Healthcare in Lithuania as a foreign employee
People rarely think about healthcare until the first time they need a doctor in a country where they don't speak the language. The good news is that Lithuania's system is straightforward, your employer handles most of the setup, and the costs are low enough that this rarely becomes a stress point. The complication is mostly in knowing what the public system covers, where it falls short, and when private insurance is actually worth paying for.
How the public system works
If you work for a Lithuanian company, you are in the public health insurance system from day one. Your employer automatically enrolls you in SODRA, the State Social Insurance Fund, and 6.98% of your gross salary goes to the PSD fund, short for privalomasis sveikatos draudimas, which translates to compulsory health insurance (Go Vilnius: Social and Health Insurance). You don't need to do anything to activate this. The deduction shows up on your first payslip, alongside income tax and other contributions, which we broke down in What Is a Good Salary in Vilnius in 2026?. Your right to use the public system kicks in immediately.
The PSD covers visits to a GP, specialist consultations with a referral, hospital treatment, prescribed medications at reduced cost, and emergency care. A GP visit costs €0 to €5, a specialist visit with referral costs €0 to €15, and most prescription medicines are subsidized. By Western European standards these are low numbers. What it does not cover is adult dental care, optometry beyond basics, and most cosmetic procedures. Those come out of your own pocket regardless of how long you've been contributing.
Where the public system falls short
The honest weakness of the public system is speed. Booking a specialist through the public route can mean weeks or months of waiting, especially in Vilnius, where demand outpaces the supply of certain specialists. For a sore back this is fine. For something urgent or worrying, this is where private clinics come in.
Private health insurance typically runs €250 to €900 per year for basic coverage, or €30 to €100 per month for more comprehensive plans (Work in Lithuania: Healthcare Guide). Many employers offer this as a benefit, often through a group plan, and at the better companies it shows up automatically in the offer package. If yours doesn't include it, it is worth negotiating into the package up front rather than buying it personally later. The bigger employers in the country tend to include it as standard, as you'll see across the top employers in Vilnius.
The English-speaking clinic layer
Private also solves the language problem. The major private clinics in Vilnius are used to international patients and operate in English by default. The most commonly recommended are Northway Hospital, Kardiolita Hospital (which holds JCI international accreditation), Baltic American Clinic, and Mediprama. Outside Vilnius, Kardiolita has a Kaunas branch, and most regional private clinics in Klaipėda also offer English service. Public clinics are more of a coin flip on language, especially with older doctors, so for anything non-routine the private route saves you the awkward Google Translate session in the waiting room.
For non-EU residents, there is one extra wrinkle. Your residence permit requires proof of health insurance, and SODRA enrollment usually covers this once you're employed. If you arrive before starting your job, or if you're freelance, you'll need to either pay voluntary PSD contributions (around €40 to €80 per month for self-employed) or hold a separate private policy that meets the immigration requirement. Either works, and the immigration office accepts both. Just don't show up at the residency appointment without one of them sorted.
A final thought
The Lithuanian system quietly does the boring job well. The cost of basic care is low, the public network is functional, and the private layer fills the gaps where the public layer is slow. The piece that's easy to forget is dental, since the public system doesn't cover it at all, and most people skip getting private dental coverage until they actually have a problem. The smart move is to find a dentist in the first month, not in the first emergency. Doing it then, before you actually need them, costs you half an hour and a free check-up, and it removes the worst version of an already bad day later.