Healthcare in Finland is not entirely free, but public treatment is subsidised once you have a registered municipality of residence. Emergency care is open to everyone regardless of nationality, while ongoing access to health centres and hospitals depends on your municipal registration rather than citizenship or a card. If you work, your employer must provide preventive occupational healthcare; whether it also covers everyday medical care depends on your workplace agreement.

What gives you the right to public healthcare

Everyone has the right to emergency medical care in Finnish public healthcare, whatever their nationality. For all other public care, entitlement does not depend on nationality or on carrying a health card; it depends on having a registered municipality of residence (kotikunta). You apply for a municipality of residence through the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) as part of your first steps after moving to Finland.

With a registered municipality of residence, you are entitled to all the treatment you need in the public healthcare system and pay only the standard client fee (asiakasmaksu). The client fee is the same for every resident of a wellbeing services county regardless of citizenship. Kela does not reimburse the cost of treatment received in the public system, and holding a Kela card does not affect your right to public healthcare; that right is based on your registration with DVV.

According to Kela's medical care entitlement rules, several specific pathways govern cover depending on your employment and residency status:

Who runs healthcare

Public healthcare in Finland is organised regionally. Responsibility for organising health and social services moved from individual municipalities to 21 regional wellbeing services counties (hyvinvointialue) at the beginning of 2023. These 21 counties are based mainly on Finland's regions, though the Uusimaa region is split into four distinct counties.

The capital is an exception: the City of Helsinki continues to organise its own health, social, and rescue services independently. The HUS Group is responsible for demanding specialised healthcare duties laid down by law.

Across Finland, primary healthcare is delivered through local health centres, whereas most specialised medical care is delivered in hospitals. Private healthcare supplements these public services and is mostly paid for by patients themselves or through private insurance policies.

How to get care

For residents in Helsinki, the local health station is the first point of contact for both urgent and long-term health concerns. For life-threatening emergencies anywhere in Finland, call 112. Situations requiring an immediate 112 call include:

The emergency number 112 can be dialled from any mobile phone, even without a SIM card.

For non-life-threatening acute issues, call the Medical Helpline on 116117. This service is run by the wellbeing services counties to offer telephone triage and advice for acute health problems before you travel to a clinic; the operator advises you whether a physical visit is required. The helpline is available 24/7 for urgent problems everywhere in Finland except Åland. The call itself is free, though a foreign mobile subscription may incur provider charges. Because operational details differ by region, you can consult specific municipal instructions on the Medical Helpline website.

In Helsinki, you can also use the Omaolo digital symptom checker around the clock. Once you submit an assessment via Omaolo, city health services contact you within two hours. If you are in Helsinki and cannot reach the Medical Helpline within a reasonable time, you can go straight to a HUS emergency department.

In Helsinki, appointments must be cancelled at least 24 hours in advance. A missed or late-cancelled appointment incurs a penalty fee of €60.60 for clients aged 18 and over, unless you have an acceptable reason such as sudden illness.

What public care costs in 2026 and the €815 annual payment ceiling

Maximum client fees in public healthcare are defined at the national level by the Act on Client Charges in Healthcare and Social Welfare and its accompanying Government Decree. Individual wellbeing services counties can choose to charge less than these statutory ceilings or offer specific services free of charge.

For counties charging the statutory rates in 2026, the national maximum fees are:

Primary care consultations with a nurse, laboratory work, X-ray examinations, visits to maternity and child health clinics, and vaccinations included in the national programme are generally free of charge for residents, though you should verify specific details with your local clinic. Primary care visits, outpatient clinic appointments, and public dental care are also generally free for people under 18.

The City of Helsinki does not collect basic health centre charges: an appointment with a doctor, nurse, or other professional at a Helsinki health station costs €0. However, Helsinki charges €71.30 for an outpatient clinic visit and €60.60 for an official medical certificate (certificates issued directly for medical treatment or rehabilitation remain free).

Public healthcare charges have an annual payment ceiling (maksukatto). On 1 January 2026, this annual payment ceiling rose from €762 to €815 per calendar year. Once your qualifying public fees reach €815 within a calendar year, covered services become free for the remainder of that year, although an upkeep fee can still be charged for short-term inpatient care.

