You can seek treatment in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or Great Britain and receive reimbursement from Kela for the costs of the treatment.
You can seek treatment abroad without prior authorisation or apply to Kela for prior authorisation. The amount of the reimbursement depends on whether or not you had prior authorisation to seek treatment.
If you receive treatment abroad for an acute illness or an accident, this is not considered as seeking treatment. In that case, you can show your European Health Insurance Card to get treatment.
Reimbursement for treatment costs: who can get it?
You can be reimbursed for your treatment costs if you are covered under the Finnish national health insurance scheme or you are registered as a resident of a Finnish municipality. You may also be entitled to reimbursement in case you are not covered for national health insurance benefits in Finland but Finland is responsible for your medical care expenses.
Seeking treatment without prior authorisation
When you seek treatment without prior authorisation, you should find a suitable place of treatment yourself and check that you can get treatment there.
When you seek treatment without prior authorisation, you will first have to pay all treatment costs yourself. Claim reimbursement from Kela within 6 months of paying the costs.
You will receive reimbursement at the most to the amount that equivalent treatment would have cost in Finland in your wellbeing services county. We will contact your wellbeing services county for the necessary information.
One prerequisite for reimbursement is that the treatment is deemed medically necessary and that the treatment provided is included in the range of services available in the Finnish public healthcare system. The treatment must correspond to the treatment that you would have received in the Finnish public healthcare system. You need a referral for the treatment, if a referral is needed for equivalent treatment in the Finnish public healthcare system.
Example
Ville, a resident of Espoo, visits a dentist in Estonia while on holiday there. He claims reimbursement from Kela for the costs of the dental care he received. Kela asks the Länsi-Uusimaa wellbeing services county to provide an estimate as to whether the criteria for reimbursement are met, how much an equivalent treatment would have cost in the wellbeing services county, and how much Ville would have had to pay in user fees. The Länsi-Uusimaa wellbeing services county replies confirming that the criteria for reimbursement are met. Kela pays the reimbursement in accordance with the price information reported by the wellbeing services county.
You can also get a reimbursement for travel and medication costs. Travel costs are reimbursed as if you had travelled to the nearest treatment facility in Finland where you could have received the necessary treatment or examination. Medicines purchased abroad are reimbursed on the same grounds as medicines purchased in Finland.
Before seeking treatment without prior authorisation, you can ask Kela to investigate whether you can get a reimbursement for the treatment and what the amount of reimbursement would be. Ask Kela for this notice well in advance of seeking treatment. Because we will have contact the public healthcare provider for the necessary information, please allow some time for us to determine the reimbursement.
Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the application directly in the browser, otherwise some of the information may not be saved.
Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
Save the completed form to your device. Note that the form must be in PDF format.
Send the application using the OmaKela e-service:
Log in to OmaKela (available in Finnish and Swedish). Select Tee hakemus (File an application).
Select Sairaanhoito, hammashoito, matkat ja lääkkeet (Medical care, dental care, travel costs and medicines).
When you send your application online, you do not need to sign it.
Send supporting documents via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them. Necessary documentation:
a statement on the treatment provided from the doctor who provides treatment to you abroad
a referral, if a referral would be required for equivalent treatment in the Finnish public healthcare system.
Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided. You will also receive a decision by post if you have not given up paper mail.
Another option is to send the application by mail. Fill in and print out the form. Send the application and any supporting documents by mail. The address is Kela, Centre for International Affairs, PL 78, 00381 Helsinki.
When you seek treatment abroad without prior authorisation, you will first have to pay all treatment costs yourself. You must claim reimbursement afterwards within 6 months of paying the costs. Also claim reimbursement for travel and medication costs.
If you have had a treatment series consisting of several sessions, you can claim reimbursement for them all at the same time. You must claim reimbursement within 6 months of paying the costs declared in your claim.
Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the application directly in the browser, otherwise some of the information may not be saved.
Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
Save the completed form to your device. Note that the form must be in PDF format.
Send the application using the OmaKela e-service:
Log in to OmaKela (available in Finnish and Swedish). Select Tee hakemus (File an application).
Select Sairaanhoito, hammashoito, matkat ja lääkkeet (Medical care, dental care, travel costs and medicines).
When you send your application online, you do not need to sign it.
Send supporting documents via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them. Necessary documentation:
a statement describing the treatment you have received
proof of payment and prescriptions for medicines
doctor’s referral to examination, treatment or specialist appointment if one would have been required to access such services in the Finnish public healthcare system.
Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided. You will also receive a decision by post if you have not given up paper mail.
Another option is to send the application by mail. Fill in and print out the form. Send the application and any supporting documents by mail. The address is Kela, Centre for International Affairs, PL 78, 00381 Helsinki.
