The European Health Insurance Card is the latest addition to the arsenal of card-carrying Europeans. The card ensures that Finnish travellers to other European countries can get the same level of health care for the same price as locals.
Persons who are covered under the Finnish social security system and who intend to stay abroad temporarily for vacations, study, temporary work assignments or while seeking employment in other European countries are eligible for the coverage.
Just under 300,000 people in Finland have the European health insurance card. The Social Insurance Institution has waited in vain since the card's introduction in June 2004 for its popularity to grow.
Many Finns still don't know about the card. Kela's coordinator of international affairs, Sirpa Tuominen, acknowledges that there is always room to improve the flow of information about the service - although information has been posted on Kela and EU websites.
In a way, the card has already proved its value: health care provided abroad on the basis of the card has cost Kela 10 million euros annually.
YLE