Healthcare in Finland: the kotikunta as the key, and two ceilings on your own contributions
Finnish public healthcare is open to whoever has a kotikunta, a Finnish municipality of residence. What you pay after that is capped: a statutory maximum per visit, a healthcare ceiling of € 815 a year and a separate medicines ceiling of € 636.12. How the system works, what it costs in 2026, what becomes more expensive in 2027, and how you join via the CAK with a Dutch pension.
4 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, if you live in Finland you get into public healthcare, and it is affordable. The key is not your identity code but your kotikunta, your Finnish municipality of residence. According to InfoFinland, the Finnish government's information service, you are entitled to public healthcare if you have a municipality of residence.
What you pay:
- a contribution per visit, with a statutory maximum;
- per calendar year it stops at the healthcare ceiling of € 815.
The finding at the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, STM: contributions are set to rise sharply in 2027.
The pitfall is at the start. Without a kotikunta you are only welcome in public healthcare in an emergency, and then the bill may come afterwards.
How do I get into public healthcare?
Via the kotikunta, the registration with the population data agency DVV. The care itself is organised not by your municipality but by the wellbeing services county (hyvinvointialue) where you live: the regional authority for health and social services.
You register with the health centre, which depending on the county may be called terveysasema, terveyskeskus or hyvinvointiasema. Whoever calls is assessed first. In Finland nurses treat many complaints themselves and refer you to a doctor if needed. Home visits by a doctor do not exist in public healthcare.
If you do not have a kotikunta yet, you will still be treated in public healthcare in an emergency, but the costs may be collected from you afterwards. Whoever works can sometimes get a right to care on the basis of that work, but you apply for that separately.
What do I pay per visit?
The law sets a maximum. Each wellbeing services county decides itself whether to charge that maximum, less, or nothing. Helsinki, for example, charges nothing for an appointment at a health station.
| Care | Statutory maximum 2026 | Planned maximum 2027 | Helsinki 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health centre, doctor or nurse | € 30.20 per visit, at most three times a year per centre, or an annual fee of € 60.30 | € 37.20 | € 0 |
| Hospital outpatient clinic | € 71.30 per visit | € 80.50 | € 71.30 |
| Appointment missed or cancelled too late | € 73.70 | € 60.60 | |
| Healthcare ceiling per calendar year | € 815 |
These contributions may only be charged to people aged 18 or over. The increase for 2027 is, according to STM, a plan: the outpatient clinic 10 percent more expensive, the health centre 20 percent.
How does the healthcare ceiling work?
Everything you pay in a calendar year in contributions that count adds up. At € 815 in 2026 the ceiling is reached, and for the rest of the year that care is free. The wellbeing services county then gives you a certificate.
The ceiling is indexed every two years. In 2025 it was still € 762, so whoever comes across that amount is reading an old source.
What counts:
- the contributions of your children under 18 count together with those of their parent;
- public dental care counts too, except for the technical costs of, for example, a denture.
If you paid more than the ceiling, you reclaim the excess from the wellbeing services county, at the latest in the following year.
And medicines?
Medicines have a ceiling of their own, separate from the healthcare ceiling. In 2026 it is € 636.12 in own costs for reimbursed medicines. Above that, according to STM, you still pay € 2.50 per prescription medicine.
For people on a low income, Kela, the Finnish social insurance institution, is running a trial with an interest-free loan from 27 October 2025 to the end of 2027. That way you can pay that ceiling in instalments.
Private care is widely available and often faster, but more expensive. If you are covered by Finnish health insurance, Kela pays back a small part. With your Kela card that is often deducted straight away at the cash desk.
With a Dutch pension it works differently. Whoever comes with AOW or another Dutch benefit registers with the CAK, at most five months before the emigration or pension date. The CAK's letter comes with an S1, which you register in Finland with Kela, the Finnish social insurance institution; after that the CAK deducts a contribution from your pension or benefit every month.
If you leave before your AOW age, watch the date. The CAK route is expected to be open from 1 November 2026 only to new applicants with a statutory benefit: AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong. Whoever only brings an early retirement pension, RVU benefit or an early company pension then falls outside it and arranges cover until AOW age themselves. Whoever is already a CAK client keeps their rights. What exactly changes, and what you can do now.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Finland.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- InfoFinland — public healthcare with a kotikunta, and the role of the wellbeing services county — infofinland.fi
- STM — the maximum client fees in 2026, and the planned increase in 2027 — stm.fi
- STM — the healthcare ceiling of € 815 and what counts towards it — stm.fi
- City of Helsinki — the fees of health stations and outpatient clinics — hel.fi
- STM — medicine reimbursement and the € 2.50 above the ceiling — stm.fi
- Kela at Hyvil — the medicines ceiling 2026 and the medicine loan — hyvil.fi
- CAK — registering from abroad and the S1 document — hetcak.nl
- CAK — emigrating on early retirement, the expected change from 1 November 2026 — hetcak.nl
Read on
- FinlandArrival4 min
School in Finland: free with a hot lunch, compulsory education to 18, and the preparatory class that is not a right
Finnish school is free, including learning materials and a hot meal every day. Compulsory education runs from 6 to 18, primary school lasts nine years, from 7 to 16. Children who do not yet speak Finnish or Swedish can get a year of preparatory education, but a municipality is not obliged to organise it. And childcare has a maximum fee, with a free month of July.
Updated 26 September 2026
- FinlandArrival5 min
Tax for newcomers in Finland: the 25 % key employee regime, and when the ordinary rate is better
Finland has a special regime for people who come to work here: the avainhenkilö regime. A key employee earning at least € 5,800 gross a month has paid a fixed tax at source of 25 % since 2026, for at most 84 months. What the conditions are, why the 90-day deadline is hard, and how the ordinary Finnish rate compares.
Updated 26 September 2026
- FinlandArrival4 min
Buying a house in Finland: usually you buy shares — and that is your fiscal luck
A Finnish flat or terraced house is usually bought as shares in an asunto-osakeyhtiö, a housing company. That halves the transfer tax: 1.5% instead of 3% — but on the price including your share of the company's loan. If you buy a real house with land, the rule is: first the varainsiirtovero, then the lainhuuto within six months. The exemption for the first own home no longer exists since 2024.
Updated 26 September 2026