Kela pilots private doctor visit for 65+ people anywhere in country

The Social Insurance Institution-Kela introduced a pilot project where people age of 65 or more will be allowed to get treatment from private practitioners at a lower price during the summer, said Kela on Monday.

The project named “The freedom of choice pilot” will offer the elderly people to visit the private doctor three times a year even outside of their municipality of residence, if the doctor is participating in the pilot project.

“Just make sure that the doctor you choose is participating in the pilot study on freedom of choice in healthcare,” said Kela in a statement.

The doctor to be chosen can be located outside patient´s own municipality of residence or wellbeing services county.

The patients need to pay only the local user fee charged by public healthcare providers for each of the three appointments.

If the doctor orders laboratorial examinations or tests, patients will also get the tests at a lower price.

Presently, private general practitioner services included in the freedom of choice pilot are available in roughly one in three Finnish municipalities.

Services are more widely available in large cities and in Southern Finland, but many smaller municipalities also have doctors who are participating in the pilot.

Doctors and medical clinics are free to choose, if they want to participate in the freedom of choice pilot.

The pilot project will end on 31 December 2027.