Pay the student healthcare fee in higher education to Kela

Pay the healthcare fee to Kela if you have registered as attending for the spring term 2021 and you are completing a bachelor’s or a master’s level degree in higher education at a Finnish university. As regards students at the National Defence University, only those who study in the Executive Assistance Programme have to pay the healthcare fee.

If you paid the student union membership fee in the autumn 2020, it did not include any healthcare fee for the spring term 2021. You must pay the healthcare fee for the spring term 2021 to Kela.
Students attending a university of applied sciences must also pay the healthcare fee to Kela starting with the spring term 2021.

The healthcare fee must be paid on your own initiative

In 2021, the student healthcare fee in higher education will be EUR 35.80 per term. The fee is paid to Kela once per term, i.e. twice a year. You are not billed for the fee but are expected to pay it unprompted.
The due date of payment is determined based on the date on which you have registered as attending. For the spring term, the healthcare fee must be paid by 31 January at the latest, provided the student has registered as attending by then.
The healthcare fee can be paid using a payment application in Kela's e-service or as a bank transfer. Instructions for payment of the healthcare fee are available on Kela’s website.
If you do not pay the healthcare fee by the due date, Kela will send you a reminder. If the healthcare fee is paid after the due date, a late-payment charge of EUR 5 must also be paid. If you do not pay the healthcare fee after having been reminded of it, Kela can withhold the fee and the late-payment charge from your study grant payments without consulting you. If the fee and the late-payment charge cannot be withheld from the study grant payments, the healthcare fee will be referred to the enforcement authority for collection.
You are entitled to use the student health services to the end of the term for which you have registered as attending. If you graduate during the term, you are entitled to use the student health services to the end of the term in question. The website of the Finnish Student Health Service (Finnish abbreviation YTHS) provides information about health services for students.

Exchange students and international students

Under the law, only students who are pursuing a degree in a Finnish higher education institution and are registered as attending for the current term are eligible for student health services.
If you are an exchange student from another country, you are not pursuing a degree in a Finnish higher education institution, and are thus not eligible for student health services. EU citizens can use the public healthcare services. Students from other countries must have private health insurance.
If you are completing a higher education degree at a Finnish higher education institution, you have to pay the healthcare fee for the months of attendance even when you pursue studies abroad. Where you live is not important.
If you are enrolled in a degree programme at a Finnish higher education institution and have registered as non-attending for the current term, you do not have to pay the healthcare fee.
Read more: Medical treatment in international situations.

The Act on Student Health Services for Students in Higher Education will come into force on 1 January 2021

Starting 1 January 2021, Kela will have administrative responsibility for providing health services to higher education students, including the collection of a healthcare fee. Starting 1 January 2021, the Finnish Student Health Service (YTHS) will provide services not only to students of traditional universities but also to students of universities of applied sciences.
The fee is used to finance health services for higher education students. The State finances 77% of the health services for higher education students and the rest, 23%, is financed through the healthcare fee. The amount of the fee is specified in a Government decree, which will be issued annually.

Read more

• Healthcare fee for students in higher education
• How to pay the student healthcare fee in higher education
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