Help & Info request for giving birth in Slovenia
Hi all,
After an exhausting search on the net, I've decided to write to you out of sheer desperation. OK, perhaps that's an exaggeration...
My husband and I, both British, are about to move to Nova Gorica because of his job. We should move in December. We currently live in another EU/Schengen country and I am 2 months pregnant. We have pretty much decided that he will go in December in order to start working and find a house and I'll join him at the beginning of January, when I'm able to leave work on maternity leave. Now, some of our worries are the following:
- How difficult and how long should it take for him to sort out health insurance for me? Can he get me as dependant on his health insurance?
- How difficult should it be for me to find an English Speaking Obgyn in Nova Gorica who will take me 7 months into my pregnancy? Should I see a private doctor? If so, how much should I expect to spend on that? Do you have any recommendation?
- I have the European Health Card but I take it will only work for emergencies?
- Is still difficult to open a bank account in the country? - I have read something about needing to get a tax number beforehand, etc.
- Would you have any recommendation re: renting a house on the outskirts of N.Gorica? Any real state agencies?
I am really sorry for all the questions but I have no idea where else to try and get answers for them. We have both lived in many other countries and are used to change but this is the first country where I can't find much information on the net and it's also the first time I am moving whilst heavly pregnant! So, I am panicking a bit!
I will appreciate if you take your time to try and help me or point me out on the right direction.
Many thanks and kind regards,
Patricia
posted by ICS News Blog
@ 12:33 PM
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16 Comments:
For your bank account question. This is from my wife at UniCredit.
For a personal account a foreigner needs: Passport ID, and a Slovenian tax number (to get a tax number is no problem, they issue it immediately without need of residency).
Hi Patricia,
I'm in the same shoes as you. I'm 5 months pregnant and moved to live in Slovenia 3 months ago. I'm just in the middle of sorting through the huge burocracy which is around getting healthcare services in Slovenia... I share with you a few experiences:
- your husband can put you under his healthcare insurance but you can do this only if you give up all other insurances that you have maybe in other EU member countries. If he takes you under his insurance, you will get all services in relation to your pregnancy, like you would be Slovenian.
- For sure you will find an English speaker Obgyn, because all doctors speak English. I don't know the prices in Nova Gorica (I live in Ljubljana), but here at a private doctor an examination (e.g. ultrasound) costed me 70EUR, and if I would go to do some laboratory test (blood, etc.) it would be around 150EUR. So very expensive.
- You can deliver the baby in a few hospitals specialised for this, but your selected private doctor is usually not there at the delivering. People say that these specialised hospitals are very good and they provide high quality service. If you pay the delivering of the baby alone and there are some complications, it can cost 10.000 EUR if you don't have insurance.
- I'm from Hungary, and the Hungarian Healthcare Fund issued an official letter that Slovenia has to provide me all services in relation to my pregnancy based on my EU Heathcare Card (so it is not only for emergency cases!!!), and that the Hungarian HC Fund will finance everything through the EU HC Card. Now the case is that at the moment in the klinik in LJ they do not want to accept this and I'm fighting with the lawyer of the hospital.... Hopefully we will solve it soon, because soon I will deliver the baby!
- To open a bank account you need 3 things: a) Registration certificate (similar like an address card, for this you need to prove that where is your income coming from, etc.); b) temporary residence permission (if you have the a), they give you also this for 1 year); c) tax number (this is easy to get, you don't need to work here, you just walk to the tax authority and they give you immediately).
If I can help you in anything else, just write me email to tkisuczky@hotmail.com. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one with the baby problem!:-)
Kind regards,
Timea
the tax unit (davcna uprava - - pronounced "dow-ch-nah oo-prah-vah") in Nova Gorica is at
Ulica Gradnikove Brigade 2
(working hours here - http://www.durs.gov.si/si/o_davcni_upravi_rs/davcni_uradi_in_uradne_ure/davcni_urad_nova_gorica/)
if i recall correctly, you just need this form called "prijava za vpis fizične osebe v davčni register"(should be here - http://www.durs.gov.si/si/o_davcni_upravi_rs/davcni_uradi_in_uradne_ure/davcni_urad_ljubljana/) and a copy of your passport to get your slovenian tax number (davcna stevila - pronounced "dowch-nah sh-teh-veel-kah"). it was very fast and easy to get.
