Seeking treatment in Finland independently or with a prior authorisation
Customers whose treatment costs are covered by another EU country can freely come to Finland to seek treatment. They are entitled to access treatment in the same way as Finnish residents in both public and private health care.
If the customer has travelled from their country of residence to Finland for the purpose of using healthcare services, this is counted as seeking treatment. If the customer has received care in Finland on account of a sudden illness or accident, this is not counted as seeking treatment. Additional information for foreigners seeking treatment in Finland can be found on Kela’s website.
If a customer coming from abroad has a prior authorisation granted by their country of residence, they only pay the municipal customer fee for Finnish public health care. What it means is that the country granting the authorisation undertakes to reimburse the costs of treatment to the country that provides the treatment.
Public health care providers can apply for state reimbursement for treatment provided under prior authorisation from Kela. Further information can be found on Kela’s website (in Finnish).