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by Mirioron 2931 days ago
This is untrue. You need insurance to visit a doctor. You have insurance if somebody pays your "social tax." This means that you must be employed or be a child, in education, or a pensioner.

If you're unemployed and don't qualify for the unemployment program (many don't) then you don't have health insurance and have to pay out of pocket for all doctor's visits. The same applies if you are self-employed and your social tax cut isn't high enough.

Many of the people who would need it the most don't have access to healthcare in Estonia. They have access to emergency care though, but that's the same in the US.

1 comments

How strict is the unemployment program? Over there in Lithuania, as long as you go to your appointments at the local job office (= you're not working in UK or Norway), it's really hard to get removed from the list.
You have to keep your monthly appointments and keep to their "job searching plan." This can mean that you must take part in some group events and apply for jobs based on a schedule. And if they can find a job then you can't always turn it down. Some people have said that the dealing with unemployment is almost like working a job.

To register for unemployment (benefits) you must have worked for at least 180 days in the last year. Education is included in work. So if you didn't do that then you're out of luck.