In Croatia, health care for children is organized within the framework of the compulsory health insurance system, ensuring special protection for all children, regardless of their own or their parents' or guardians' status. Every child has the right to comprehensive health care, equivalent to that provided to Croatian children.
Children's health care rights include access to primary health care (with a paediatrician or family medicine doctor), specialist consultative health care, hospital health care, medications defined in the basic and supplementary lists of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO), dental aids as defined in the basic and additional lists of HZZO, orthopaedic and other aids included in the basic and additional lists of HZZO.
Children are exempt from contributing to health care costs. The HZZO fully covers all health care expenses for children up to the age of 18, except for medications from the HZZO’s supplementary list and orthopaedic or other medical aids from the additional list.
Children’s health care is provided by paediatricians, typically until the child reaches school age. Paediatric care includes the following services:
- Health promotion and disease prevention
- Diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation
- Other measures
Paediatrics is the branch of medicine focused on children and their families. Its primary goal is to improve children's overall health and ensure healthy growth and development.
Health promotion and disease prevention
Routine check-ups and vaccinations
A key aspect of paediatric care is routine check-ups and vaccinations, which serve as the main measures for disease prevention. During the first year of life, regular check-ups with a paediatrician are more frequent. As the child grows, these visits become less frequent and are often scheduled alongside vaccinations according to the national immunization schedule.
The purpose of systematic examinations is to monitor growth and development, detect potential health issues early, prevent diseases through vaccination, and support parents in fostering their child’s emotional and intellectual well-being.
Preventive dental visits
Once a child's teeth begin to emerge, preventive dental visits should start. These early visits help the child become accustomed to dental check-ups, understand the importance of oral hygiene, and reduce any anxiety related to dental care.
Diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation
Beyond routine medical care—such as diagnosing illnesses, referring children to specialists, and prescribing treatments—Croatia’s health system also provides rehabilitation services.
Children with growth and developmental delays or health conditions are entitled to specialized care to help address these challenges through early intervention services.
Unfortunately, Croatia has not yet fully established an integrated early childhood intervention system. While there are many initiatives and service providers in the health, education, social, non-governmental, and private sectors, these services are not well-coordinated. As a result, parents often have to make considerable efforts to access these services.
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