Before you start

Rodné číslo or an assigned insurance number
Employment registration, or self-registration if self-employed
Passport and residence document
Commercial insurance meeting the statutory minimum, if you are not yet in the public system

Step-by-step

1
Confirm which system you fall into
Employment enrols you in public insurance from your first day and your employer handles it. A trade licence does not — you must register yourself with a public insurer and start paying monthly. These are completely different obligations and conflating them is the most expensive mistake in the Czech system.
Via employerWho: You
2
Choose a public insurer on service, not on benefits
VZP is the largest; ZPMV, OZP and others compete. The statutory benefit package is essentially identical across them, so choose on English-language support and app quality rather than trying to compare coverage. That makes the decision easier than it looks.
In personWho: You
3
If self-employed, set up the monthly payments immediately
Health and social insurance minimums are due monthly whether or not you earned anything, and unpaid amounts accrue penalties quietly. Standing orders on the day your bank account opens are the protection.
Mobile appWho: YouWeek 1
4
Find a GP (praktický lékař) who is accepting patients, and expect to try several
Registration is with a specific practice and many in Brno are full. Ask colleagues, and ask the Brno Expat Centre, which keeps track of practices taking new foreign patients and can point you at ones with English-speaking doctors. Do this while you are well.
In personWho: YouWeek 1–2
5
Know how the hospitals divide up
Brno has two large teaching hospitals — the University Hospital Brno at Bohunice, which includes the children's and maternity hospitals, and St Anne's University Hospital nearer the centre — plus the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute. They are not interchangeable and a referral will name one. Check which site before you set off.
OnlineWho: You
6
Move off commercial insurance as soon as you are eligible
Non-EU nationals on some visa types must hold commercial travel-health insurance meeting statutory minimum coverage until they qualify for the public system. It costs more and covers less. Switching the moment your employment or trade licence allows is a straightforward saving that people delay purely out of inertia.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Rodné číslo or insurance number
Passport and residence permit
Employment confirmation or trade licence
Insurance card, once issued
Vaccination and medical records from your home country, ideally translated

Things most newcomers don’t know

The freelancer insurance trap is the most expensive mistake available in Czechia.

Self-employed health and social minimums are due every month regardless of income, and unpaid amounts accrue penalties silently rather than generating a warning. Someone on a trade licence who takes a slow quarter, or who assumes it works like payroll, can find themselves owing a substantial debt with interest years later. Standing orders on day one are the whole solution.

Source: ČSSZ — self-employed obligations

Getting insured is easy in Brno; getting a GP is not.

Enrolment in the public system is administrative and quick. Registering with a practice that is actually accepting new patients is the real bottleneck, and many Brno practices are full. Start in week one rather than when you are ill, ask colleagues, and use the Brno Expat Centre, which tracks which practices take new foreign patients and which have English-speaking doctors.

Source: Brno Expat Centre

Once you are in the public system, Czech healthcare is exceptional value.

Comprehensive cover for a modest payroll contribution, good hospitals and short waits by European standards. The quality gap is between public and commercial insurance, not between Czech and Western European medicine. People arriving with private-healthcare instincts frequently overinsure for a system that does not need it.

Source: Czech public health insurance system

Brno's two university hospitals are on opposite sides of the city.

The University Hospital Brno complex sits at Bohunice in the south-west and includes the children's and maternity hospitals; St Anne's is close to the centre; the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute is a separate specialist institute. A referral names a site, and turning up at the wrong one costs you an appointment. Check the address, not just the name, before you travel.

Source: University Hospital Brno; St Anne's University Hospital

Common mistakes to avoid

Taking a trade licence without setting up monthly insurance standing orders.
Assuming a quiet month with no invoices means nothing is owed.
Waiting until you are ill to look for a GP, in a city where many practices are full.
Staying on commercial insurance after becoming eligible for public cover.
Going to the wrong Brno hospital site for a named referral.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.