Croatian Health Insurance Fund

What Croatian Health Insurance Fund does

HZZO (Hrvatski zavod za zdravstveno osiguranje / Croatian Health Insurance Fund) is a public statutory health insurance institution headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia. Its current legal form dates to 1993, with operational roots extending to 1922. The fund administers mandatory health insurance for approximately 4.16 million insured persons and voluntary supplementary insurance covering roughly 2.27 million policies (2020 figures). It operates through 134 service locations, 4 regional offices, and 16 regional services, employing 2,331 staff as of December 2020, making it one of the largest public institutions in Croatia by workforce and citizen reach.

The fund's core operational technology is CEZIH (Central Health Information System), the national backbone for health records and claims processing. CEZIH is integrated with the government's e-Građani (e-Citizens) platform, supports e-Lijekovi (e-Prescribing / e-Medicines), uses AKDSH digital signing for authentication, and operates as Croatia's National Contact Point under EU cross-border healthcare rules. HZZO participates in EU joint actions including TEHDAS, JADECARE, and Xt-EHR, and is positioning toward the European Health Data Space.

HZZO's funding mechanics rest on three streams: payroll-based mandatory contributions from employers and employees, voluntary supplementary premiums that cover statutory co-payments, and direct state budget transfers for non-contributing categories such as pensioners, children, and the unemployed. As the sole statutory health insurer in Croatia, HZZO holds a legally codified monopoly on the country's mandatory health insurance market, with the Croatian state functioning simultaneously as primary regulator and a material payer.

Name

Croatian Health Insurance Fund

Legal name

Hrvatski zavod za zdravstveno osiguranje

Website

https://hzzo.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) is Croatia's statutory health insurer, administering mandatory coverage for 4.16 million persons and supplementary policies for 2.27 million. It operates 134 service locations, runs the CEZIH national health information system, and serves as Croatia's EU cross-border healthcare contact point.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Zagreb

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices21 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Mandatory Health Insurance Contributions: HZZO collects mandatory health insurance contributions from employed citizens and employers based on salary percentages. These contributions fund the basic mandatory health insurance scheme covering all insured persons in Croatia.
2. Supplementary Health Insurance Premiums: Voluntary supplementary health insurance (Dopunsko zdravstveno osiguranje) sold by HZZO to cover co-payments from mandatory insurance. In 2020, there were 2,270,101 valid supplementary insurance policies.
3. State Budget Transfers: HZZO receives transfers from the Croatian state budget to cover health insurance for categories not making direct contributions (e.g., unemployed, retired, disabled persons).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HZZO is the sole public statutory health insurance institution in Croatia, administering mandatory health insurance for all insured persons (averaging 4.16 million in 2020) and offering voluntary supplementary insurance to cover co-payments (2.27 million policies in 2020). It also delivers maternity and parental allowances, operates the CEZIH national health information system, runs digital citizen services through the e-Građani portal, and serves as Croatia's National Contact Point for EU/EEA cross-border healthcare.

