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Wellbeing services county, Kela card and client fees – healthcare in Finland in 2026

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Your right to see a doctor in Finland comes not from the Kela card but from your municipality of residence – a distinction that trips up many newcomers. Here is who is covered, what the wellbeing services counties may charge in 2026, what the Kela card actually does, and which number to call when something goes wrong.

Woman in a grey top talking with a female doctor in a white coat in a clinic
Photo: AntonioDiaz/Adobe Stock

Two things changed for patients at the start of 2026: client fees rose about 6.93 per cent on index adjustment, taking the annual payment ceiling to €815, and on 1 January 2026 the supervision of care passed from Valvira to the new Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto). Beneath it all the 2023 structure stands: public healthcare is organised by the wellbeing services counties (hyvinvointialue), and your access depends on your kotikunta (municipality of residence), not on the Kela card.

Who organises healthcare in Finland – the wellbeing services county

Since the beginning of 2023, health, social and rescue services have been run by 21 self-governing wellbeing services counties – Uusimaa is split into four – plus the City of Helsinki, which organises its own; HUS Group handles demanding specialised care. The counties cannot levy taxes and are financed mainly by the state. Client fees are national maxima under the Act on Client Charges, and each county decides whether to charge the maximum, less, or nothing.

CityWho organises careYour first contact
HelsinkiCity of HelsinkiEach health station has its own number; phone service Mon–Thu 8–16, Fri 8–15; Omaolo symptom checker around the clock
EspooWestern Uusimaa wellbeing services countyHealth centre by home address; booking +358 9 296 83401; digital clinic Lunna 8–20
TamperePirkanmaa wellbeing services countyE.g. Hatanpää centre, Hatanpäänkatu 24, +358 3 311 68210, Mon–Thu 8–16, Fri 8–15
TurkuSouthwest Finland wellbeing services county45 health stations in the region, e.g. Kirkkotie 13, +358 2 266 1130, Mon–Fri 8–16
OuluNorth Ostrobothnia wellbeing services countyE.g. Kontinkangas, Kajaanintie 46 A, +358 8 669 2036; English service +358 8 669 9600

Source: the City of Helsinki and the wellbeing services counties of Western Uusimaa, Pirkanmaa, Southwest Finland and North Ostrobothnia, read 24 September 2026.

Am I entitled to public healthcare in Finland?

The national rule is short: you may use public health services if you have a kotikunta registered with DVV (Digital and Population Data Services Agency; Myndigheten för digitalisering och befolkningsdata), whatever your nationality. You get one when you move for at least a year with, for example, a registered EU right of residence or an A or P permit – part 3 explains. With it you are entitled to all necessary treatment for the client fee only; Kela does not reimburse public care.

Without a kotikunta, work opens the door: employees apply to Kela with form SV 141e for a 'Certificate of entitlement to medical care in Finland', giving public care at the local fee; EU/EEA, Swiss and UK workers keep it while insured here. Asylum seekers with a pending application get care through their reception centre; undocumented migrants are entitled to necessary care but usually pay for it.

Your situationPublic healthcareHow
Kotikunta registered at DVVAll necessary treatment at the client feeContact your health station
Working here, no kotikuntaPublic care at the local fee while insured in FinlandKela form SV 141e; seasonal workers SV 139e
Temporary stay from the EU/EEA, Switzerland or the UKMedically necessary care at the resident's feePhysical EHIC only; GHIC or Citizens' Rights Card from the UK
Posted over a year, or an EU/EEA/Swiss pensionerPublic care at the fee plus Kela reimbursementsS1 from home, filed with Kela
Degree studentFinnish Student Health Service for Kela's fee of €70.70 in 2026; free for EU/EEA, UK and Swiss studentsStudies of two years or more usually bring a kotikunta
Temporary stay from elsewhere, no kotikuntaEmergency care only, billed afterwardsPrivate insurance

Source: Kela and InfoFinland, read 24 September 2026.

What does a doctor's visit cost in 2026?

