In October 2013, E. K. gave birth to her child in the Clinical Hospital Centre Zemun when she had to pay for the costs of delivery in the amount of 14,909.10 RSD, because she did not have the verified health booklet. Moreover, no one informed her that she has the right to the reimbursement of costs of delivery.

Praxis’ lawyer provided legal assistance to E. K. in obtaining the ID card and verifying her health booklets, as well as in submitting the request for reimbursement of delivery and delivery-related costs. The request for reimbursement of costs was sent to the Branch of the National Health Insurance Fund in Novi Beograd.

According to the Article 68, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the health care for children, pregnant women, mother on maternity leave, single parents with children under seven years of age and elderly persons shall be provided from public revenues unless it is provided in some other manner in accordance with the law. According to the Article 22 of the Law on Health Insurance, special category of insurers are women with respect to family planning, as well as the pregnancy, delivery and maternity up to 12 months after delivery. In addition, the Article 11 of the Law on Health Care also provides for the special protection of women related to family planning, as well as during pregnancy, delivery and maternity up to 12 months after childbirth.

By considering the request of E. K. for reimbursement of costs of delivery, the National Health Insurance Fund approved the request and referred E. K. to the Clinical Hospital Centre Zemun for the reimbursement of costs.

E. K. is surely not a sole case of an uneducated party, and thus the question is whether new mothers, who are in a similar situation, know about the possibility to reimburse the costs of delivery from the health institution and the possibility to represent their own interests in the procedure before the competent body, or they do not ever exercise such right.

For more information, see the announcement: New Mothers without Verified Health Booklet Pay for the Costs of Childbirth