Kela resumes ride-sharing taxi service reimbursement in Sep

The national social insurance institution- Kela will resume reimbursement of ride-sharing taxi services in September, said Kela in a press release on Tuesday.

Ride-sharing was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Extensive COVID-19 restrictions have now largely been lifted prompting the Kela to resume the ride-sharing for customers using a Kela taxi.

This means that customers travelling to or from a healthcare provider may share their ride with other customers.

Taxis are used in more than a half of Kela-reimbursed healthcare-related journeys.

Ride-sharing, where customers travelling at the same time and in the same direction share a ride, is an effective way to curb the rise in transport costs.

Ride-sharing also applies to customers who have the right to use a familiar taxi driver.

However, ride-sharing is not used if a healthcare provider has deemed it inadvisable in view of the customer's health.

Ride-sharing is also not used for customers who indicate when booking a ride that they are infected with COVID-19 or will be travelling to be tested for COVID-19.

Kela-reimbursed taxi services must be booked with a regional dispatch centre well in advance - if possible, at least one day before the travel date.

Each region has two contracted service providers. Customers can choose which one to contact to book their taxi.

Kela provides reimbursement for part of the cost of trips made to a healthcare provider in connection with treatment, pregnancy or childbirth.

Reimbursements are also available for costs of travelling to a COVID-19 vaccination or testing site.

Trips are usually reimbursed on a least-cost basis. Customers can be reimbursed for using a taxi, if they are unable to use public transport because of health reasons or if public transport is not available.

Customers using a taxi for health reasons need a certificate issued by a healthcare provider.

Last year, Kela paid reimbursement for about 3.5 million taxi rides to 410,000 persons.

The total reimbursement bill was €193 million.