Client fees are national maximums under the Act on Client Charges (734/1992), index-adjusted every two years and charged only from 18. Nurse visits, maternity and child clinics, primary-care laboratory and X-ray tests and national-programme vaccinations are free. What you pay counts towards the maksukatto (payment ceiling) of €815 a calendar year – €762 in 2025 – after which covered services are free for the rest of the year. Under-18s' fees count towards a guardian's ceiling. You track it yourself, so keep receipts.

ServiceNational maximum from 1 January 2026
Doctor's appointment at a health centre€30.20 per visit, at most three a year in the same centre, or an annual fee of €60.30
Nurse appointmentFree
Emergency visit, evenings and nights 20–08, weekends and holidays€41.40
Hospital outpatient visit€71.30
Day surgery€233.80
Hospital inpatient day€71.50; €26.80 after the ceiling
Physiotherapy and other series treatment€19.90 per session, at most 45 a year
Missed appointment€73.70
Medical certificate€60.60; €72.80 for a driving licence

Source: the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, read 24 September 2026.

Helsinki charges €0 for a health-station appointment, €71.30 for an outpatient visit and €60.60 for a missed appointment, and nothing for vaccinations or psychiatric outpatient visits (fees page updated 9 September 2026). Bill HE 185/2026 proposes, from 1 March 2027, a 20 per cent rise in health-centre fees – a doctor's visit up to €37.20; Parliament has not decided.

Using the system: health station, 116 117 and 112

Your first contact is the local health and social services centre – terveysasema (health station), terveyskeskus or hyvinvointiasema, names vary by county – by phone or the Omaolo symptom assessment, usually Monday to Friday 8–16. A nurse treats many complaints and refers you on; a specialist needs a GP referral. Services come in Finnish and Swedish and often English – ask for an interpreter (tulkki) when booking. Cancel by the previous day or pay a non-attendance fee.

Evenings and weekends, acute cases go to päivystys (the emergency clinic) – but call first. The Medical Helpline 116 117 is a free advisory service run by the counties, open around the clock everywhere except Åland. In a life-threatening emergency call 112: free from any phone, no area code, answered in Finnish, Swedish and English with interpreters for other languages; the free 112 Suomi app sends your location. The Poison Information Centre answers on (09) 471 977 day and night.

What the Kela card does – and what private care costs

Kela (Social Insurance Institution) sends the Kela card automatically to everyone covered by national health insurance – for workers, pay of at least €800.02 a month, however short the job. It is not an ID card, has no electronic version, and photo cards are no longer issued. It proves your right to Kela reimbursements at private clinics and pharmacies, nothing more. Newcomers apply in OmaKela (Finnish and Swedish only) or with form SV 157e plus form Y 77e, 'Moving to Finland or employment in Finland', posted to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA. Renewal is free.

Private care is open to all, faster, considerably dearer and uncapped. Kela's 2026 reimbursement is €8 for a GP or specialist visit, €70 for an in-person gynaecologist and €15 per physiotherapy session, at most four a year; claim within six months if the clinic does not deduct it. Prescriptions: you pay in full up to the initial deductible of €70.33 a year, then get 40, 65 or 100 per cent back; above the €636.12 annual maximum each medicine costs €2.50. Employers must arrange preventive occupational health care; GP-level care through it is voluntary.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Get your kotikunta at DVV (part 3) – this, not the Kela card, opens public healthcareAs soon as you qualify
2Working but no kotikunta yet: apply to Kela with form SV 141eWhen you start work
3EU/EEA, Switzerland or UK: pack a physical EHIC; posted over a year or a pensioner: request an S1Before you travel
4Notify Kela with form Y 77e or in OmaKela; the Kela card then comes automaticallyIn your first weeks
5Find your health station by address and save its number, plus 116 117 and 112On arrival
6Keep receipts for the €815 ceiling; questions: Kela 020 634 2650 or 020 634 0200 (moving to Finland)All year

Source: Kela and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.