Kela piloting interest-free medicine cost credit – securing the continuity of prescription medicine use a priority

Starting from the end of October 2025, low-income customers will have the opportunity to get a loan from Kela in the form of a credit for medicine costs (lääkeluotto, medicine cost credit) to pay the annual maximum limit on out-of-pocket medicine costs (vuosiomavastuu, lääkekatto, annual out-of-pocket maximum). The aim is to ensure that customers can get the prescription medication they need when they need it and that they do not stop taking their medication due to financial constraints. Kela grants the credit as part of a pilot study that begins on 27 October 2025.

Medicine cost credit helps with high prescription medicine costs

In 2025, the annual out-of-pocket maximum is EUR 633.17. Medicine cost credit is intended for low-income customers who do not qualify for social assistance and who reach the annual out-of-pocket maximum either with one purchase or within one calendar month. The amount of credit Kela can grant is up to the amount of the full annual out-of-pocket maximum.

The customer will pay the medicine cost credit back to Kela over the span of 12 months. Kela does not charge any interest for the credit. In practice, the medicine cost credit will help lighten the financial burden on the customer by spreading the costs of prescription medicine over several months instead of the customer having to pay a large sum in one go or within a short period of time.

In 2024, a total of 7.9% of all customers who were paid reimbursements for medicine costs reached the annual out-of-pocket maximum. Altogether 3% of those customers reached the annual out-of-pocket maximum with one transaction, and 80% of them bought only one kind of prescription medication. In addition, 93% of all customers who reached the annual out-of-pocket maximum with one transaction in 2024 also did so in 2023. This suggests that the same customers reach the annual out-of-pocket maximum year after year. 

Apply for the credit before you buy the medication

You must apply for the medicine cost credit in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish only) or by visiting a Kela service point before you buy the prescription medication you need. You must send us a document listing the necessary medication you plan to buy together with your application. For example, you can submit patient instructions issued by a doctor or a prescription summary you can print out from MyKanta. Please also tell us the month in which you need to buy the medication in your application. The earliest that you can submit an application for the credit is 2 months before you buy your medication. If you are the parent or guardian of a child, you can also apply for the medicine cost credit to help pay for the child’s annual out-of-pocket maximum.

Kela will process your application and assess if you will reach the annual out-of-pocket maximum. Kela uses the prescriptions you send us with your application to make the assessment.

If you qualify for the medicine cost credit, Kela will transfer it to your bank account. You must pay the credit back to Kela within one year.

The pilot study as a source of data and support for decision-making

The pilot study is based on the Government Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government, which seeks to, for example, divide the annual maximum limit on out-of-pocket medicine costs into parts and transfer the social lending system under Kela’s administration. Kela was granted EUR 2.5 million for the pilot study in the amendments made to the national budget in 2025.

Kela estimates that it will grant the medicine cost credit approximately 5,000 times during the pilot study. The aim of the pilot study is to produce data on what kind of resources the provision of this kind of credit will require in terms of Kela’s information systems and customer service. During the pilot study, Kela will also conduct a separate study to assess how the pilot study affects the rates of prescription medicine use and the customer experience.

Read more

Credit for medicine costs (kela.fi)

Kela’s medicine cost credit can help with high medicine costs (brochure, PDF)