Waiting times for non-urgent specialised medical care have come down in Finland: compared with the situation at the end of December, the number of patients waiting for treatment for more than six months has decreased by 1,200 during the spring. Compared with the same period in 2016, the number of those who have been […]

In June, the Contact Point for Cross-Border Healthcare asked people to describe their need for information about healthcare services as well as their experiences. The purpose of the survey was to find out about clients’ needs and wishes in order to develop the contact point’s communications and the Choosehealthcare.fi web service. A total of […]

Kela has already provided almost 1,8 million Finns with the European Health Insurance Card, or EHIC. According to Kela’s statistics, the number of cards has risen steadily from the 1,2 million issued by 2012. All of those whose medical care costs Finland is responsible for are eligible for a . You can order the […]

According to Kela’s statistics on Finns who have suddenly fallen ill or  outside Finland, medical costs incurred abroad and reimbursements paid retrospectively to the customers are slightly rising. The statistics only take into account those cases where the customers paid all the medical costs themselves and then applied for retroactive reimbursement from Kela. Any […]

How can you use healthcare services abroad? Who pays for the treatment? Visit the updated Kela pages. An updated section on  is now available in Finnish, Swedish and English on Kela’s website at kela.fi. The updated pages are part of a broader project to redesign Kela’s website; earlier in June an updated extensive section […]

Is the use of health care services abroad familiar to you? From where have you searched for information about the health services in Europe or even further away? How and from where should the information be provided? Now you have the opportunity to express your opinion on the use of health care services abroad […]

The Government is proposing amendments to the Act on Cross-Border Health Care, also referred to as the Border Act, and the Health Insurance Act. The basic principle is that the costs of health services received abroad would be reimbursed only when the service is included in the health services offered in Finland. This would […]

The Contact Point for Cross-Border Health Care has opened a Twitter account. Follow us: @rajayhteyspiste. The first Tweet was sent on 4 May and was seen by over 3,000 Twitter users. The new Twitter account focuses on sharing information about using health services in Finland and abroad. Come and retweet, follow and discuss our […]

EU legislation makes it possible for Finns to seek dental care in another EU or EEA country or in Switzerland. You can seek dental care either with a prior authorisation granted by Kela or independently. If you visit a dentist independently, you can apply for reimbursement from Kela on the same grounds as for […]

One of the special characteristics of our public service system has been the arrangement of health care services according to the place of residence. The services are local and provided to the residents of the municipality in question. Everyone covered by the Finnish health insurance is entitled to receive health care reimbursements. Foreigners without […]