Healthcare in Åland
Åland has its own legislative powers in healthcare and social care. For full access to public healthcare in Åland, you must be registered as a resident of an Åland municipality. In addition to the public healthcare system, there are also private healthcare providers. If you work for an Åland-based employer, it is common for the occupational health service to be responsible for some aspects of medical care and other work-related healthcare.
Public healthcare
The Åland Healthcare Service (ÅHS) is responsible for public healthcare, operating primarily in Mariehamn. ÅHS’s services include A&E, maternity and child health clinics, student health services, home care, specialist healthcare and dental care. Public healthcare is also available in rural areas and in the archipelago. In addition to the health centre in the municipality of Finström, there are also a number of health and medical clinics in the other municipalities of Åland. More information is available on the ÅHS website.
Care during temporary visits
Everyone is entitled to urgent care within the public healthcare system in Åland, regardless of citizenship or country of residence. More information on care for tourists and temporary visitors can be found on the ÅHS website; information is also available in the menu tabs below.
Persons living on the Finnish mainland cannot choose a place of treatment in Åland, and permanent residents of Åland cannot choose the services available in the public healthcare system in Finland. Find out more about choosing a place of treatment on the Suomi.fi website.
Persons whose municipality of residence is on the Finnish mainland are entitled to emergency care and follow-up care in Åland. Identity must be verified by means of a valid ID document or Kela card. The standard patient charge is paid for the care.
For planned care, a certificate or payment commitment from your wellbeing services county is required, confirming that the costs of care will be reimbursed. The certificate must be obtained before care begins; ÅHS will then assess whether the care can be provided.
Persons who are resident in another Nordic country are entitled to emergency care in Åland. The healthcare staff at ÅHS assess the care needs, and the cost of the care is the standard patient charge, provided that the patient’s identity is verified by a valid ID document and proof of their residential address. If your identity or residential address cannot be verified, you may be charged the full cost of the treatment. In some cases, the cost may be reimbursed afterwards by the health insurance authority in the home country if the treatment is deemed to have been necessary.
Everyone is entitled to urgent care within the public healthcare system in Åland, regardless of citizenship or country of residence. The cost of the care can vary, however, depending on the person’s country of origin and their entitlement to healthcare. More information on healthcare for visitors from EU and EEA countries, the UK and other contracting countries is available on the ÅHS website.
Reimbursement for medicine expenses
Permanent residents of Åland can get reimbursement from Kela for the cost of medicines, clinical nutritional preparations and basic ointments prescribed for the treatment of an illness. Reimbursement for medicine expenses can also be granted by Kela if the person is entitled to healthcare in Finland under EU legislation or other international agreements.
High-cost protection limits healthcare costs over the course of a calendar year. When the limit has been reached, no further charges covered by the protection need to be paid for the rest of the year. The patient is responsible for keeping track of their costs, but ÅHS can provide support with this.
The page Medicines and reimbursement for medicine expenses in Åland contains more information on medicines, reimbursement for medicine expenses and high-cost protection.
Health insurance cards
As a resident of Finland or Åland, you are entitled to both a Kela card and the European Health Insurance Card. The cards show your entitlement to healthcare and health insurance benefits in Finland, Åland and abroad.
The Kela card shows that the person is covered by Finnish health insurance and is entitled to the benefits paid by Kela. The card is mainly needed to get direct reimbursement at pharmacies and private healthcare providers; at pharmacies, you can also present an ID document or driving licence. Persons who move to Finland or Åland can apply for a Kela card once they are covered by Finnish health insurance. Find out more about the Kela card on the Kela website.
The card is not an identity card and does not entitle the holder to public healthcare. The right to public healthcare is instead based on the person’s municipality of residence.
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) shows that the holder is entitled to medically necessary healthcare while staying temporarily in another EU or EEA country, Switzerland or the UK. And on the same terms and at the same cost as for residents of the country of stay. In the Nordic countries, the card is not usually required; a valid ID document is sufficient to get necessary healthcare. Treatment is provided within the public healthcare system or at private medical practices that have agreements with the country’s health insurance provider.
The card is free of charge and can be applied for through Kela by persons covered by Finnish health insurance or whose healthcare costs are covered by Finland. The card is valid for up to five years and is automatically renewed if Finland remains responsible for healthcare costs. Read more on Kela’s website.
Comments and complaints
If you are dissatisfied with your care, the Office of the Åland Ombudsman and the patient ombudsman are available to provide support and advice. Among other things, they can help to draft complaints and comments to the Patient Insurance Centre. Complaints, comments and appeals can also be submitted directly to ÅHS; find out more on the webpage Patients’ rights.
ÅMHM is the supervisory authority for healthcare and also handles complaints regarding perceived shortcomings or other irregularities. Find out more on the ÅMHM website.
More information
The Info Norden website contains information on healthcare in the other Nordic countries, as well as contact details for the authorities that can answer questions.
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.