Under the current rules, an uninsured person can only purchase voluntary health insurance from the Health Insurance Fund under certain conditions — such as having been insured for at least 12 months within the past two years and having had sufficient social tax paid on their behalf.

According to the Ministry of Social Affairs' policy intent document for amending the Health Insurance Act, this restricts access to voluntary health insurance and leaves some individuals without necessary access to medical care.

Those who meet the legal requirements and are eligible to purchase voluntary insurance must pay a contribution equal to 13 percent of Estonia's average gross salary, a figure that changes annually. Currently, this amounts to €2,858.40 per year or €714.60 per quarter.

Payments must be made in advance for either a quarter or a full year, meaning individuals must pay a large sum upfront. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, this can be a barrier to entering into voluntary insurance agreements.

However, experience and statistics show that voluntary insurance is profitable for the Health Insurance Fund, so there is no need to restrict its use, the ministry stated.

"In the future, to conclude an agreement and be considered insured under it, it would suffice to be a permanent resident of Estonia or someone residing in Estonia with a temporary residence permit or right of residence. This would improve access to health insurance for those willing to pay for it themselves but who have so far been unable to do so due to restrictive conditions," the ministry explained.

In addition to quarterly or annual payments, there would be an option to pay monthly in advance. However, contracts must still be signed for a minimum duration of one year.

The proposed change also requires IT development, as lifting the restrictions is expected to increase the number of voluntary insurance users. A modern digital solution will be needed to enable contract signing through the health portal. Currently, applications are handled manually using Word documents, and the Health Insurance Fund processes contracts received by email manually as well — making the process time-consuming.

"If today there are about 700 users of voluntary insurance, removing the additional conditions set in the law is expected to at least double the number of contracts," the ministry noted.

Approximately 6 percent of Estonia's population — around 84,000 people — are without health insurance. According to the Health Insurance Fund, as of the end of March, there were 1.283 million insured individuals in Estonia.

The Ministry of Social Affairs is now seeking feedback on the draft policy proposal and plans to submit the draft legislation for interagency approval before July. The bill is expected to reach the government in September and the changes to take effect on January 1, 2026.

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