizens and residents choose to take out private health insurance. It helps reduce waiting periods for elective treatments and provides access to services that are not fully covered by the public system.

Types of private health insurance plans

Private insurers can offer a range of insurance plans, from the most basic coverage to all-encompassing. In general, you should opt for an insurance plan that best fits your medical needs. Hospitalization and surgery are the basic features of private health insurance coverage in Portugal. You can add some extras depending on your specific medical needs including:

• ambulatory services: doctor’s appointments, appointments with specialists, exams and tests, even physical therapy • childbirth • dentistry

Some health plans may even include ophthalmology, prosthetics, and other special medical needs and treatments. You can add several people to the same insurance plan, meaning your entire family could be covered by the same insurer.

What does private insurance cover?

Private insurance plans in Portugal usually work with co-payments, where the patient covers part of the cost and the insurer pays the remaining amount. This means that you will typically share the cost of consultations, exams, or surgeries based on the terms of your policy.

Keep in mind that most insurers apply waiting periods from the time you purchase the insurance plan to the time you can take advantage of certain benefits. These waiting periods range from 30 to 90 days for consultations and exams, and up to 365 days for procedures such as childbirth and certain surgeries.

How to get private health insurance in Portugal

Once you know which health plan is right for you, based on your medical needs and budget, you simply need to contact the local insurer. You might have to provide them with some information about your medical history. The process is done entirely via phone or email.

Remember that some job contracts may include private health insurance as part of their benefits package. Check with your employer before taking out private insurance, to avoid paying for something you may already have.

Average cost of private health insurance in Portugal

How much is health insurance? Private insurance in Portugal is generally considered affordable, depending on the plan and personal circumstances. This could cost between 20 and 150 EUR (approx. 25–175 USD) a month, depending on your age, the coverage included in the plan, and the insurer. This means you can pay anywhere between 240 EUR (280 USD) a year for a basic plan and 1,800 EUR (approx. 2,100 USD) yearly for more comprehensive coverage. Costs with your insurance may also depend on your preferred method of payment.

You can choose to have a network of service providers to which you can go. This means whenever you need medical treatment you may only rely on hospitals, clinics, or doctors with which your insurer has an agreement. For this type of insurance, you would typically pay monthly, biannually, or annually. Alternatively, you can choose to be reimbursed by your insurer after you have paid medical costs out of pocket. You may also have a mix of both payment services.

How to find a doctor or dentist

It’s a good idea to know how you can find a doctor or dentist in Portugal before you are actually in need of one.

How to find a family doctor

In Portugal, you’re usually assigned a family doctor when you register with your local health center, or centro de saúde, but in some cases, you may be able to choose one from the available doctors at that unit. To register, you’ll need to visit your local centro de saúde with your citizen card and tax number (NIF), or another valid proof of residence if you’re a legal resident.

Some family doctors also work privately and accept health insurance. If you have a comprehensive private plan, you can usually choose your own doctor or specialist from the insurer’s network — or even outside it, depending on your coverage.

Keep in mind that in bigger cities in the country, family doctors may be fully booked and thus unable to take more patients. In these cases, you will be put on a waiting list and will be treated by whichever doctor is available.

How to find a specialist

If you need to see a specialist, doing so with the public healthcare system requires visiting your family doctor first. Your doctor will then refer you to a specialist, typically at a public hospital, a process which can take months. This doctor referral usually relies on doctors’ availability, and while you cannot freely choose your specialist, you may request a change within the same hospital depending on availability and medical criteria.

On the other hand, if you have private insurance, you have several options. You can do an online search to look for doctors based on their resume or location, ask for recommendations, or make an appointment directly with a private hospital or clinic with the next available doctor. If your insurer works with a network of medical providers, you need to look for doctors in your network to benefit from the reduced prices that come with having insurance.

How to find a dentist

You can find dentists throughout the country. To find a dentist near you, you can look for dentistas or clínicas dentárias online to see what is available in your area. It’s a good idea to ask locals for recommendations as their input of either positive or negative experiences may be key to choosing one practice over another.

Average waiting time to see a doctor in Portugal

The average waiting time for a first consultation in the public healthcare system varies depending on the specialty, priority level, and type of service, and may range from a few days to several months. For some specialties like ophthalmology, allergology, or rheumatology, waiting times can exceed 200 days. There are cases of patients who must wait more than three years for an appointment.

The SNS provides a website where you can see the average waiting times per hospital or health unit. In hospitals, legally established maximum waiting times range from 30 to 120 days for first specialist consultations, depending on clinical priority. For surgical procedures, the waiting period can range from 15 to 180 days, also based on medical urgency.

Giving birth in Portugal

Expecting a baby in Portugal? Here you’ll find what to expect from maternity care — from prenatal appointments to giving birth and postnatal support. This section also explains maternity benefits and how residency or citizenship works for babies born in Portugal.

Having a baby in Portugal as a foreigner

Giving birth in Portugal as a foreigner is no different than for nationals, as long as you hold a valid residence permit. Having a baby as a permanent resident generally entitles you to the same healthcare rights as citizens, although access to certain financial benefits may depend on other eligibility conditions.

If you don’t have a residence permit but have been living in Portugal for more than 90 days and can present a residency certificate from your local council, you are entitled to free maternity care through the SNS.

As a legal resident, you are entitled to free maternity appointments. Both mothers and fathers may be excused from work to attend these appointments.

Costs of having a baby in Portugal

As long as you have lived in Portugal for more than 90 days and can provide proof of residence, having a baby comes with no cost. You are entitled to free appointments with an OB-GYN throughout your pregnancy, even without a residence permit, as long as you meet the 90-day requirement. The delivery, be it natural or by C-section, is also free of charge for those who meet this condition.

Can you give birth in Portugal without health insurance?

You can give birth in Portugal without health insurance, as long as you have been living in the country for more than 90 days and can present a residency certificate issued by your local Junta de Freguesia. You simply need to make sure you seek public medical services each time instead of private ones so you are not charged the prices of any appointments, exams, or the delivery.

If you choose to take out private insurance, make sure childbirth is included. Giving birth in a private hospital in Portugal is often perceived as more comfortable, overall. However, private hospitals may have limitations when it comes to handling high-risk births or premature babies. In general, you cannot give birth at a private hospital if the baby is expected before 32 weeks, unless the facility has a neonatology unit equipped for such cases.

Benefits of giving birth in Portugal

Wondering if you can give birth in Portugal for citizenship, for permanent residence, or other benefits?

Your child is automatically a Portuguese citizen if either the mother or father were born in Portugal and is living in Portugal at the time of the birth. If none of the parents were born in Portugal, the child can acquire Portuguese citizenship when one of them completes five years of residence, regardless of the type of residence permit, or when the child completes the first cycle of basic education in Portugal.

What’s in a name?

Portugal has naming regulations and a list of approved names for Portuguese citizens, but some flexibility is allowed depending on cultural or linguistic reasons. However, if one or both parents are foreigners, you can choose to name your child according to the rules of your country of origin.

If you want to know whether you are entitled to maternity leave and benefits, check out our article on Working in Portugal for all information related to being a parent while being employed in the country. As a general rule, you’re entitled to parental benefits if you’re a legal resident in Portugal who pays contributions to social security.