Zdravstveno osiguranje i prava pacijenata u zemljama Evropske Unije

Human rights and freedoms are one of the main achievements of the European Union. This paper is about the evolution of the legal and organisational framework that regulates health insurance in the European Union. EU policy has evolved with each enlargement of the EU in order to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, health legislation evolved as well. All states have behaved in accordance with international health sector goals to improve the health status of the population in accordance with its powers, however due to the large differences in the of health sector development, at one time the freedom of movement of people and their health insurance is brought into question. In establishing a health insurance system that which would be implemented throughout the European Union, the European Court of Justice handed down its judgment in several cases and played an important role in the developing the European health insurance card. The goal of this scientific paper is to provide an insight into the ways in which, thanks to the legal regulation of the health insurance, principle of territoriality has been overcame in order to enable health care to citizens of the European Union in all EU countries and beyond. Institutions were created in order to regulate whether cost of treatment made abroad could be refunded. Mechanism was created for that purpose as well as a network of organizations in order to enable free movement of people and give them the opportunity to use health care is needed.