Product overview

The Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) operates a unified platform of health insurance products and digital services. The core offerings include Mandatory Health Insurance (Obvezno zdravstveno osiguranje) providing foundational coverage for all insured citizens, and Supplementary Health Insurance (Dopunsko zdravstveno osiguranje) covering co-payments. These are complemented by Maternity and Parental Allowances. The digital portfolio includes e-Zdravstveno (e-Health) portal for citizen services via e-Građani, the eHZZO modernization project, e-Lijekovi (e-Medicines) for electronic medication management, and CEZIH (Central Health Information System) as the national healthcare IT backbone. Additional services include the National Contact Point for EU cross-border healthcare, the AKDSH digital signing application, and participation in European initiatives like the European Health Data Space and Croatian Health Data Centre. The organization also operates through regional offices managing supplementary insurance, providing a comprehensive insurance-and-digital-services ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mandatory Health Insurance (Obvezno zdravstveno osiguranje) Core mandatory health insurance product providing universal coverage for all Croatian insured persons, including employed persons, retirees, unemployed, children, and other categories. Covers primary care, specialist services, hospital care, medicines, medical devices, maternity/parental benefits, and cross-border healthcare within EU/EEA, Switzerland, and the UK. Funded through payroll contributions from employers and employees, with state budget transfers for non-contributing categories.
• Supplementary Health Insurance (Dopunsko zdravstveno osiguranje) Voluntary supplementary health insurance that covers co-payments for healthcare services under mandatory insurance. Available to Croatian citizens who wish to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs. In 2020, there were 2,270,101 valid supplementary insurance policies.
• Maternity and Parental Allowances (Rodiljne i roditeljske potpore) Benefits and allowances for childbirth and parental leave, including salary compensation during temporary work incapacity due to pregnancy complications and parental leave. Administered by HZZO to eligible Croatian citizens covered under mandatory health insurance.
• National Contact Point for Cross-Border Healthcare (Nacionalna kontaktna točka) National Contact Point providing information and coordination for cross-border healthcare within the EU/EEA, Switzerland, and the UK. Serves Croatian citizens seeking healthcare abroad and foreign insured persons seeking healthcare in Croatia under EU cross-border healthcare directives and bilateral agreements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.16 million insured persons covered under mandatory health insurance (2020 average)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ministry of Health of the Republic of CroatiacoreOthersHZZO operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, which performs legal oversight of HZZO's activities. The Ministry provides strategic direction and policy guidance for health insurance in Croatia.
• European CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHZZO participates in EU joint actions including TEHDAS (Towards the European Health Data Space), JADECARE (Joint Action on Digital Health), and Xt-EHR projects. These initiatives aim to improve cross-border health data sharing and digital health services across Europe.
• Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (HZMO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2024, HZZO, in cooperation with the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute, presided over the European Forum of the Insurance against Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases - an independent European organization in the field of social security.
• State Budget of the Republic of CroatiacoreOthersHZZO receives transfers from the Croatian state budget to cover mandatory health insurance for categories not making direct contributions (unemployed, retired, disabled persons). Financial oversight is performed by the State Audit Office.
• Healthcare Institutions and ProviderscoreOthersHZZO contracts healthcare institutions, private healthcare workers, occupational medicine providers, and medical device suppliers to deliver healthcare services to insured persons.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nemzeti Egészségbiztosítási Alapkezelő (NEAK): Hungarian national health insurance fund administering mandatory coverage, drug reimbursement lists and cross-border coordination under Ministry supervision — closest regional (CEE) comparable.
• NHS England: Statutory national health service administering universal coverage for the population of England with centralized IT infrastructure and government oversight — directly comparable to HZZO's role in Croatia.
• Zorginstituut Nederland: Dutch national healthcare institute administering the statutory benefits package, drug reimbursement lists and quality standards under ministerial oversight — a model for HZZO's drug list and benefits scope decisions.
• Caisse Nationale de l'Assurance Maladie (CNAM / Assurance Maladie): France's national statutory health insurance fund managing universal health coverage with payroll-based contributions, supplementary offerings and regional offices — the closest Western European analogue to HZZO.
• AOK-Bundesverband: German statutory health insurance consortium under the SHI system providing mandatory coverage, supplementary plans and nationwide digital services to ~26 million insured persons.
• Kela (The Social Insurance Institution of Finland): Finnish statutory social insurance institution providing universal health-related benefits and reimbursement services under government supervision — comparable in mandate, scale of insured population and digital service orientation.
• Национална здравноосигурителна каса (NHIF Bulgaria): Bulgaria's national health insurance fund administering mandatory coverage, supplementary packages and e-health systems for Bulgarian citizens — a regional peer with a similar contribution and supplementary insurance model.

Broad incumbents

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS): US federal agency administering Medicare and Medicaid — functionally analogous in administering means-tested and contributory public health coverage for tens of millions of beneficiaries, though much larger in scope.

Others

• European Commission — DG SANTE: EU policy and funding counterpart governing cross-border healthcare rights, EHDS and joint actions (TEHDAS, JADECARE) — HZZO's strategic EU-level partner and rule-maker rather than a direct competitor.

Regional players

• Zavod za zdravstveno zavarovanje Slovenije (ZZZS): Slovenia's statutory health insurance institute operating under near-identical legal and contributory model (ex-Yugoslav healthcare lineage) — a tightly comparable CEE neighbour of HZZO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://hzzo.hr
• Xx.com/hzzo_isl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/croatian-institute-for-health-insurance-hzzo-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Croatian Health Insurance Fund