Are you 65 or older? – See a private general practitioner at the price of a public one starting in September
A new pilot study on freedom of choice in healthcare starts on 1 September 2025. During the pilot study, persons aged 65 or over can see a private general practitioner and only have to pay up to the price of the local user fee charged by public healthcare providers. This price applies if the doctor is participating in the pilot study. The pilot study will affect more than 20% of the total population in Finland.
If you are aged 65 years or over
- you can book an appointment directly with a private general practitioner
- you get faster access to treatment, and you can choose the right doctor for you
- you will know how much each appointment will cost before you book it (the local user fee charged by public healthcare providers).
You get all this on the condition that the doctor you choose is participating in the pilot study on freedom of choice in healthcare.
You can see a private general practitioner who is participating in the pilot study. General practitioners treat people of all ages and a wide range of conditions. They will help you with problems such as back pain, trouble sleeping or high blood pressure.
How do I book an appointment?
- Visit Kela’s website to check if the general practitioner or service provider you have chosen is participating in the pilot study on freedom of choice in healthcare. We will publish a page with this information closer to the start of the pilot study.
- Check your chosen service provider’s own website for instructions on how to book an appointment.
- If you book an appointment by phone, please make sure that you are booking an appointment with a doctor who is participating in the pilot study.
How many appointments can I book per year?
- 2 appointments in 2025
- 3 appointments in 2026
- 3 appointments in 2027.
Keep track of your appointments to avoid unexpected costs. You can see how many appointments you have left in the OmaKela e-service.
When can I book an appointment with a general practitioner?
The pilot study begins on 1 September 2025 and ends on 31 December 2027. Book your appointments between these dates.
Each appointment with a general practitioner will cost EUR 28.20 or less (in 2025). The appointment can also be a remote video or phone appointment.
During the pilot study, Kela will also provide reimbursement for some tests and examinations the doctor orders for you during the appointment, such as laboratory tests and imaging tests. You pay half (50%) of the price of each test and examination. Maximum prices will be set for the tests and examinations to ensure that you know approximately how much you will have to pay before you make an appointment and to keep the prices of the services reasonable.
Example 1
If a laboratory test costs EUR 12 and the service provider also charges a laboratory fee of EUR 30, you will pay EUR 21 in total.
Example 2
If a lung X-ray costs EUR 90 you will pay EUR 48.50 A separate imaging fee will not be charged for X-rays.
We will publish a list of reimbursable tests and examinations and their maximum prices on our website before the pilot study begins.
The pilot study begins on 1 September 2025 and ends on 31 December 2027.
Kela will publish a page with more information on the pilot study during the summer. Visit the page to check, for example, the maximum prices of the reimbursable tests and examinations, which will be set by government decree. We will add the page under the Our Services section on our website. The more detailed path is Sickness – Reimbursements for private medical care.
Parliament has approved a temporary amendment to the Health Insurance Act. After the amendment enters into force, persons aged 65 or over can see a private general practitioner at a much lower cost than usual. This means that persons aged 65 or over will have more say in whether they want to use public or private general practitioner services.
The amendment is part of a pilot study on freedom of choice in healthcare. Kela will implement the pilot study in cooperation with private healthcare service providers between 1 September 2025 and 31 December 2027.
Clear prices, no unexpected costs
During the pilot study, each appointment with a general practitioner will cost EUR 28.20 or less (in 2025). Customers do not have to pay any other fees for their appointments, such as administrative or service fees.
“The goal is for senior citizens to get the healthcare services they need, when they need them. By setting a deductible in advance, we ensure that customers know how much they have to pay for each appointment. This benefits the customer,” says Auli Valli-Lintu, Director of Legislative Development at Kela.
Customers who qualify for the pilot study can book up to two appointments in 2025 and up to three appointments per calendar year in 2026 and 2027. The appointments can be in-person appointments or remote video or phone appointments. Kela will publish a list of participating service providers closer to the start of the pilot study.
“During the pilot study, customers can choose the right doctor for them and then go back to that same familiar professional for further treatment, which promotes continuity in their care,” notes Valli-Lintu.
During the pilot study, Kela will also provide reimbursement for some tests and examinations the doctor orders for you during the appointment, such as laboratory tests and imaging tests. You pay half (50%) of the price of each test and examination. Maximum prices will be set for the tests and examinations to ensure that you know approximately how much you will have to pay before you make an appointment and to keep the prices of the services reasonable.
We will publish a list of reimbursable tests and examinations and their maximum prices on our website before the pilot study begins.
A study will be conducted to monitor the outcome of the pilot study
A sufficiently large number of private service providers need to participate in the pilot study for it to be successful.
A study will be conducted in connection with the pilot study to assess how successful it is and to determine whether similar practices should be integrated more permanently into the Finnish healthcare system. The study will assess, for example, how quickly customers get access to treatment and the continuity of their care and their customer experience in addition to the pilot study’s impact on the service load in wellbeing services counties and on the total costs of the healthcare system.
Over 20% of the total population of Finland is aged 65 or over, which means that the pilot study affects approximately 1.3 million people.