Travel expenses

The sickness fund reimburses costs for travel that is necessary for receiving medical care and travel that is necessary for procuring or maintaining aids where the travel is reimbursable under the Health Insurance Act.

Reimbursement of travel costs is claimed using the form ‘Claim – Reimbursement for travel expenses’, SV 4.

Travel costs are reimbursed based on the nearest possible place of treatment using the least expensive means of transport, unless another means of transport must be considered necessary due to the nature of the illness or traffic conditions. The least expensive means of transport is usually public transport.

The need to use a special vehicle (e.g. taxi, own car, ambulance) is evaluated by a doctor or another health care professional, and a certificate SV 67 is issued by the treatment facility (the certificate must be attached to the claim).

Trips under 100 km to a public health care facility made using a private car can be reimbursed without the health care facility’s certificate stating that you need a special vehicle. For one-way trips over 100 km made using your own car you need a certificate SV 67 issued by the health care facility. The reimbursement for the use of your own car is EUR 0.33/km.

A trip made using a taxi is reimbursed if, based on the certificate SV 67 issued by the health care facility, the use of a taxi is necessary due to the illness and the taxi was ordered via the dispatch centre indicated by Kela. In that case, you only pay the deductible in accordance with the Health Insurance Act, which is EUR 25 for each one-way trip and which the fund reimburses to your account if you claim it. 

If the taxi was not ordered via Kela’s dispatch centre, the travel costs will not be reimbursed at all.

Instructions and number for ordering a Kela taxi can be found on Kela’s website How to book a taxi - kela.fi 

The fund reimburses EUR 20 of the necessary accommodation expenses that are also reimbursed by Kela, if the fund member, during a reimbursable journey, has had to stay overnight in a commercial accommodation establishment or an accommodation provided for patients by a medical institution.