Guidelines for reimbursement of healthcare expenses, valid from 1 January 2025

The guidelines were last updated on 1 January 2025.

Students who incur significant health/dental expenses during the academic year that are not covered by the public sector can apply for financial support from SSN. The scheme applies to students who can document paid semester fees from one of the educational institutions affiliated with The Student Welfare Organisation in Southeast Norway (SSN).

You can only apply for reimbursement of expenses that you have already incurred in the current semester. You can only apply for support for:

1. Services that include paid user fees listed under HELFOS’s user fee

User fees from:

• Doctor with direct settlement agreement with Helfo

• Psychologist with an agreement on direct settlement with Helfo

• Outpatient treatment (hospital)

• Medicines on blue prescription

• Patient travel

• Laboratories and X-ray institutes with a direct settlement agreement with Helfo

• Examination and treatment by a physiotherapist who has an operating agreement with/is employed by the municipality (ask the physiotherapist you go to if they have such an agreement)

• Certain types of dental diseases/conditions that affect dental health (anomalies/periodontitis)

• Stays at a publicly approved rehabilitation institution that has an operating agreement with a regional health authority

• Treatment trips abroad organised by Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet

  You must ensure that you check whether the service you use has a direct settlement agreement with Helfo.

Practitioners with a reimbursement agreement report to HELFO what you have paid in co-payments. Once you have obtained an exemption card, this will be available on ‘my page’ on Helsenorge.

You can get an overview of your paid co-payments by going to Helsenorge. Here you need to log in to ‘my health’ where you will find all relevant information. The overview of paid deductibles must be attached to the application. Remember that this overview must show your name and all payment dates and amounts.

2. Other medical expenses

• Psychologist/psychiatrist without operating agreement/not employed by municipality

• Physiotherapist without an operating agreement/not employed by a municipality

• Authorised/publicly approved chiropractor, naprapath and osteopath

• Dentist (students under the age of 24 must use the public dental health service)

• Drop-in doctor (ordinary consultation)

• Gynaecologist/Urologist (examination)

Psychologist/chiropractor/physiotherapist/naprapath/osteopath/dentist/drop-in doctor/gynaecological examination

In order to be reimbursed for expenses in connection with treatment by a psychologist, chiropractor, physiotherapist, naprapath, osteopath, dentist, drop-in doctor or gynaecological examination, you must enclose an itemised receipt from the therapist.

An itemised receipt must contain:

1. Your name

2. Practitioner's professional title/name

3. Amount paid

4. Amount Date

The dentist's receipt must also contain information about the treatment you have received, as the scheme does not cover expenses for teeth whitening, braces, crowns, bridges, dental implants, etc.

We do not reimburse healthcare expenses on the basis of documentation from online banking, bank terminals or similar.

SSN's reimbursement scheme only applies to the treatments listed above.

Refunds

The student welfare organisation can reimburse up to 50% of the expenses after the deductible of NOK 650 per calendar year has been deducted. The maximum reimbursement per calendar year is NOK 6,000.

Reimbursement of expenses for eye examinations is covered by up to NOK 600. There is no co-payment here.

Example of calculation:

   Application amount              1429,-
-  User fee                                     650,-
= Reimbursement basis             779,-
*  Refund percentage                   50%
    Granted refund                         390,-

General information

• The electronic application form on My page must be used to apply for refunds. Login to My Page or register a new user account here.

• Documentation showing that you have paid the semester fee in the same semester must always be uploaded together with the application.

• Applications with incomplete/incorrect documentation will be rejected/returned.

• No money will be paid out until the treatment has been completed.

• The reimbursement scheme only applies to treatment performed in Norway.

• Applications can be submitted on an ongoing basis.

• Refunds are not granted on the basis of cost estimates.

• Studentsamskipnaden reserves the right to check the information provided.

• Refunds granted on incorrect grounds may be required to be repaid.

• Applications are processed on an ongoing basis, and at least once a month.

Appeals against decisions

Any appeal against a decision must be submitted in writing within one month of the decision being made. The appeal must be sent to [email protected]. The appeal body is the Student Welfare Organisation's managing director or the person he/she authorises to deal with appeals concerning reimbursement of healthcare expenses.

NB! All supporting documents according to the guidelines must be attached to the application. Without supporting documents, the application will be returned.

Applications are processed on an ongoing basis and at least once a month.

The budget framework for the scheme is set by the SSN board each year. The funds are distributed twice a year; once in the autumn semester and once in the spring semester. When all the funds for the current semester have been used up, it will not be possible to apply until the next semester.

Editorial changes

SSN may make editorial changes as needed, as long as it does not change the content of the guidelines.

Period of validity

These regulations apply from 1 January 2025. The regulations may be amended by the board of Studentsamskipnaden i Sørøst-Norge.

Ordinary application deadlines

Spring semester:

1 August the same year (expenses from 1/1-30/6). The deadline for forwarding documentation in the event of an incomplete application is 1 September. After this deadline, the application will be deleted.

Autumn semester:

1 February the following calendar year (expenses from 1/7-31/12). The deadline for resubmission of documentation in the event of a deficient application is 1 March. After this deadline, the application will be deleted.