As for your health insurance, I think your husband's work will sort all that out, but since he's got the contract already, seems like he can just ask about that procedure now.
*
good luck with the move and the pregnancy, slovenia seems to be in a baby boom at the moment!
Let me clarify my previous statement:
For your bank account question. This is from my wife at UniCredit.
For a personal account a foreigner needs: Passport ID, and a Slovenian tax number (to get a tax number is no problem, they (THEY BEING THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE. THEY issue it immediately without need of residency). You then take the tax number to the bank.
My friend is a pediatrician and from Nova Gorica. I will forward your question concerning your soon to arrive child. Please contact me at ericscottkillough@yahoo.com and I will be glad to correspond further.
An advance WELCOME to Slovenia,
Eric
Koper, Slovenia
It's true that getting a tax number is no problem -- it's quick and easy. Also, as a citizen of an EU country you can open an account for a "nonresident" if you have had temporary residency in Slovenia less than 6 months. After 6 months of residency here you can open an account like any citizen (and I'm sure the one can be converted into the other).
If your husband will be entitled to Slovenian national health care, he will be able to take you as a dependent, and that should happen more or less immediately.
I've asked a friend if she can recommend an ob/gyn in the area (she lives close to there). I live in Ljubljana so I could tell you all about it here. (I've given birth to one child here and will be having another in October.)
The closest maternity hospital to your location will be in Šempeter pri Novi Gorici (see link below for photos, even though the text is in Slovene).
http://www.bambino.si/porodnisnica_sempeter_pri_novi_gorici
You may want to try to get in with one of the doctors there.
Feel free to email me if you have more questions.
@Dawn - I've had residency here for over a year and I was informed by my bank (SKB) that I could not have a "normal" account until I had permanent residency (I think this takes 3 or 5 years to obtain?), that means that I cannot get a debit card or many of the other services the bank offers to normal customers. other banks may have a different policy...
Perhaps the banks differ in what kind of accounts they offer. I was able to have a normal personal account while still a temporary resident, but I was receiving monthly wages paid to that account, so perhaps that's the reason. Maybe someone else will know which bank is best for this. I do know that if your husband gets a regular account he can name you as an authorized person and you can have your own bank card issued on his account(but in your name), etc. We did this with my husband's account at NLB for a number of years.
I don't know these people personally, but they appear to run a service that may be able to help.
http://www.magnif.si/default.asp?mID=en&pID=naslovnica_en
On the medical cost issue, I haven't found the costs quite as high as Timea mentioned -- an ultrasound with my OBGYN costs EUR 40 and my entire birth last time (routine birth, no drugs, 3-day stay) was "only" about EUR 2,000. I think the amniocentesis I got this time would have cost around EUR 650 if I'd had to pay for it. So it's not cheap, but perhaps refundable from a private insurance company if you have it? It's important to look into agreements between the country where you're insured and Slovenia to find out what can be covered here. (Or to get your husband and you squared away on the national health care system immediately.)
It's true that your OBGYN won't attend the birth; the maternity hospital staff consists of midwives and OBGYNs and you get whoever's on duty when you show up. In my case the team was great, but of course people have widely different experiences. You can visit the maternity hospital and have a tour before you go there to give birth.
Wow! Thank you so very much for all the replies. I am impressed with the will to help from the expats in Slovenia. I will get the husband to try and sort out the health insurance via his work. I understand that I can pay a premium on top of that and have most of the maternity care covered, so I'll get him to get better informed about that at work as well.
Thanks for the addresses and insights and, Eric, the recommendation of the pediatrician would be very welcomed. Thank you!
