Long-term nursing benefit

Long-term nursing benefit is a sickness benefit that is paid by the Social Insurance Agency to an insured person if he or she is caring for a close relative with medically confirmed need for personal and full-time care in the natural environment of the treated person.

The following treated persons are eligible: sick relative in the direct line (e.g. parent, grandparent, grandson, great-grandson ...), sick child who is not direct line, sick sibling, sick husband, sick wife or sick parent of a husband, or of a wife.

Long-term nursing benefit may be paid up to 90 days to an insured person (or to more insured persons in total if they change in their care).

The following persons are entitled to the so-called long-term nursing benefit: employee, self-employed person (hereinafter referred to as “SZČO”), voluntarily insured person, natural person within the protective period (the protective period is usually 7 days; if the sickness insurance expired during pregnancy, the protective period is eight months).

Conditions of entitlement to the long-term nursing benefit: occurrence of reason for provision of long-term nursing care, i.e., occurrence of the need for personal and full-time care in the natural environment of the treated person in the following cases:

• The patient being treated has a serious health disorder which has required hospitalization for at least five consecutive days (including the day of admission and release) and it is presumed that his or her state of health immediately after such release from the institutional care facility will necessarily require provision of personal care for at least 30 days (hospitalized patient);
• The patient being treated is at the stage of disease at the end of his or her life or at the terminal stage of the disease (palliative patient).

The amount of the long-term nursing benefit represents 55% of the daily assessment basis / probable daily assessment basis, provided that it must not be higher than the benefit determined from the maximum assessment basis.

Entitlement to the nursing benefit should be claimed through relevant forms of the Social Insurance Agency. In the case of an insured person who wishes to claim his or her long-term nursing benefit for a person with medically confirmed reason for provision of long-term nursing benefit and such confirmation will be issued by a doctor in the territory of another EU Member State, such person may claim such claim as follows:

In the case referred to in point A), the institutional care doctor should issue a certificate confirming the period of hospitalization and the fact that the person being treated requires home treatment for at least 30 days (this certificate should include the doctor's stamp and signature). At the same time, it is necessary to submit a release report from the hospital and medical reports, and/or other documents that are available to the treated person. These will be the basis for the social insurance company's medical examiner if there is some additional investigation necessary, of the entitlement to the long-term nursing benefit. If the doctor refuses to issue the above-mentioned confirmation, the entitlement to the long-term nursing benefit shall be assessed on the basis of the submitted medical reports, release report, and/or other submitted documents. For the purpose of payment of the long-term nursing benefit, a doctor (general practitioner or specialist) should confirm the duration of the need for treatment (always at the end of the calendar month) and, in case of termination of the need for treatment, the doctor should issue a certificate of termination of the need of treatment.

In the case referred to in point B), i.e., the sick person is at the end of his or her life stage or at the terminal stage of the disease, it is necessary for a specialist doctor to issue a certificate stating that the sick person is at the end of life stage or at the terminal stage of the disease, i.e., that he or she is a palliative patient.

The same procedures apply also if the person is in the care of an attending physician working in the territory of the states with which the Slovak Republic has concluded a social security agreement (contracting states) or non-contracting states.

In the case of non-contracting states, it the confirmation should be submitted also in official translation into the Slovak language.

For the purposes of claiming long-term nursing benefit, it is necessary to submit an informal application in which the insured person states his or her identification data, information on what benefit is claimed, from what date, and on which sickness insurance is the claim based. Provide also the way of payment of the long-term nursing benefit (include complete details of the bank account or address to which the long-term nursing benefit is to be paid.) However, we recommend that you indicate the method of payment directly in the form that can be found here.

The above documents should be delivered to the relevant branch of the Social Insurance Agency (employee according to the employer's registered office, self-employers (SZČO) and persons with voluntary sickness insurance according to their permanent residence) by post, in person by placing the documents into the box located near to the entrance of the Social Insurance Office branch or to e-mail address of the branch. Prior to delivery of the above documents, employees shall submit these documents to their employer in order to confirm the relevant data on behalf of the employer.

Contacts to branches of the Social Insurance Agency can be found here: https://www.socpoist.sk/kontakty--xly/48023s.