OBJECTIVES: International pharmacoeconomic studies suggest Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) as an important predictor of evaluation both direct and productivity costs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Costs are supposed to increase with increasing HAQ value. Therefore, we calculated direct (from health insurances perspective) and productivity costs for five groups of patients according to their HAQ (<0.6, 0.6-1.1, 1.1-1.6, 1.6-2.1, ≥2.1) to confirm this assumption also in the Slovak Republic. METHODS: This calculation was based on a retrospective cross-sectional study. We included 119 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, aged 18-84 years either at working status, part-time disabled or full-time disabled. We used prevalence-based cost-of-illness method type bottom-up, retrospectively reviewing individual patient’s medical record. For calculation of productivity costs we excluded patients older than 63 years of age (retirement pensioners). We used friction costs approach (FCA) with defined friction period of 130 workdays, based on patients’ absenteeism due to RA. Productivity of part-time-disabled and full-time disabled patients were assumed to be deteriorated by 50% and 70%, respectively, based on the Slovak law on pension insurance. The height of average monthly income in year 2010, €769 was used as denominator.  Costs were expressed as mean value per one patient with RA in each of the HAQ-group. RESULTS: Average patients´ age was 49.5 years; average time from diagnosis was 12.3 years with mean HAQ score 1.4 and mean DAS28 5.0. Mean annual medical direct costs, for each HAQ-group, were €516, €468, €943, €1676, and €1466, respectively. Mean annual indirect costs associated with productivity loss were €224, €1600, €1847, €2109, and €2030, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Direct and productivity costs for patients with rheumatoid arthritis are closely related to the height of HAQ score. Total (direct and productivity) annual mean costs were €2576.