An Introduction to the Public Health System in Portugal for Expats

One of the benefits of living in a country overseas that has a public health system is being able to have access to medical services and other health care just by paying in a contribution on a paycheck each week. If you are moving to Portugal and are not a European Union citizen then you will not have access to the Portuguese public health system unless you are working and paying into Portuguese social security through automatically deducted contributions from your paycheck. If you are contributing to the Portuguese social security system then you are entitled to receive medical services and treatment from the public health system in Portugal. You family is also entitled to access to the public health system in Portugal as an extension of your qualification.

If you have not been contributing to the Portuguese social security system and do not have access to the public health system in Portugal then you will need to have private health insurance. If you have been making social security contributions in another European Union country for at least two years then you are granted limited access to the public health system in Portugal.

If you are entitled to seek medical treatment and services from the public health system in Portugal you can expect to have access to a lot of benefits. Some of the treatments and services you will be entitled to are general and specialist care, basic dental care, discounted medications, hospital services, maternity care and more.

Before you seek treatment or medical services in Portugal you should know that the Portuguese focus more on treatment than preventative medicine. Because of this, you may not get the level of health care that you are used to depending on where you are from. It is no secret that there are many problems existing with the Portuguese health care system, however conditions have been improving.