Your rights in case of exceeded waiting time
If you have been given a deadline for treatment by the specialised health service and you are not offered treatment within the deadline, you can contact Helfo.
Illustration: Morten Rakke / Helfo
Your rights
Your state of health must be of such a nature that it is not medically justifiable for you to wait any longer for the appropriate health care in Norway. The Norwegian specialist health service must initially document this. Helfo will perform a medical assessment of what is justifiable based on your documentation.
Please note that:
- only treatment which is available in Norway under the national public health service can be approved;
- you will need to find a treatment centre which is affiliated to the public health service in the country providing the treatment yourself;
If your prior authorisation is granted, you will not need to pay for the cost of the treatment yourself. You will have to pay any user fees yourself. You should check whether the country providing the treatment charges user fees for the treatment you will receive.
If you have already had the treatment, you can apply for retrospective authorisation. However, Helfo recommends that you apply in advance as this will reduce your financial risk.
Submit your application to Helfo
You must send the application form and documentation to Helfo within 6 months of each treatment date. If you have not settled on the spot but paid later, we calculate the deadline from the payment date.
Log in to Helfo's digital form
Attach the following documentation:
- documentation of your state of health (e.g. medical record/discharge summary)
- documentation that you have been waiting or expect to have to wait longer than is medically justifiable
- documentation of how far you have progressed in your treatment pathway in Norway
- information about the treatment you have received abroad, including an estimate of the cost
- information showing that the treatment centre is part of the public health service in the country providing the treatment
Paper form
If you are unable to use our digital form, you can send us a paper form instead.
To apply for prior authorisation, use this form:
To apply for authorisation / reimbursement after you have received treatment, use this form:
Send the application together with the necessary documentation to Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg.
Claim processing time
Helfo expects to process claims within 4 weeks. Claims where the deadline for medical treatment has already expired will be processed within 1 week.