Travel expense reimbursements for cancer patientsThe Social Insurance Institution (Kela) reimburses the costs of travel for cancer treatment and rehabilitation. You can claim for travel for doctor’s appointments or for examinations ordered by a doctor or for treatment. Kela normally pays travel expenses to the nearest doctor, examination or treatment facility using the cheapest form of transport. Kela may also reimburse taxi costs. You can also apply for the reimbursement by Kela of your travel costs for rehabilitation. Kela reimburses travel expenses for rehabilitation based on a rehabilitation decision done by Kela. You can also receive compensation for orientation courses provided by organisations, as long as the courses are applied for based on a doctor’s referral and the course programmes meet the necessary criteria. Reimbursements of travel costs (Kela)(opens in a new window) Kela offers different options for compensation for taxi trips. It is recommended that you use the taxi dispatch service, details of which are available on Kela website. Transport by taxi (Kela)(opens in a new window) There is an annual cap on the copayment you have to pay for travel costs, so make sure that you keep all receipts. You can check the maximum limit of the copayment on travel costs using Kela’s E-services. Travel expenses include your own, the person accompanying you or those of a family member. You can check the copayment amounts on Kela’s website Amount (Kela)(opens in a new window) Sources Kela website Association of Finnish Cancer Patients guide to social security – in Finnish: Suomen Syöpäpotilaat ry. Syöpäpotilaan sosiaaliopas 2015. Helsinki, 2015.
