Healthcare in Norway: paying per visit, until the frikort comes
The Norwegian system has no premium and no policy, but it does have a co-payment per visit — up to the hard ceiling of NOK 3,278 a year, after which the frikort comes by itself. Children under 18 pay nothing, the dentist is largely at your own expense for adults, and medicines on a blue prescription have become more expensive from 2026. The amounts, and what to do with them.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, in Norway you are insured without a premium or a policy. You do pay a co-payment per visit, the egenandel:
- NOK 179 at the GP during the day;
- NOK 443 at the specialist or the outpatient clinic.
All those co-payments add up to one hard ceiling of NOK 3,278 per calendar year (2026). Once you pass it, the frikort, the exemption card, comes by itself, within three weeks. After that you pay no more co-payments for the rest of the year. Children under 18 pay nothing from 1 August 2026.
The gaps are elsewhere: the dentist, and medicines on a blue prescription that have become more expensive from 1 January 2026.
What does a visit cost?
These are the amounts Helsenorge, the Norwegian government's health portal, gives for 2026. They all count towards the ceiling:
| Care | Daytime | Evening |
|---|---|---|
| GP consultation (fastlege) | NOK 179 | NOK 301 |
| GP consultation with a specialist in general medicine | NOK 235 | NOK 357 |
| Municipal out-of-hours service (legevakt) | NOK 179 | NOK 301 |
| Consultation or visit from a specialist | NOK 443 | — |
| Outpatient clinic: examination, treatment or check-up | NOK 443 | — |
| Outpatient clinic: X-ray or ultrasound | NOK 387 | — |
| Laboratory test | NOK 64 | — |
| Medicines on blue prescription | 60 per cent, at most NOK 400 per dispensing | — |
A video consultation costs the same as a visit. Condition for all these rates: your GP has an agreement with Helfo, the Norwegian agency for health reimbursements. Check that before the treatment starts.
A missed hospital appointment costs NOK 1,993. Whoever does not turn up and does not cancel more than 24 hours in advance pays that fee, and it does not count towards the frikort. For psychiatry and addiction treatment it is at most NOK 443, and for a missed video or phone consultation the hospital may charge nothing.
How does the frikort work?
You do not have to do anything.
- GPs, pharmacies and other providers report your co-payments to Helfo within fourteen days.
- As soon as you pass NOK 3,278, you get the frikort within three weeks, with a message by text or email.
- What you paid in excess in the meantime comes back by itself, within about five working days, into your account.
That refund only works if your account number at Helsenorge is right. Log in and check it. Keep your receipts anyway, for your own checks.
Outside the ceiling fall, among other things, dressings and anaesthetics, medical certificates, printing your records and the flu jab.
Medicines: the blue prescription became more expensive
Chronic medication runs via the blå resept, the blue prescription for medicines the national insurance reimburses. Watch out if you read older guides: from 1 January 2026 the co-payment is 60 per cent of the cost, with a maximum of NOK 400 per dispensing.
The consolation: these co-payments count towards the frikort too. So anyone using a lot of medicines reaches the ceiling sooner and is then done.
Where are the gaps?
The dentist is largely at your own expense for adults. Dentists and dental hygienists are not bound by the reimbursement rates and set their own prices.
Only for a limited list of conditions does the national insurance reimburse part. Think of certain forms of periodontitis (inflammation of the gums and jawbone) and abnormalities of the mouth and jaw. Even then you pay the difference between the price and the reimbursement yourself, frikort or not. So count the dentist in your monthly budget as a fixed item.
The second gap is at the start. You get a regular GP only once you are in the Population Register as a resident with a fødselsnummer. With only a d-nummer, the temporary number, you are entitled to necessary care via the municipality, but not to a fastlege.
And some municipalities have too few GPs. You may also choose one in a neighbouring municipality.
For pensioners: the CAK route
Whoever comes with a Dutch pension falls under treaty care via the CAK. With the S1 form you are insured in Norway, and after that the same co-payments and the same frikort apply as for any Norwegian.
The CAK's country-of-residence factor, the factor with which the CAK adjusts your contribution to your country of residence, is 1.000 for Norway. So you pay the full Dutch level to the CAK.
If you leave before your AOW age, watch the date. As things stand, the CAK expects that from 1 November 2026 new applicants in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland will only be insured via the CAK with a statutory pension or a statutory benefit. Whoever brings only an early retirement pension or a bridging benefit such as an RVU benefit or wachtgeld then takes out insurance themselves until AOW age. Whoever is already insured via the CAK keeps their rights. What exactly changes, and what you can do now.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Norway.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Helsenorge — the frikort and the co-payments — helsenorge.no
- Helsenorge — fees at the GP, daytime and evening — helsenorge.no
- Helsenorge — fees at outpatient clinics, and the fee for a missed appointment — helsenorge.no
- Helfo — the new blå resept rules from 2026 — helfo.no
- CAK — country-of-residence factors 2026 — hetcak.nl
- Helsenorge — the right to a fastlege, and why a d-nummer is not enough — helsenorge.no
- CAK — emigrating on early retirement, the expected change from 1 November 2026 — hetcak.nl
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