Patricia
Dear Patricia,
I am an ex-pat registered nurse working in the health care system in Slovenia. I have worked in a number of countries, and I would like to put your mind at rest. The health-care in Slovenia is some of the best I have seen. Occasionally the service might not seem good, but attitudes are changing and it is not as likely that you will run into unfriendly people as it was 10 years ago. I would recommend that you give birth in Ljubljana, "Porodnisnica Ljubljana" - the Maternity Hospital. The reason for that is that this is the hospital with the best equipment and if anything were to go wrong, you would be transferred there from any other hospital anyway. Delivery in Slovenia is Midwife led and an OB will only get involved if something is wrong. This likely won't be your OB-GYN, but whoever is on-call that day. If you want an epidural, you have to arrange it beforehand, because there is a shortage of anesthesists, in fact the only hospital which guarantees this is Postojna, which also has water birth if you want. Personally, I recommend dr. Ksenija Gersak, or dr. Borut Kobal. They both are very good, and speak perfect english. They practice in the "Ginekoloska Klinika", this is beside the "Porodnisnica Ljubljana" on Slajmerjeva ulica, opposite the Medical Faculty. I did not have to pay anything when I had a baby in Slovenia, and I am not sure I understand the other posters. I just got onto the insurance system (about 20 euro per month for the basic and about 240 euro per year for the additional). You need both "osnovna" - basic, and "dodatna" - additional, because the basic only really covers urgent care and you have to pay 15% of the total for any other care, which could be a lot depending on what the nature of the illness is, for example brain surgery etc. could mount up. But under the health law, pregnancy is covered by the basic insurance. You are correct in saying your EU card covers you only for emergencies. The only reason I can think of for the posters talking about the extra costs they have incurred is that since Slovenia became independent,doctors have the right to work privately, but most of them are "private" working on concession from the government, meaning they get paid by the government to take patients, when the doctor reaches a certain quota,he/she is not obliged to take any more clients, and if he takes extra, they could be totally private - paying him directly. But, there is no private hosptial in Slovenia to give birth in, so there shouldn't be any costs whatsoever for that. You can ask for a private room, but you only get it if they don't have a "rush" on, they use all rooms, and so if enough babies are born that day, you won't get a private room, usually you are in a room with 2 other women and babies are with you at all times. Breastfeeding is the absolute norm in Slovenia, so noone will even ask you or mention about bottle feeding. You can go home in about 3 days if all is ok, and the visiting midwife will come a few times when you get home to make sure all is ok. Infection rates in the hospitals are lower then the UK, the standards of hygiene much better. Nurses, for example, get a clean uniform from central laundry each day, so they are not going to shops or on public transport in uniform. Don't forget, you are entitled to 2 ultrasound scans during pregnancy, one should be at 20 weeks to check for anomalies. You will be offered nuchal translucancy to check for the possiblity of Downs Syndrome at 12 weeks and if it is positive, you are entitled to have an amniocentisis or a chorionic villus sampling. Of course, I am sure all will be ok with your pregnancy, just letting you know what you are entitled to. Best of luck.
I totally agree with the nurse who posted about the level of care here. I've found it to be excellent even though the service atmosphere is sometimes less friendly than it is in the States. To explain the extra costs, I think some people come into Slovenia with other insurance policies that will be invalid if they join the national health care. When I first arrived here, I was on an American policy that required me to pay for services here and then be reimbursed. Since then I have joined the national health care plan (and also the "additional" insurance that covers co-pays) and I'm very happy with it.
It's also true that the Ljubljana maternity hospital is excellent -- I think their NICU has the best outcomes in the entire region (including Austria and Italy). If you have any worries about complications it's certainly best to start out in Ljubljana instead of having to be transferred there.
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Dear Dawn and lovely letter from "Nurse",
Thank you very much for your replies. I am on my 4th month of pregnancy and shall be spending the last 3 months in Slovenia, before birth. I just hope that the health insurance is sorted out quickly.
As for the scans, here in the Czech Republic, the insurance covers 3 ultrasounds during the pregnancy, but I am able to pay it directly to my doctor if I want extra ones - they only cost 10 pounds each. It would be nice if I can do the same in Slovenia.
Thank you for the recommendation of the Maternity Hospital in Ljubljana. I shall, however, be living in Nova Gorica, which I believe to be a couple of hours drive. Do you still think it's a good idea to register with the hospital in the capital? I am just scared of the long drive if I go into labour...
Thank you once again,
Patricia
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