The Finnish Social Security Institution (Kela) announced on Wednesday that diagnostic and antibody testing for coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) carried out in the private healthcare sector will be partially reimbursed. The condition is that the test must be ordered by a doctor.
In other words, tests that the client has decided to do for himself will not be subsidized. Only those that have been requested by a doctor after evaluating the patient's symptoms will be reimbursed.
According to Kela, the reimbursement rate for diagnostic coronavirus tests performed by a private-sector healthcare provider is 56 euros and for antibody tests,15 euros.
Reimbursements are available for tests performed on or after 1 April 2020.
Clients will get the reimbursement right away at the clinic if the healthcare provider has an agreement on direct reimbursement with Kela. They can also pay for the test themselves and claim reimbursement from Kela afterwards.
When a Covid-19 infection is suspected, it is possible to either do a nasal swab to test for the presence of the virus in the nasal cavity or to perform an antibody test to detect whether the immune system has produced antibodies for the coronavirus. Tests are reimbursable only if ordered by a doctor.
Orders can be done remotely
According to Kela, the doctor can issue the necessary order in a remote consultation. The tests must also comply with the regulations, guidelines and biological sampling criteria set forth by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
Diagnostic and antibody tests for the coronavirus are reimbursed under the medical care coverage to which everyone eligible for social security benefits in Finland is entitled and which provides compensation for necessary medical services obtained from private-sector health providers.
The reimbursements do not cover tests performed by public health providers.
Diagnostic and antibody tests for coronavirus will be added to Kela’s reimbursement schedule in the 12 June 2020 update.
