Primary healthcare (for instance health centre, centre for social and health services)

If you visit a treatment provider in your wellbeing services county, you will get a reimbursement for your costs of travelling to that provider.

On the basis of the freedom of choice in healthcare you can choose a place of care in primary healthcare also outside your wellbeing services county (stm.fi). In such a case, the trip can be reimbursed up to an amount equal to the cost of travelling from your permanent home address to the health and social services centre in your wellbeing services county that offers extensive health services.

If you have been given an assistive device as part of the medical care, Kela reimburses the costs for travelling to the place where the assistive device is manufactured, serviced or supplied. One prerequisite is that you have received the assistive device from a public healthcare provider, or you have a payment voucher, service voucher or referral from a public healthcare provider for the assistive device. Transport or mailing costs for the assistive device alone are not reimbursed.

Specialised medical care (for instance central hospital, university hospital)

Trips to specialised medical care are reimbursed within your (according to your permanent place of residence) collaborative area (stm.fi) to the unit in specialised medical care where you obtained treatment.

On the basis of the freedom of choice in healthcare you can choose the place of care for specialised medical care together with your doctor also from another collaborative area. In such cases, the travel costs are reimbursed up to an amount equal to the cost of travelling from your permanent home address to the university hospital in the collaborative area determined on the basis of your wellbeing services county. 

If you visit a private healthcare provider, you will, as a rule, get a reimbursement for the travel costs if the treatment you receive is reimbursable by Kela. You can also get a reimbursement for your travel costs if you see a doctor and he or she performs a treatment-related procedure that Kela does not reimburse. 

If you have a payment voucher or service voucher from your wellbeing services county or a rehabilitation decision from Kela that covers the treatment, you will get a reimbursement for your costs of travelling to that provider.

General practitioner, dentist, dental hygienist and physiotherapist

If you visit a private treatment provider in primary healthcare in your wellbeing services county (for instance general practitioner or dentist, dental hygienist or physiotherapist), you will get a reimbursement for your costs of travelling to that provider.

If you visit a private general practitioner or dentist, dental hygienist or physiotherapist outside your wellbeing services county, the travel costs are reimbursed up to an amount equal to the cost of travelling from your permanent home address to the centre for social and health services in your wellbeing services county (stm.fi) that offers extensive health services.

Specialist, specialist dentist

If you visit a private specialist doctor or specialist dentist, the travel costs are reimbursed up to an amount equal to the cost of visiting the university hospital in the collaborative area that is determined on the basis of your wellbeing services county (stm.fi).  

If you are in rehabilitation arranged through Kela, you will usually get a reimbursement for travel costs to the rehabilitation site. If there are limitations on the reimbursement of the travel costs, this will be explained to you in the rehabilitation decision.

Kela can provide reimbursement for travel costs in relation to student health services. Students in higher education have access to the services of the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS), and travel to and from primary healthcare appointments is reimbursable.

Costs are reimbursed up to the amount that a trip from your home address to the nearest FSHS location offering the treatment needed would cost. Costs can be reimbursed also to other FSHS locations provided that a healthcare professional deems the treatment available there necessary.

You will get a reimbursement according to the lowest-cost available means of transport. Train or bus is usually the lowest-cost option, as long as your health permits you to use them and public transport is available for your connection.

If you use public transport to travel to a public healthcare provider (for instance centre for social and health services or hospital) or rehabilitation provided by Kela, you do not need a separate certificate from the healthcare provider to accompany the claim for reimbursement of travel costs.

If you use public transport to travel to a private healthcare provider, a healthcare certificate from the healthcare provider on the SV 67 form is required. As a rule, the travel costs are only reimbursed when the treatment you obtain is reimbursed by Kela. You can also get a reimbursement for your travel costs if you see a doctor and he or she performs a treatment-related procedure that Kela does not reimburse. Such a treatment-related procedure can be for instance hip surgery, removal of nevus or placing ear tubes in small children’s ears. If you have a payment voucher or service voucher from your wellbeing services county or a rehabilitation decision from Kela that covers the treatment, you will get a reimbursement for your travel costs.  

Kela will pay a reimbursement based on the price of a single ticket. If you used a multi-journey ticket, divide its price by the number of trips you have made to a healthcare provider. That way you get the price per unit. If the price per unit is more expensive than a single ticket, Kela only reimburses the price of a single ticket.

You can plan your trip using the route planner (kelareitit.digitransit.fi). It will show you the distance, the travel time and the availability of public transport.  

If you use a private car, the rate of reimbursement is EUR 0.33 per kilometre. 

If several family members travel in the same car, reimbursement is claimed as one single cost using the customer’s personal data.

If the one-way trip is less than 200 kilometres, you do not have to present a certificate from the healthcare provider (form SV 67) on the necessity of using a private car.

When you travel in a private car for health reasons and the one-way trip is more than 200 kilometres, you need a certificate from the healthcare provider (form SV 67), stating your right to use a private car. If you travel in a private car more than 200 kilometres because public transport is not available, state this in your claim for reimbursement.

The length of the trip that Kela will reimburse is based on the information in the route planner (kelareitit.digitransit.fi) for the travel route you have stated in your claim. The costs for longer trips than this are not reimbursed.

You can get reimbursement for a taxi ride, if you have to use a taxi for health reasons or because public transport is not available. 

