The Finnish Healthcare System: Wellbeing Services Counties, Kela, Access for a Foreigner, Fees and Emergencies

Public care is organised by the wellbeing services counties (hyvinvointialue), which replaced the previous administrative structures (InfoFinland). Health and social services centres, known under varying names depending on the region, are the entry point to the system. CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security), in a 2021 presentation that predates this transfer of responsibility, describes a set of four components: public health services, hospitals, the private sector and occupational health.

Kela, a social insurance institution, manages national health insurance, funded by contributions from employees and employers and by the State. According to CLEISS, this insurance covers the private sector, occupational health, medicines and transport costs, while public services are funded by taxation (CLEISS). Citizens freely choose their public health centre and, for specialist care, a hospital with a letter from a doctor; emergency care does not require a referral.

To use public health services, the municipality of residence (kotikunta) is the key to access (InfoFinland). The DVV assigns it for a planned stay of at least one year, after registration of the right of residence with Migri (the Finnish Immigration Service) for a stay of more than three months, as described in the page on living in Finland. With this municipality, the patient pays only the client fee and Kela does not reimburse public care.

• Permanent resident: anyone who lives in Finland permanently falls under national health insurance; Kela assesses whether the stay is permanent based on its length, family ties, employment and any home elsewhere.
• Worker: paid work in Finland of at least €800.02 a month also opens cover, even without permanent residence (Kela, January 2026). Without a municipality of residence but with affiliation to Finnish health insurance, a certificate of entitlement to care gives access to public care at resident rates.
• Retiree from another EU country: they submit the S1 form to Kela (see the page on retiring in Finland).
• Temporary stay: the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card, CEAM in French; physical version only, the digital version not being accepted) gives access to necessary public-sector care (Kela).

Health centres are generally open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; it is advisable to call in the morning to get an appointment, urgent cases being handled faster (InfoFinland). The Kela card is presented at every visit. Before going to the emergency department, it is advisable to call the medical advice line 116 117, available in most regions, and 112 is for life-threatening emergencies. France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) points to the Suomi 112 app, which sends your location to the emergency services.

• First-level emergency consultation: at most €41.40 in 2026.
• Missed or uncancelled appointment: at most €73.70 (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health).
• Specialists: access to a hospital for specialist care goes through a letter from a doctor (CLEISS).

The 2026 national fees apply from 1 January; the statutory maximums are indexed every two years (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health). They are the same everywhere in the country.

• Specialist consultation at an outpatient clinic: at most €71.30.
• Day surgery: at most €233.80.
• Hospital stay: at most €71.50 per day of care; at most €32.80 per day in psychiatry; at most €26.80 per day once the annual cap is reached.
• Annual cap: €815 in 2026. The following in particular count towards it: doctor consultations at a health centre, physiotherapy, hospital consultations, day surgery, short-term stays, rehabilitation, and public dental consultation and treatment fees; patient transport, medical certificates, private laboratory and imaging tests and fully private services do not count. After the cap, covered services are free for the calendar year, except for accommodation charges in institutions for adults (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health).

Prescription medicines bought at a pharmacy are reimbursed by Kela on presentation of the card, the patient paying only their share. The basic rate is 40% of the retail price or reference price, the lower special rate is 65% and the higher special rate is 100%, the latter with a co-payment of €4.50 per purchase. An annual deductible of €70.33 applies from the year of the 19th birthday.

In 2026, the annual cap on expenses borne by the patient is €636.12; beyond it, a co-payment of €2.50 per prescription medicine is enough until the end of the year (Kela, page amended on 26 September 2026). If the price of a medicine exceeds the reference price and the patient refuses substitution with a generic, the excess counts neither towards the deductible nor towards the cap.

Private providers offer quicker appointments at a cost clearly higher than in the public sector (InfoFinland). The patient pays upfront and Kela reimburses part: €8 per doctor consultation since 1 January 2026, in person or remotely. Consultations with an obstetrician-gynaecologist are reimbursed at €70 in person, €30 by video and €12 by telephone, and those with a psychiatrist at €50 to €60 in person depending on length. The claim is filed within six months of payment; no annual cap limits private costs (Kela).

For private dental care, Kela reimburses the oral examination once every two calendar years, or every year if the state of health requires it, with examples of a €30 reimbursement for a basic examination billed at €70; dentures, whitening and administrative fees are excluded, as is public dental care, which falls under the counties’ fees (Kela).

France Diplomatie recommends updating the usual French vaccinations and considers vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis as recommended depending on the conditions of the stay (updated 15 September 2026). This viral infection is transmitted by tick bite, mainly in spring and summer, and Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by the same parasites. Prevention relies on covering clothing, a repellent and checking the body after an outing in the forest, particularly in the south of the country.

France Diplomatie also advises taking out insurance that covers medical costs and repatriation, and requesting the EHIC at least 15 days before departure. The page on healthcare reimbursement in Finland details who pays in each situation, and the page on expat health insurance presents the supplementary options.