In Helsinki, tracking the ceiling is your own responsibility: keep all invoices and receipts that count towards it, and once you have exceeded it you can apply for a certificate. In Helsinki, these fees do not count towards the ceiling:

Private healthcare treatment also does not count towards the ceiling. The ceiling does not cover fees incurred by individuals without a registered municipality of residence, unless they hold an entitlement under EU legislation or international social security agreements.

If you have difficulty paying public healthcare invoices, you can apply to your wellbeing services county for a fee reduction or waiver. If you believe a client charge has been calculated incorrectly, you have 30 days from receiving the billing decision to challenge it with the county.

Occupational healthcare from your employer

Every employed person in Finland is entitled to occupational healthcare (työterveyshuolto), regardless of the type or length of their employment. The service is arranged and paid for by the employer, who receives partial compensation from Kela for reasonable, necessary expenses.

Under Finnish law, an employer must provide preventive occupational healthcare even if they employ only one worker. This statutory requirement applies equally to summer workers, part-time staff, short-term temporary employees, agency staff (arranged through their employment agency), and trainees. A student working under an employment contract is entitled to statutory occupational healthcare from their employer, even if they already have access to student healthcare. If an individual holds multiple jobs, each employer must arrange occupational healthcare independently. Self-employed people can choose to arrange voluntary preventive care and GP-level care for themselves.

Statutory preventive occupational healthcare covers:

Employees are required to attend statutory health examinations when their specific role involves identified health risks, such as high noise levels, flour dust, or chemical solvents. Understanding these protections forms an essential part of employment rights in Finland.

While preventive occupational healthcare is compulsory, providing general medical care (sairaanhoito) for ordinary illnesses is voluntary for the employer. Employers must make their written occupational healthcare agreement available for staff to review; this document states whether it covers statutory occupational healthcare only or medical care as well. You should ask your employer:

In Helsinki, ask your occupational healthcare provider for a sick-leave certificate first; if you do not have occupational healthcare, you can get one from your health station.

Dental care, public and private

Public dental care (hammashoito) is available to residents through their wellbeing services county. The maximum basic public fees per visit are:

Separate procedure fees are billed on top of the basic visit fee depending on the treatment provided. In Helsinki, where there are 27 public dental clinics, a basic dentist visit (€19.10) combined with a routine oral examination (€27.60) costs €46.70. Dental care in Helsinki is completely free of charge for children and young people up to the age of 18. Appointments are booked by phone, during which clinical urgency is triaged, and cancellations must be made at least 24 hours in advance to prevent a penalty fee.

Patients can also use private dentists. Kela reimburses a basic oral examination carried out by a private dentist once every two calendar years, or once a calendar year if your health requires it. For example, if a private dentist charges €70 for a basic examination lasting up to 20 minutes, Kela reimburses €30; the patient pays the remaining €40 out of pocket alongside any clinic administrative fees. Kela does not normally reimburse dentures. Private dental expenses do not count towards the public €815 annual payment ceiling, and there is no annual ceiling on private dental costs.

Private doctors, prescriptions and Kela reimbursement

Kela reimburses part of the cost of private appointments for illness, pregnancy, or childbirth, including video, phone, and chat consultations. For a consultation with a private general practitioner or specialist, Kela reimburses a fixed flat rate of €8.

Kela sends a Kela card automatically to everyone covered by Finnish national health insurance. The Kela card has no electronic counterpart and is not an official form of identification. You usually do not need the card: your right to Kela reimbursement can be checked electronically from an official ID card or driving licence, for example at a pharmacy or at a private clinic that uses PALSO.

At private clinics using Kela's PALSO direct-reimbursement enquiry system, the €8 reimbursement is deducted directly from your invoice upon showing your ID or Kela card. If direct reimbursement is unavailable, you must submit a claim manually to Kela within 6 months of making the payment. Kela does not reimburse clinic office fees, facility charges, Kanta archive fees, or medical examinations needed for a driving licence, a study programme, or a new job. Private medical bills do not count towards the public €815 payment ceiling, and private care has no annual out-of-pocket maximum.

Prescription medications are managed under a separate national reimbursement framework explained on Kela's medicine expenses page:

Medicine reimbursement is usually deducted directly at the pharmacy, which records your cumulative spend towards the deductible and annual cap. Since the end of October 2025, low-income customers can get a loan from Kela to pay towards the medicine ceiling.