I want to go abroad for treatment
You are free to travel and use health care services abroad. You are entitled to access treatment in another EU or EEA country in the same way as the residents of the country. You can seek services of both primary health care and specialised medical care and you can also receive treatment for a chronic condition.
Seeking treatment means that you travel to the country in question for the express purpose of receiving treatment. If you receive treatment abroad on account of a sudden illness or accident, this is not counted as seeking treatment.
You can use the local public health care services of another EU or EEA country in the same way as the residents of the country in question. Providers of health care services in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland can independently decide whether to accept clients from abroad for treatment.
However, the EU and EEA countries are not obliged to offer the following healthcare services to clients seeking treatment from abroad:
- long-term care and other services aimed at providing support to an individual in ordinary daily activities
- organ transplants
- vaccines and vaccination programmes.
How to go abroad for treatment
Determine the destination country and place of treatment
- Find a suitable hospital or doctor and check their operating licenses.
- Please note that treatment is always provided in accordance with the national legislation and health care system of each respective country.
You can ask the Contact Point of the destination country for more information. See the contact information of the contact points in the EU countries on our website.
Agree on practical arrangements
- Agree on the date of treatment, practices and fees directly with the place of treatment.
- Establish the language of treatment and arrange interpretation, if necessary.
- If you want, you can apply for prior authorisation or request a prior information notice from Kela.
- If you have applied for prior authorisation, check with the treatment provider that they accept the prior authorisation.
Read also:
Remember medical records and translations
- Deliver the most relevant medical records and, if necessary, a referral to the treatment provider. You may also need a referral to receive reimbursement from Kela.
- If the documents need to be translated, you will pay the translation costs yourself.
Read also: Medical records abroad
Travel for treatment and pay the invoice
- If you have prior authorisation granted by Kela, you only pay the local client fee for your treatment.
- If you do not have prior authorisation, you pay the entire invoice yourself.
- Ask the treatment provider for your medical records and bring them with you to Finland.
Apply for reimbursement from Kela
- Deliver to Kela a breakdown of the treatment you received and its costs and apply for reimbursement with form SV 128.
- If you were granted prior authorisation by Kela and you received the treatment at the price of the local client fee, you no longer need to apply for reimbursement for the treatment you received. However, you can apply for reimbursement from Kela for travel, medication and accommodation costs incurred during the trip.
- Apply for reimbursement no later than 6 months after payment.
Read also: How are the costs of seeking treatment reimbursed?
Do you need follow-up treatment in Finland?
- If you need follow-up treatment in Finland, contact your health centre. The attending doctor will assess your need for treatment and you will receive treatment accordingly.
- Treatment is provided in accordance with Finnish practices. Treatment in Finland can differ from the instructions given by the doctor who treated you abroad.
- Deliver the medical records received from abroad to the doctor in charge of your follow-up treatment. If the documents need to be translated, you will pay the translation costs yourself.
Read also: Follow-up treatment in Finland
What if you suffer a patient injury?
- Finnish patient insurance does not cover injuries that occur abroad.
- Resolve the injury with the treatment provider and apply for possible compensation from the authorities of the country in question.
- However, you can receive treatment in Finland, even if the treatment need is due to a patient injury that has taken place abroad.
Read also: Patient injuries abroad
Seeking treatment outside EU and EEA countries and Switzerland
You can travel abroad for treatment in countries other than the EU or EEA member states, but access to treatment depends on the legislation of the destination country. In other countries the treatment provider is not obliged to accept you for treatment if you have travelled to the country for the purpose of accessing health care services.
Kela will not reimburse costs incurred by treatment if you have travelled for treatment in countries other than the EU or EEA countries, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland.
Are you still uncertain about something?
Please contact us via email: yhteyspiste@kela.fi
Frequently asked questions
What does prior authorisation mean, and where can I get one in Finland?
You can apply for prior authorisation pursuant to the relevant EU regulation (form S2) for treatment that is provided in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. If you are granted prior authorisation, you will pay the same amount for the treatment as local residents. Your wellbeing services county will pay the rest of the treatment costs. Agree on the practical matters with the treatment provider and ensure in advance that the provider accepts the prior authorisation.
Apply for prior authorisation from Kela. Attach a statement about your treatment, such as a doctor’s statement, to the application. Kela will ask public healthcare for a statement on your case and grant the prior authorisation if the healthcare of your wellbeing services county supports it.
At the moment, only prior authorisation in accordance with EU Regulation is in use in Finland.
Can I choose the place for treatment with a prior authorisation myself?
Yes, you can. Find a treatment provider that suits you and find out whether the provider accepts the prior authorisation (S2 form). As a rule, the S2 form is accepted only in public healthcare or a place that has an agreement with the public healthcare system. Prior authorisation is granted for a specific country and specific treatment. The prior authorisation also has a deadline within which you must seek the treatment.
What are the grounds for granting a prior authorisation in Finland?
Public healthcare in your wellbeing services county will evaluate your application. Prior authorisation must be granted if the treatment is justified in your particular case and included in the public healthcare services in Finland, and it is not possible to arrange treatment for you in Finland within the time limits defined under the waiting times guarantee system. In some cases, prior authorisation may be granted based on, for example, language or cultural criteria, even if the treatment is also available in Finland.
Can I receive reimbursement for treatment costs if I seek treatment abroad independently?
Yes. You can claim reimbursement from Kela if you seek treatment independently in an EU or EEA country, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland. Kela will reimburse costs as if you had received treatment in a similar situation in your own wellbeing services county. However, you must always pay the client fee yourself. Apply for reimbursement within six months of paying for the treatment.
You can also apply for a prior authorisation pursuant to the relevant EU regulation from Kela for treatment provided abroad. In this case, you will pay the same amount for the treatment as local residents.
If you seek treatment in a country other than an EU or EEA country, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland, you cannot receive Kela reimbursements for the treatment costs.
Can I find out the amount of reimbursement in advance?
You can ask Kela in advance what kind of reimbursement you can receive for treatment provided abroad. Apply for prior notification in good time before seeking treatment, as Kela requests the necessary information from the public health care of your wellbeing services county.
For the application concerning the prior notification, you will need from the doctor providing the treatment abroad an account of the treatment to be provided, an estimate of the costs of the treatment as well as a referral, if one would be required for accessing similar treatment in Finland. Kela will reimburse the costs of treatment in the manner indicated in the prior notification, if the treatment has been implemented in accordance with the information you have provided.
Can I receive Kela reimbursement for any treatment provided abroad?
No. Kela can only reimburse treatment provided in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland. Another prerequisite for reimbursement is that the treatment is medically necessary and is included in the range of services provided by public health care in Finland.
However, if you are seeking treatment abroad with a prior authorisation pursuant to the relevant EU regulation, you can only obtain a prior authorisation for treatment included in the public health care services in Finland. Therefore, you cannot obtain prior authorisation for treatment that is not available in Finland. An exception to this is rare diseases, for which prior authorisation can be granted in some cases.