Occupational health care for entrepreneurs and other self-employed persons
If you are self-employed or a farmer, you can choose to arrange occupational health coverage for yourself. Kela can pay reimbursement for part of the cost of the coverage.
Kela provides reimbursement for self-employed persons and independent farmers who are insured under the Self-Employed Persons' (YEL) or Farmers' (MYEL) Pensions Act. Reimbursements are also available when
- the insurance has been discontinued on account of disability while the self-employed person receives a rehabilitation subsidy or a temporary workers’ compensation pension. Entrepreneurs and farmers who did not join the occupational health care system until in receipt of rehabilitation subsidy or temporary workers’ compensation pension are also entitled to reimbursements.
- a self-employed person who is on an old-age pension or an early old-age pension pays a voluntary YEL or MYEL insurance contribution and works in a company or continues to work as a farmer.
The purpose of occupational health care is to create a healthy and safe work environment and a well-functioning workplace community, to prevent work-related illnesses, and to maintain and promote work capacity and functioning.
Self-employed persons with employees
If you have employees working for you, you can claim reimbursement for your own occupational health costs on an employer-specific claim at the same time as you claim reimbursement for the cost of your employees’ occupational health services. The claim is made separately for each accounting period. Read more about occupational health care arranged by the employer (Employers section) (in Finnish).
Reimbursement criteria
Before obtaining occupational health services, you must agree the content and provision of the care with the service provider. Occupational health care is based on a workplace survey in which the service provider examines the work practices and workplace conditions and evaluates their health impact.
In order to get reimbursement for occupational health care costs, you and the service provider must have a valid
- agreement on occupational health care,
- plan of operations for occupational health care
- workplace survey
Learn more: Tyosuojelu.fi > Website of the Occupational Health Safety and Health Administration in Finland > Occupational Health Care
What does Kela reimburse?
In accordance with the Health Insurance Act, Kela provides reimbursement for the necessary and reasonable costs of preventive occupational health care (Employers section) (in Finnish) and general practitioner level medical care services (Employers section) (in Finnish).
Costs for medical care can be reimbursed as occupational health care only for self-employed persons who have an agreement on occupational health care with a service provider that covers not only preventive occupational health care but also medical services.
Kela can also provide reimbursement for the cost of travel related to occupational health care and for the cost of establishing first-aid readiness (Employers section) (in Finnish) if it has been determined, as part of the workplace survey, what kind of first-aid readiness is relevant for the type of work concerned.