Kela pays reimbursement for the taxi ride only if you call the regional dispatch number to book the taxi. Each region has two service providers from which customers can book taxi rides reimbursed by Kela. You can choose which of them to contact to book a taxi. Travels by taxi ordered elsewhere are not reimbursed by Kela.

Trip chain refers to situations where a person uses at least two different means of transport: for instance, part of the trip is made by bus and part of the trip using a Kela taxi booked via the regional dispatch number. The travel costs are added up and a copayment of EUR 25 (i.e., the part paid by the person him/herself) for a one-way trip is deducted from them.

Kela also provides reimbursement for the cost of transportation by ambulance or ambulance aircraft. In these cases, the reimbursement is available only if the healthcare provider confirms that using such means of transport is necessary (form SV 67 or equivalent). Kela can also provide reimbursement for transport in the Finnish archipelago, taking into account the special circumstances in the archipelago.

The travel costs of an accompanying person are reimbursed to the extent that the customer and the accompanying person travel together. Kela pays reimbursement for an independent trip by the accompanying person only to an amount equalling the costs for a trip from the customer’s home address to the place of care. This is the case for example if the customer has to stay back for treatment and the accompanying person returns alone. The reimbursement for an independent trip by the accompanying person is, as a rule, reimbursed according to the lowest-cost means of transport, taking into account the accompanying person’s health. 

Reimbursement is available if the treatment staff thinks that the customer’s health is such that an accompanying person is necessary. Usually there can only be one accompanying person.

If the need for an accompanying person is obvious, no professional opinion is required. This includes situations where the patient is a child or a frail elderly person.

Reimbursement can be paid for the trip made by a family member, if the doctor considers that it is necessary for the family member to participate in the treatment in order for the treatment to be successful. The participation of a family member must always be based on a doctor’s assessment, and it must be stated in a certificate (form SV 67). Solely visiting is not reimbursed by Kela.

Kela does not reimburse the following types of travel:

• trips to preventive care (for instance vaccinations, screening and medical examinations)
• trips solely to fetch medical consumables
• separate trips to the pharmacy
• transport of assistive device or sample without the customer
• trips made by patients in public institutional care
• trips under the Disability Services Act and the Social Welfare Act
• trips related to school health service and accidents in school
• trips under the Act on Special Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities
• daily trips according to the decision on education or training in vocational rehabilitation provided by Kela
• trips related to participation in scientific research.

1. Claim reimbursement for treatment- or rehabilitation-related travel costs in the OmaKela e-service.

   • You can claim reimbursement for two one-way trips at a time (e.g. travel to a treatment site and return trip back home). If you want to claim reimbursement for more trips than that, submit a new claim or use the form Certificate for Travel Expense Reimbursement (SV 67).
   • If you have been accompanied by a family member or some other person, you can also claim reimbursement for their travel expenses using your personal data.
2. Take photographs of the supporting documents and send them in OmaKela. You need to include with your claim the form Todistus matkakorvausta varten (SV 67) (Certificate for reimbursement of travel expenses) that you receive from the healthcare provider, when you are claiming:

   • reimbursement for travels to a private healthcare provider
   • reimbursement for trips of more than 200 kilometres with private car to a public healthcare provider.

Visit OmaKela to see if your claim has been decided, how much you will get and when the reimbursement will be paid. You will also see reminders to submit any missing supporting documents. You will get a copy of the decision by post unless you have opted out of paper mail.

If you cannot use OmaKela, send your claim to Kela by post. Save the claim form SV 4e (Claim – Reimbursement for travel costs) to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

1. Fill in the form SV 4e (Claim – Reimbursement for travel costs).

   • 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.
   • Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
   • If you are claiming reimbursement on behalf of another person, use their personal data when filling in the claim.
   • Save the completed claim to your device. Note that the claim must be in PDF format.
2. Send the claim using the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish):

   • Log in to OmaKela. If you are claiming reimbursement on behalf of another person, go to Asioi toisen henkilön puolesta (Act on behalf of another person).
   • Complete the claim.
   • Select Sairaanhoito, hammashoito, matkat ja lääkkeet (Medical care, dental care, travel and medicines).
   • Select Matkakorvaus tai yöpymisraha – tee hakemus (Reimbursement for travel costs or accommodation allowance – submit a claim).
   • Select the claim form on your device and press Lähetä (Send).
   • When you send your claim in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
3. If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your claim. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them. You need to include with your claim the form Todistus matkakorvausta varten (SV 67) (Certificate for reimbursement of travel expenses) if you are applying for overnight allowance and the certificate includes a note that a family member participated in the treatment. Keep the receipt for the accommodation costs for 6 months, because we may request it when needed.
4. Visit OmaKela to see if your claim has been decided, how much you will get and when the payment will be made. You will get a copy of the decision by post unless you have opted out of paper mail.

If you cannot use OmaKela, send your claim to Kela by post. Save the form SV 4e Claim – Reimbursement for travel costs (PDF) to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

Keep the receipt for the trip and the certificate (form SV 67) for an individual trip by for 6 months. However, always submit the certificate on the right to use of taxi on a continuing basis (form SV 67) to Kela. If we need receipts or certificates in order to decide on your claim, we will ask you to submit them. For instance you need not enclose receipts for the use of public transport with the claim, but you must keep the receipts.