You can also seek treatment abroad with a prior authorisation that you can apply for from Kela. In that case, you should find a suitable place of treatment yourself and confirm that you can get treatment there with a prior authorisation. We will determine your right to a prior authorisation on the basis of your application.
Apply for prior authorisation well in advance of seeking treatment. We will decide your application based on a statement obtained from a public healthcare provider, so please allow some time for this process.
All of the following conditions must be satisfied to get a prior authorisation:
The proposed treatment must be medically justified.
The treatment is included in the treatments provided by the public healthcare system in Finland.
If the public healthcare provider supports your application, we will issue you a prior authorisation (on an S2 form). Give the prior authorisation to the treatment provider.
If you have prior authorisation, you pay only the user fee charged abroad for the treatment.
If you despite prior authorisation have to pay all the costs for the treatment yourself, you can claim reimbursement from Kela. Claim reimbursement within 6 months of paying the treatment costs.
You can also apply for prior authorisation after receiving treatment. You have six months from when you paid the treatment costs to apply for prior authorisation retroactively. We review applications submitted retroactively in the same way as applications filed before seeking treatment.
Example
Ingrid, a resident of Vaasa, wants to seek treatment in Sweden. She applies for prior authorisation from Kela. Kela asks the wellbeing services county for Ostrobothnia for a statement on whether the preconditions for granting prior authorisation are met. The wellbeing services county gives a statement supporting Ingrid’s application for prior authorisation. On the basis of the statement, Kela grants Ingrid an authorisation.
Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the application directly in the browser, otherwise some of the information may not be saved.
Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
Save the completed form to your device. Note that the form must be in PDF format.
Send the application using the OmaKela e-service:
Log in to OmaKela (available in Finnish and Swedish). Select Tee hakemus (File an application).
Select Sairaanhoito, hammashoito, matkat ja lääkkeet (Medical care, dental care, travel costs and medicines).
When you send your application online, you do not need to sign it.
Send supporting documents via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them. Necessary documentation:
medical documentation on your illness or treatment (e.g. treatment record or medical statement).
Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided. You will also receive a decision by post if you have not given up paper mail.
Another option is to send the application by mail. Fill in and print out the form. Send the application and any supporting documents by mail. The address is Kela, Centre for International Affairs, PL 78, 00381 Helsinki.
You must claim reimbursement afterwards within 6 months of paying the costs. You can also get a reimbursement for travel or medication costs and for the cost of treatment-related accommodation. If the wellbeing services county considers that an accompanying person is necessary, it is also possible to receive reimbursement for the expenses of the accompanying person.
Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the application directly in the browser, otherwise some of the information may not be saved.
Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
Save the completed form to your device. Note that the form must be in PDF format.
Send the application using the OmaKela e-service:
Log in to OmaKela (available in Finnish and Swedish). Select Tee hakemus (File an application).
Select Sairaanhoito, hammashoito, matkat ja lääkkeet. (Medical care, dental care, travel costs and medicines).
When you send your application online, you do not need to sign it.
Send supporting documents via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them. Necessary documentation:
a statement describing the treatment you have received
proof of payment and prescriptions for medicines.
Visit the OmaKela e-service to see if your application has been decided. You will also receive a decision by post if you have not given up paper mail.
Another option is to send the application by mail. Fill in and print out the form. Send the application and any supporting documents by mail. The address is Kela, Centre for International Affairs, PL 78, 00381 Helsinki.
If you live abroad, you can seek treatment from a private or public healthcare provider in Finland with or without prior authorisation.
You can come to Finland for treatment in the private healthcare system without prior authorisation. If you are covered for healthcare benefits in another EU country, you can also seek treatment in the public healthcare system. For specialised medical care, you need a referral. You should find a suitable treatment facility yourself and check if you can obtain treatment in Finland.
If you seek treatment without prior authorisation, you also pay all treatment costs yourself. You cannot get a reimbursement for the costs from Kela. Claim reimbursement from the country in which you are covered for healthcare benefits and which is responsible for the costs of your medical care.
You can also get treatment in the Finnish public healthcare system if you have a prior authorisation issued by your country of residence. Prior authorisation means an S2 certificate issued by an EU or EEA country, by Switzerland or by Great Britain. Other types of prior authorisation are not accepted in Finland.
If you have prior authorisation, you pay a corresponding user fee as local residents for treatment obtained in the Finnish public healthcare system. You should find a suitable treatment facility yourself and check if you can obtain treatment in Finland.
If your country of residence has given you prior authorisation for treatment by a private healthcare provider, you must first pay all of the treatment costs yourself. You can claim reimbursement from Kela on the form Medical care expenses incurred in Finland SV 127e (pdf).
