Last year, nearly 17,000 Finns needed healthcare services while abroad. In 2005, the number was over 11,000.
Meanwhile, Finland has billed other countries more than ever before for healthcare costs. In 2009, Finland sent bills totaling 6.5 million euros to other countries. This is double the number from the previous year.
Processing bills is slowed down by the fact that only ten percent of Finns have a European health insurance card. The card entitles holders to the same care at the same cost as locals if they fall ill abroad. Kela deals with hundreds of compensation cases for people who do not have a card each year.
Finland is now working on a plan to combine the Kela card and European health insurance card.