The Danish Health Care System – Will it pay for psychotherapy for you?
Many expats have questions about how the Danish health care system works, and whether it covers psychological treatment. Here is some basic information to guide you.
Publicly funded psychotherapy With a referral from your general doctor, you have the right to receive psychotherapy with public financial support. That will bring the normal fee of about 900 kr. down to about 300 kr. This requires that you have a CPR number, and a so-called "yellow card" - the Danish public health insurance certificate. Your doctor has guidelines about how serious your mental health complaint is before they can refer you to a Psychologist. See below[1] some of the allowed reasons they have to refer you.
The Danish Government, like an insurance, must control the costs associated with providing reduced fee psychotherapy. There is a limit to how many people can be treated which often results in long waiting lists for people who are seeking therapy. Furthermore, only a few psychologists have a contract to provide therapy for the Danish Health Service and I am not one of them. This site can be useful in finding a therapist who takes the public insurance: www.psykologeridanmark.dk
Private health insurances The amount of coverage for psychotherapy differs between individual private health insurance policies. Many insurance companies offer full or partial coverage of sessions with an authorized psychologist (I am authorized). However, some insurances have their own network of psychologists, and will not. Some insurance companies will require you to choose a psychologist from their own network of psychologists. However, private insurance companies often make exceptions to this is there are special circumstances such as matching therapist language or expertise to the client’s need. Please check the terms of your insurance for specific information.
Sygesikringen danmark Sygesikringen danmark is a cooperative type of private health insurance that subsidizes financially for health-related expenses. There are four different options under sygesikringen danmark—some cover psychotherapy and some do not. Most of these groups only cover part of the psychotherapy cost. This applies to sessions with an authorized psychologist, but does not generally require a referral from your GP. Please check the terms of your insurance for specific information. You can read more about Sygesikringen danmark in English here.