I want to seek treatment in Finland

If you seek treatment independently in Finland, you will be responsible for paying all the travel costs. You will not be eligible for reimbursement of travel costs from Kela.

If you are granted a prior authorisation for treatment in Finland, you can claim for reimbursement from your health insurance institution for travel costs related to treatment.

Coming to Finland to give birth from another EU or EEA country, the United Kingdom or Switzerland

You can travel to Finland to give birth if you are covered by health insurance in another EU country. You may also apply for a prior authorisation pursuant to the relevant EU regulation for childbirth from your own health insurance institution.

You can contact the child health clinics and hospitals directly in order to receive information concerning access to treatment and pricing. Remember to agree with the treatment provider in advance, if you wish to come to Finland to give birth. If you come from Switzerland or the United Kingdom and wish to give birth in Finland without a prior authorisation, remember that Finnish treatment providers are not legally obliged to treat you.

Coming from outside the EU and wanting to give birth in Finland

The Finnish public healthcare system can choose whether or not to offer treatment for persons arriving from outside the EU for the purpose of giving birth. Remember to agree with the treatment provider in advance, if you wish to come to Finland to give birth. You will be responsible for the treatment costs yourself.

If you are covered by health insurance in another EU country, you can freely seek treatment in public or private healthcare in Finland. You will receive treatment on the same terms as local residents. If you are not covered by health insurance in another EU country, you can freely seek treatment in Finland’s public or private healthcare at your own expense. However, treatment providers are not obliged to treat you.

Find a treatment provider that suits you and agree on the treatment arrangements directly with the provider. Ask your health insurance institution whether it covers the costs of seeking treatment. If you have prior authorisation in accordance with EU Regulation 883/2004, you will pay the same client fee for Finnish public healthcare as local residents. Otherwise, you will pay all treatment costs yourself.

On our website, you can find advice on how to find a suitable treatment place and a list of seven items to check when you seek treatment in Finland with a prior authorisation: Seeking treatment in Finland with a prior authorisation

If you seek treatment in Finland, you should primarily seek information on the treatment possibilities directly from the treatment providers yourself. The EU-healthcare.fi website provides contact information for the wellbeing services counties, on-call hospitals, maternity hospitals and units for rare diseases. You can search for the contact information of public health centres and dentists on the websites of the wellbeing services counties or the Suomi.fi online service. You can use search engines to find private treatment providers.

If you need specialised medical care, you need a referral. Find out directly from the treatment provider to determine what kind of referral you need. The treatment provider must accept a referral written in another EU country, provided that it includes all the necessary information. Usually, the referral must be written in Finnish or Swedish, but the treatment provider may also accept a referral written in English. If you need a translation of the referral, you will have to pay the translation costs yourself.

Seeking treatment refers to a situation where a patient travels to Finland for the express purpose of receiving treatment. If you are covered by health insurance in another EU country and wish to seek treatment in Finland, you are entitled to receive treatment on the same terms as local residents. A healthcare professional will assess your need for treatment. You will have to wait in the same treatment queue as local residents.

If you are from outside the EU and seek treatment in Finland, the hospital has the right to decide if it provides treatment for you. Contact the hospital where you would like to seek treatment directly and ask if they can provide you with the treatment.

The hospital may also restrict the admission of patients from EU countries if it is necessary to ensure healthcare for municipal residents. The restriction can last a maximum of 12 months and must be notified. You can ask the Finnish Contact Point for Cross-Border Healthcare whether a hospital has notified restrictions on the treatment of foreign patients.

If you are covered by health insurance in another EU country, you can come to Finland to give birth. You will receive treatment on the same terms as local residents, but you have to pay the full cost of the treatment yourself. Ask your health insurance institution in advance whether you can be reimbursed for the costs of the treatment. If you have prior authorisation in accordance with EU Regulation 883/2004, you only have to pay the same client fee for the treatment as local residents.

If you come from outside the EU, the hospital is not obliged to provide obstetric care for you. Determine your treatment options directly with the maternity hospital of your choice. You are responsible for the full cost of the treatment yourself.

You can find contact information for maternity hospitals on our website.

Read also: Seeking treatment in Finland with a prior authorisation

Yes, you can, as long as you have prior authorisation in accordance with EU Regulation 883/2004 (S2 form). Apply for prior authorisation from the health insurance institution of your country of residence, and agree on the arrangements for the treatment directly with the treatment provider. In Finland, prior authorisation can be used in public healthcare. You will pay the same client fee for the treatment as local residents.

If you have any other prior authorisation (e.g. under the Patient Directive), you will pay the cost of the treatment yourself, after which you will be able to claim reimbursement from your health insurance institution.

Read also: I want to seek treatment in Finland

Yes, you can. If you are dissatisfied with Kela’s decision on reimbursement of medical care provided in Finland, you can appeal against it to Kela. Kela will either rectify the decision or forward your appeal to the Appeal Board. If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeal Board, you can appeal to the Insurance Court, which is the highest appellate instance. Further information on the appeal process is available on the Kela website