Denmark runs one of the more generous public healthcare systems in Europe, funded through taxation rather than insurance premiums. Once you’re registered and hold a Danish health card, GP visits, hospital treatment, and emergency care are free at the point of use. But the system has notable gaps - dental care, physiotherapy, and mental health support mostly sit outside it - and expats who assume they’re fully covered tend to find out the hard way. This guide explains what the public system actually pays for, what it doesn’t, and how top-up cover fits into a realistic budget.
How the public system is funded
Danish healthcare is paid for through taxes rather than monthly premiums. When you work in Denmark, several levies fund it, the first being the 8% AM-bidrag (labour market contribution), a flat tax on all earned income. From there, municipal tax applies - it varies by municipality but is typically around 25% - and state tax kicks in above a certain income threshold.
The flip side of those taxes is that there are no copays for doctor visits, no deductibles for hospital stays, and no premiums to pay each month. For anyone used to insurance-based systems elsewhere, that simplicity is one of Denmark’s genuine attractions: you walk into a GP surgery or hospital and nothing is charged at the door.
The sundhedskort: your health card
The sundhedskort (health card) is central to everything. It’s issued automatically by your municipality after you register your address and receive your CPR number, and it typically arrives by post within a few weeks of registration. Carry it with you - you’ll need it when visiting your GP, collecting a prescription, or using any public health service, and it carries your CPR number, which is how the system identifies you. If you lose it, a replacement is free; just contact your municipality.
For EU/EEA arrivals, there’s a useful bridge during that waiting period: your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) can be used to access healthcare in Denmark until the sundhedskort arrives.
What the public system covers
The core of Danish healthcare is genuinely comprehensive. GP visits are free, and because your GP is the first point of contact for anything non-emergency, they’re also the gatekeeper for referrals to specialists and hospitals. Hospital care - consultations, surgery, and inpatient stays - is free, as is emergency treatment. Emergency rooms treat all patients regardless of nationality. Maternity care, from prenatal appointments through delivery and the postnatal period, is covered too.
Prescribed medications work a little differently. They’re partially subsidised through the country’s medication subsidy system (medicintilskud), which covers part of the cost of many prescription drugs - especially those for chronic conditions - while you pay the remainder. Mental health treatment is available with a GP referral, though here the caveat is access rather than cost: wait times in the public system can stretch to several months.
The gaps you pay for yourself
This is where many expats get a surprise, and it’s worth planning around these costs rather than discovering them after the fact.
Dental care
Dental treatment is probably the biggest out-of-pocket expense for expats in Denmark. The public system provides very limited dental coverage for adults, and most people pay privately. To give you a sense of scale, typical costs look roughly like this:
| Treatment | Approximate Cost (DKK) |
|---|---|
| Basic filling | 800 - 1,500 |
| Crown | 5,000 - 8,000 |
| Root canal | 3,000 - 6,000 |
| Extraction | 500 - 1,500 |
| Dental check-up and cleaning | 500 - 1,000 |
Dentistry is one area where a little planning matters. Some sundhedsforsikring (health top-up) policies include dental coverage, and a standing budget for dental costs is a sensible addition to any expat’s finances.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is subsidised rather than free. You typically pay a portion of each session, and there may be an annual cap on how much the system will subsidise. If you need to self-fund, private physiotherapy sessions cost around DKK 300 to 600 each.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses
The public system offers a partial subsidy for prescription glasses, but it’s modest - you’ll pay most of the cost yourself. A new pair of prescription glasses will typically set you back somewhere between DKK 2,000 and 5,000.
Psychology
Publicly subsidised psychological treatment exists but comes with the same referral requirement and long wait times as the rest of public mental health care. Private psychology sessions are quicker but expensive, typically DKK 800 to 1,200 each. Some costs may be partially covered by sundhedsforsikring.
Alternative treatments
Chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other alternative treatments are generally not covered by the public system at all.
Sundhedsforsikring: health top-up insurance
Sundhedsforsikring (health top-up insurance) exists precisely to fill the gaps above. A typical policy covers dental treatment, physiotherapy sessions, prescription glasses, psychology sessions, and sometimes private hospital treatment.
Many Danish employers include sundhedsforsikring as a workplace benefit, so before you buy a private policy, check your employment contract - you may already have cover you didn’t know about. If you don’t, private policies are generally available for DKK 1,500 to 4,000 per year depending on the level of cover, from insurers including Codan, Tryg, and If. The usual insurance caveats apply: policies can carry annual caps on claims, waiting periods, and exclusions for pre-existing conditions, so it’s worth reading the small print rather than picking the cheapest option.
EHIC and non-EU arrivals
As noted, EU/EEA citizens can use their EHIC card to access medically necessary treatment in Denmark while waiting for a sundhedskort to arrive. If you’re moving from outside the EU/EEA, you don’t have that option, so arranging private health insurance to cover the period between arrival and registration is strongly advisable.
Managing dental costs
Because dentistry is the biggest uninsured drain, it deserves particular attention. Options to manage it include taking a sundhedsforsikring policy that includes dental cover (many cover a portion of treatment); setting aside something like DKK 200 to 500 per month as a dental budget; and, for more complex work, considering treatment abroad - some expats travel to Germany or Poland for dental procedures, though this carries its own logistics and risks. A few people also keep dental insurance from their home country that covers treatment while overseas, which is worth checking before you give it up.
Mental health
Public mental health support is effective but slow. A GP referral is required, and wait times for publicly funded psychologists or psychiatrists can run to several months, so it pays to speak to your GP as early as possible - they can provide the referral and advise on options while you wait. Private psychology is faster but sits at DKK 800 to 1,200 per session, although some sundhedsforsikring policies cover a set number of sessions each year.
Emergency services
If you need urgent help, two numbers matter. 112 is the line for life-threatening emergencies - ambulance, fire, or police. 1813 is the official non-emergency medical helpline for the Capital Region of Denmark; other regions run similar helplines. Emergency rooms are free for everyone, including visitors, though non-critical cases can face long waits. For anything that isn’t urgent, GP-first is the right principle - emergency rooms aren’t a substitute for an appointment with your local doctor.
Final practical notes
A few habits smooth the whole experience. Check whether your employer includes sundhedsforsikring - it could save you DKK 1,500 to 4,000 a year. Register for your sundhedskort immediately; the sooner you register, the sooner the card arrives, and EU/EEA citizens should keep their EHIC handy as a bridge until then. Budget for dental costs up front, because even with insurance you’ll likely pay something out of pocket. Find a GP early - you can register with a local praktiserende læge as soon as you have your CPR number, and sundhed.dk makes it easy to search for one. Finally, don’t treat private insurance as optional if you’re a non-EU arrival: until you’re registered, the public system simply doesn’t have you on its books, and dental, physiotherapy, and mental health care can be expensive without top-up cover.