European Health Insurance Card

You can use the European Health Insurance Card in

• EU and EEA countries
• Switzerland
• the United Kingdom
• Northern Ireland.

The European Health Insurance Card is accepted by public healthcare providers and by private doctors who have an agreement with their local health insurance institution. Make sure that the card is accepted by the healthcare provider you are visiting.

You do not need the card in the Nordic countries

You do not need the European Health Insurance Card in the Nordic countries. You are entitled to medically necessary treatment when you show a Finnish passport or ID card.

You cannot use the European Health Insurance Card in Finland. The only exception to this are Finnish pension recipients who live outside Finland and who have been granted a European Health Insurance Card.

If you have a European Health Insurance Card, you should have the right to medically necessary treatment when you travel or stay temporarily in another EU or EEA country, in Switzerland, in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland. Medically necessary treatment means treatment that cannot wait until you return home.

You will get medical care for example in the case of

• an acute illness
• an accident
• chronic illness that requires treatment during the trip
• treatment needs related to pregnancy or childbirth.

Treatment is provided in accordance with the normal practice of the country where you stay. The doctor treating you decides on the kind of treatment you will receive. You cannot use the European Health Insurance Card if you travel abroad for the specific purpose of obtaining medical treatment.

If a child’s mother has a European Health Insurance Card and her newborn child does not, the child can receive medically necessary treatment for a user fee that corresponds to the fee paid by local residents only as regards treatment necessary during childbirth or immediately afterwards. For other treatment, the child must have a personal European Health Insurance Card or a certificate provisionally replacing the card.

Do not forget travel insurance

The European Health Insurance Card and travel insurance complement each other. A travel insurance policy covers private healthcare services, and the European Health Insurance Card offers access to public healthcare services as provided by law. That is why it is a good idea to have both.

When you show the European Health Insurance Card to the treatment provider, you should receive treatment at the same cost as the local residents. In this case, you pay a user fee that corresponds to the fee paid by local residents and the country where you received treatment charges Kela for the rest of the costs.

If you do not have your European Health Insurance Card with you or you have to pay the actual cost of the treatment yourself for some other reason, you can claim reimbursement from Kela afterwards. You can also claim reimbursement if you have your European Health Insurance Card with you but it is not accepted by the treatment provider.

Do as follows if you cannot use OmaKela:

1. Apply for the card with the form Application – European Health Insurance Card SV 193e (PDF).
2. Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
3. Fill in the form and print it out. Remember to sign the form.
4. Send the form together with any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

Alternatively, you can contact our customer service by phone at 020 634 2650.

The European Health Insurance Card is valid for a maximum of 5 years. When the 5-year validity is about to end, Kela will check if you are still covered for health insurance in Finland or if Finland is still responsible for your medical care costs.

If you still meet the requirements for the card, Kela will send you a new card about a month before the expiry of your old card.

You will also get a new card automatically if your name or personal identity code changes.

If you no longer want Kela to automatically send you a new European Health Insurance Card, you can tell Kela that by sending a message in OmaKela. If you cannot use OmaKela, you can also call our telephone service at 020 634 2650.

If you are asked to present a European Health Insurance Card at a hospital and you do not have one, please contact Kela’s Centre for International Affairs. We will tell you if you have health insurance coverage in Finland or if Finland is responsible for the costs of your treatment. We will then issue a certificate that functions as a temporary replacement for the European Health Insurance Card and send it either to you or directly to the hospital. In emergencies, you can usually get treatment even without the card.

You can also ask Kela to give you a temporary certificate if you are about to travel and cannot get a European Health Insurance Card in time. Please contact our customer service by phone or visit a Kela service point.

The certificate is valid for the duration of your stay abroad, but up to 6 months at the most.

You can order a new card in the OmaKela e-service if your European Health Insurance Card is lost or stolen in Finland or abroad. If you cannot use OmaKela, you can also call our telephone service at 020 634 2650 to order a new card.

If your European Health Insurance Card has been lost or stolen and you need urgent medical attention when travelling abroad, you can ask Kela to issue you a certificate that temporarily replaces the card.

If you have a European Health Insurance Card and you visit Finland, you will receive medically necessary treatment in the Finnish public healthcare system. You can use the services of any public-sector healthcare provider. You will be charged the same user fee as local residents. You will get a direct reimbursement for your medicine purchases. Reimbursement is available for medicines that you need while staying in Finland. You can also get direct reimbursement for the costs of private healthcare services and emergency care.

If you do not get a direct reimbursement, for instance because the private healthcare provider does not have an agreement with Kela, you can claim reimbursement afterwards.

If you travel in a European country other than your country of residence or Finland, you should be able to get medically necessary treatment by showing your European Health Insurance Card at a local public-sector healthcare provider or at a private doctor who has an agreement with the local health insurance institution. You should receive treatment for the same user fee as the local residents.