Equal student healthcare services - FSHS 2021

From 1 January 2021 onwards, all degree students in higher education will be entitled to use FSHS services, if they have registered as an attending student for a particular term and paid the healthcare fee to KELA.

Who are entitled to use?

University students (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree), Students at universities of applied sciences (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree), Police University College students (Bachelor’s degree), and Civilian students at the National Defence University.

Who are NOT entitled: international exchange students, students at open colleges, postgraduate students (e.g. students studying for a PhD).

Services

The FSHS responsibility areas are to provide students with health and medical care services, to promote students’ health and ability to study, and to promote the well-being of the study environment and student community.

1. Study environment and study community activities

• Regular collaboration with interest groups, particularly with educational institutions and student associations

• Expert services

• Health-promoting communications

• Study environment inspections every 3 years and yearly monitoring

2. Healthcare services

• Individual and group-based health guidance

• Periodic health check-ups: 1) public health nurse and general practitioner, 2) oral health examination and treatment plan

• Preventive oral health measures

• Prevention of infectious diseases: health check-ups, vaccinations (national vaccination program)

• Family planning

• Study-related health examinations, certificates and statements required by the Infectious Diseases Act and other legislation

• Travel health advice, including student exchange (students purchase the required vaccines themselves, although they can be given as part of student healthcare)

• Basic psychological examinations

3. Medical care services

• Assessing the need for treatment

• Non-urgent treatment, including treatment to be given within 1 to 7 days

• Treatment requiring a medical specialist (psychiatrist, dermatologist) or dental specialist if the patient does not qualify for specialized care

• Laboratory and imaging services in primary care related to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases

• Physiotherapy

• Nutritional therapy

• Speech therapy specific to field of study (initial investigation of voice disorders for those studying for a profession requiring verbal communication)

Where?

As a customer of the FSHS, you will have access to almost 50 service units around Finland: 24 of them will be run by the FSHS and almost 30 of them by partners. 95% of all students in higher education will be within the scope of service units run by the FSHS.

Helsinki:

• Töölönkatu 37

• Malmin kauppatie 8

Porvoo:

• Mehiläinen Oy, Näsin Koulukatu 2

Vierumäki:

• Suomen Terveystalo Oy, Kirkkokatu 13

If necessary, you can visit any of the FSHS’s own service units. The service units operated by partners are only for the students studying in these towns. Oral healthcare services are typically used less frequently than other services, and this is why they are centered on larger cities. Helsinki and Lahti for our students.

Healthcare fee

Healthcare for students in higher education is financed mainly by the state (77 %), while the remaining 23 % is paid for by students. From 1 January 2021, students will pay a healthcare fee to KELA to access FSHS services. The healthcare fee must be paid by all students who are entitled to use FSHS services. The healthcare fee must be paid to KELA regardless of whether the student uses FSHS services or not.

The healthcare fee must be paid to KELA every term, i.e. twice a year. Please note that KELA will not send you an invoice, so you must pay the fee on your own initiative. The due dates will depend on the date of your registration as an attending student. The projected healthcare fee in 2021 will be about 38,5 euros per semester which equals to about 77 euros a year.